Putnam, Frank W.

Frank W. Putnam was born August 3, 1917 in New Britain, Connecticut. He attended Wesleyan University, where he received his B.A. in Chemistry in 1939, and an M.A. in Chemistry in 1940. In 1942 he received his PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Minnesota. He was also awarded an honorary degree from Cambridge University in 1973.

A distinguished biochemist, Frank Putnam’s research focused on the structure and function of blood proteins associated with the development of immunity to disease in animals. His early research involved the development of methods for determining the molecular structure of proteins. Later his research focused on the biology and chemistry of bacterial viruses, research that was important in developing modern molecular biology. The majority of his career dealt with the study of the Bence-Jones proteins and their relation to the molecular structure of antibodies. He is the author of over 100 published scientific articles on these subjects.

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