Alfred Nisonoff

Alfred Nisonoff (1923-2001) was a 20th-century chemist who helped to experimentally determine the molecular structure of the antibody, and, as a result, made major contributions to the field of immunology. Nisonoff’s monograph, “The Antibody Molecule,” was the most important and in-depth paper on the antibody during his time.

Alfred Nisonoff’s parents immigrated from Hungary and Russia to New York City as teenagers. He was born in Corona, Queens on January 26, 1923. His parents moved the family to South River, New Jersey where they operated a butcher shop and a grocery store throughout Alfred’s childhood.

As a child, Alfred Nisonoff was an extremely well educated person. At the age of 6 he was in the third grade, and went on to graduate from high school at the age of 15. After graduation, he received a state scholarship to attend college and enrolled in Rutgers University, within less than 50 miles of his home. Nisonoff’s interest in chemistry began when he was introduced to a home laboratory of a high-school friend. From this experience, Nisonoff made the decision to major in chemistry at Rutgers.

In 1942, at age 19, Nisonoff graduated from Rutgers with a chemistry degree, and went to work for the U.S. Rubber company in Detroit, Michigan. He was assigned to determine a way to adhere nylon cords to rubber airline tires in order to add strength to the tires, previously manufactured using cotton cords. In passing through the factory, he stopped to watch a process in which nylon cords were used in strengthening self-sealing gas tanks made of rubber, and adapted this same process to the problem that faced him in strengthening the airplane tires. This type of analytical and creative thinking would prove to be useful in his future research on the structure of the antibody.

In Detroit, Alfred Nisonoff met Sarah Weismann, his future wife. In 1943, Nisonoff joined the U.S. Navy to help in the war effort. He missed the battle of Okinawa by only a month due to engine problems with his ship. 2 He served until the end of the war in 1945, and was finally discharged in July, 1946. He then took the opportunity to pursue graduate research in biochemistry in September 1946, with Frederick W. Barnes at Johns Hopkins University through funds provided by the G.I. Bill. He received his M.A. in 1948 and his Ph.D. in 1951. His research with Barnes was on the enzymatic mechanism of transamination.

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