Gerald Maurice Edelman

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Gerald Maurice Edelman

1929-

American biochemist whose contributions in understanding the chemical structure of antibodies earned him the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1972 with Rodney Porter. He received his medical degree in 1954 and his Ph.D. in 1960 from Rockefeller University. His Nobel Prize research focused on mapping the antibody molecule, discovering that it consisted of 1,300 molecules. His later research focused on morphogenesis—the formation of and differentiation of tissues and organs.