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Peter Alfred Gorer facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Peter Alfred Gorer (born April 14, 1907, in London – died 1961) was a British scientist who made big discoveries in how our bodies accept or reject new organs. He was an expert in immunology (how our body fights sickness), pathology (studying diseases), and genetics (how traits are passed down).

Peter Gorer was born in London. His father, Edgar, sadly drowned in 1915 when the ship RMS Lusitania sank. Peter Gorer himself passed away in 1961 from lung cancer.

Peter Gorer's Education and Work

Peter Gorer went to Charterhouse for his early education. He then studied at Guy's Hospital in London, finishing in 1929. After that, he learned about genetics from a famous scientist named J.B.S. Haldane at University College, London.

From 1933 to 1940, Gorer worked at the Lister Institute. Later, he went back to Guy's Hospital to work as a pathologist, studying diseases.

Discoveries in Transplant Science

Peter Gorer is famous for helping to discover something called histocompatibility antigens. These are like special ID tags on our cells. He also figured out how our genes control these tags.

Working with another scientist named George Snell, Gorer helped find the H-2 system in mice. This system is very similar to the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system in humans. The HLA system is super important because it helps our bodies tell the difference between our own cells and foreign cells, like those from a transplanted organ.

Gorer also found a specific antigen, called antigen II. He showed that this antigen plays a key role in why a body might reject a transplanted organ or tissue. His work helped doctors understand how to make organ transplants more successful.

Awards and Recognition

Peter Gorer's important work was recognized with several honors:

  • He was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1960. This is a very high honor for scientists in the United Kingdom.
  • In 1975, he was given the William B. Coley Award by the Cancer Research Institute.

See also

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