Philip I. Marcus (June 3, 1927, in Springfield, Massachusetts[1] – September 1, 2013, in Farmington, Connecticut) was an American virologist and a leader in interferon research.
Assigned to active duty in the US Air Force and stationed in Istres, France, he rose to the level of staff sergeant within a year.
Over fifty years later he documented that a luncheon conversation with Leó Szilárd, the nuclear physicist, led to the concept and physical setup for the first clonogenic assay.
Dr. Marcus then spent nine years on the faculty of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in NY supported by a ten-year U.S. Public Health Service Research Career Development Award.
During this time in New York, he was director for nine years of the post-doctoral course on quantitative animal virology and cell culture that was taught in the summer at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (NY).
He spent the remainder of his career at the University of Connecticut, where he administered the first Program Project on campus supported by the National Institute of Health, chaired the first Biosafety Committee, created a Virus and Interferon Research Laboratory recognized internationally for its innovative studies, published over 130 scientific papers, and was awarded five U.S. patents.
In 1987 he received the University of Connecticut Alumni Association Award for Excellence in Research,[citation needed] and in 2003 was recognized as a board of trustees distinguished professor.
He had spent the past forty-four years on the faculty at the University of Connecticut, known to many as a compassionate professor who donated his time unselfishly to colleagues and students through his research, teaching and service.
[14][15] Marcus' further career included positions at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and the Salk Institute.