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Felix Milgrom, pioneering immunologist
Felix Milgrom, SUNY Distinguished Professor Emeritus at UB and internationally known immunologist, died Sept. 2 in Buffalo General Hospital after a short illness. He was 87.
A native of Rohatyn, Poland, Milgrom received a medical degree in 1946 and a Docent degree in 1951, both from the School of Medicine at the University of Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Poland.
He was a faculty member at the University of Wroclaw medical school and served as professor and chair of the Department of Microbiology at the Silesian University School of Medicine in Zabrze, Poland. He left Poland to join the faculty of the Department of Microbiology at the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in 1958.
He served as chair of the department—now known as the Department of Microbiology and Immunology—from 1967-85, and with his predecessor as chair, noted immunologist Ernest Witebsky, and other departmental colleagues founded the Center for Immunology. The center, now known as the Witebsky Center for Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunology, is internationally known for its research in infectious diseases and host defenses against them.
Milgrom, who was named a SUNY Distinguished Professor in 1981, was known for his pioneering research in basic and medical immunology in the fields of human organ transplantation and autoimmunity.
Among his scientific contributions was the development of a simple test for syphilis that could be performed on a drop of dried blood. The method was used to test more than 2 million people during an outbreak of syphilis in Eastern Europe after World War II. He also was the first to show that certain forms of kidney graft rejection are caused by antibodies in the recipient's circulation that are directed against the grafted tissue.
Milgrom authored or co-authored more than 400 scientific publications, and mentored nearly 100 graduate students and postdoctoral researchers.
He received honorary doctorates from the University of Vienna in Austria; the University of Lund in Sweden; the University of Heidelberg in Germany; the University of Bergen in Norway; and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.
Among his numerous awards was the Cross of Merit, one of the highest awards presented by the Republic of Poland; the Gift of Life Award from the National Kidney Foundation of Western New York; the Alfred Jurzykowski Foundation Award; and the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize. The Transplantation Society honored him with a festschrift at its fifth Basic Sciences Symposium held in 1997 at the Chautauqua Institution.
Although Milgrom retired in 1995, colleagues report that he came to campus almost daily to work on his research and writing. He was last in the office on Aug. 30.
A memorial service will be held at UB in October.
Elizabeth Pierce Olmsted Ross, philanthropist
Elizabeth Pierce Olmsted Ross, M.D. '39, D.Sc. '03, associate clinical professor emeritus in the Department of Ophthalmology in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and a champion of issues related to the blind and visually impaired, died Sept. 6 in Millard Fillmore Hospital. She was 92.
Olmsted Ross graduated from the UB medical school in 1939, becoming Western New York's first female ophthalmologist.
Throughout her career, she also worked as a military consultant investigating the effects of radar exposure on the eye, invented the diffraction lens used in the treatment of crossed and lazy eyes, authored numerous articles and served as president and chair of local and state professional societies.
One of the nation's first female pilots, Olmsted Ross may be best known for her philanthropy. For six decades she channeled her expertise into programs for the visually impaired, from instituting company safety goggles and making large-print books available in public schools to organizing vision-testing programs in Buffalo preschools.
She contributed millions of dollars to the UB medical school to establish the Ira G. Ross and Elizabeth P. Olmsted Ross, M.D. Chair in Ophthalmology and the Ira G. Ross Eye Institute in honor of her late husband. She also donated to the Blind Association of Western New York, renamed in her honor the Elizabeth Pierce Olmsted, M.D. Center for the Visually Impaired, to update its facility to state of the art.
In recognition of her generosity, Olmsted Ross received the Outstanding Philanthropist Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals in 2004.
Among her other numerous awards were the National Conference for Community and Justice of Western New York Lifetime Achievement Award, the Athena Award, UB's Distinguished Medical Alumna Award and the Samuel P. Capen Award, the UB Alumni Association's highest honor.
She received an honorary doctorate in science from SUNY in 2003.