Professor Emeritus of Microbiology and Immunology
(September 4, 1923 ~ April 29, 2017)
Irving Rappaport, Ph.D., was a professor emeritus of microbiology and immunology at New York Medical College where he served on the faculty of the Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences from 1964 to his retirement in 1992. In 1967, he served as acting chairman of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. He died on April 29. 2017 at the age of 93.
In 1942, at the age of 19 he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps, later receiving a commission and serving as a pilot officer until 1946. He learned to fly before he learned to drive. After being honorably discharged, he earned a B.A. in zoology and chemistry from Cornell University and a Ph.D. from California Institute of Technology with a major in immunology and a minor in biochemistry. Dr. Rappaport was a research botanist at UCLA, and an assistant professor of microbiology at the University of Chicago prior to joining NYMC.
Dr. Rappaport was a fellow of the American Academy for the Advancement of Science and an associate editor of the journal Virology.
Dr. Rappaport had many talents, interests, and passions, including being a flute player, world traveler, sculptor, painter, photographer, model airplane maker, gardener, bicyclist, skier, collector (of cameras, slide rules, drafting tools, microscopes), amateur astronomer, lover of theater and music, and bird enthusiast.