Henry P. Treffers, professor emeritus of pathology immunology and a former chair of the department of microbiology, died Feb. 2 at his home in Bethany. He was 84 years old.
Professor Treffers, a Yale faculty member for 38 years, is credited with discovering a gene that enhanced mutations in the bacterium E. coli. His specialty areas included the chemical aspects of immunity and of microbial resistance to chemotherapeutic agents. Prior to his Yale appointment, while teaching at Harvard, he was engaged in wartime research on bacillary dysentery under noted bacteriologist Rene J. Dubos. He carried on his dysentery research at Yale for another two years as the primary investigator on the project.
In addition to his research on dysentery, Professor Treffers conducted several investigations on active immunization and the production of therapeutic agents against bacillary infections, and in the field of antibiotic resistance. He authored scores of scientific papers for academic journals on such subjects. In 1954 Professor Treffers received a Fulbright Fellowship for research in New Zealand on the drug resistance of microorganisms.
Professor Treffers held several leading positions with various government medical groups, including the U.S. Public Health Service, the National Research Council, the Army Research and Development Board, the National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research. For the latter, he served as primary investigator on a project exploring possible substitutes for blood plasma. He also served as associate editor of the Journal of Immunology. Other professional affiliations include the American Chemical Society and the American Association of Immunologists.
Henry J. Treffers was born Aug. 21, 1912, in New York City. He received his bachelor's degree with honors in chemistry from Columbia University in 1933, and his Ph.D. degree there four years later. He was instructor in biological chemistry at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia 1936-42 and during this period he was also an assistant chemist at the Presbyterian Hospital in New York. He was assistant professor of comparative pathology and biochemistry at the Harvard Medical School 1942-44, and joined the Yale faculty in 1944 as assistant professor of immunology at the School of Medicine. He was promoted to full professor of microbiology in 1949.
Professor Treffers served as chair of the department of microbiology 1950-61, after which he continued as the department's director of graduate studies. In 1974 when the department of microbiology was dissolved, he joined the faculty of the department of pathology with a change in title to professor of pathology immunology and with a joint appointment in the department of biology. He continued to be active in teaching and research until his retirement in 1983.
Professor Treffers was predeceased by his wife, Adele Masset Treffers. He is survived by sons Peter A. Treffers of New Haven and Richard R. Treffers of Walnut Creek, California, and four grandchildren.