Michael Potter papers

Collection

Identifier: HMD MS ACC 2014-010

Abstract

UNPROCESSED COLLECTION. Subject files, spiral notebook work diaries (represents the richest content), photographs, personal correspondence, awards/diplomas, art objects. Little professional correspondence. Limited bench science/experiment data; no lab notebooks. Principally relate to his professional work at NCI.

Dates

Creation: 1945-2010

Extent

17.63 Linear Feet (21 boxes + 14.1GB electronic files)

Creator

Potter, Michael, 1924-2013 (Person)

Physical Location

Materials stored onsite. History of Medicine Division. National Library of Medicine

Language of Materials

Collection materials primarily in English

Access Restrictions

Unprocessed collection. Access is restricted. See Reference Librarian for information regarding access.

Copyright and Re-use Information

Donor's copyrights were transferred to the public domain. Archival collections often contain mixed copyrights; while NLM is the owner of the physical items, permission to examine collection materials is not an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. It is the user's responsibility to research and understand any applicable copyright and re-publication rights not allowed by fair use. NLM does not grant permissions to publish.

Privacy Information

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Biographical/Historical Note

Principal investigator in NCI's Laboratory of Cell Biology and, for more than 20 years, was chief of the Laboratory of Genetics. 1984 Lasker Award winner "for his fundamental research in the genetics of immunoglobulin molecules and for paving the way for the development of hybridomas and monoclonal antibodies. Dr. Potter's work has centered on the plasma cell, a form of white blood cell, which acts as the antibody factory for the immune system. The first of his profoundly important discoveries came in 1956, when he found that adjuvants containing mineral oil could cause plasma cell malignancies, or plasmacytomas, in mice. These tumors can be transplanted among mice or grown indefinitely in the laboratory, and are the equivalent of multiple myeloma in humans. This experimental model of human disease has become a keystone of immunological research around the world. Dr. Potter identified immunoglobulins, which bind to specific antigens, making it possible to analyze the structure and the binding properties of antibodies."

Collection Summary

Subject files, spiral notebook work diaries (represents the richest content), photographs, personal correspondence, awards/diplomas, art objects. Little professional correspondence. Limited bench science/experiment data; no lab notebooks. Principally relate to his professional work at NCI.

Additional Description

Abstract

Physical Location

Materials stored onsite. History of Medicine Division. National Library of Medicine

Provenance

Gift, Melissa Adde, 5/5/2014, Accession #2014-010.

Transfer, Beverly Mock (NCI), 4/14/2015, Accession #2015-010.

Transfer, NIH Office of History, 4/24/2018, Accession #2018-006.