The Legacy of Dr. Paul J. Glantz, the founder of the E. coli Reference Center at Penn State.(1967 to 1979)
Dr. Paul J. Glantz, founder of the E. coli Reference Center
A Quiet Revolutionary in Microbiology
Dr. Paul J. Glantz did more than establish a research center. He built an institution that continues to shape the fields of public health, microbial diagnostics, and food safety across the globe. His pioneering work in Escherichia coli serotyping turned a small lab at Penn State into a national reference hub for bacterial strain classification.
From Silence to Science
At age sixteen, Glantz became permanently deaf after contracting spinal meningitis. During his recovery, he learned that both of his parents had died. In the face of profound personal loss, he pressed forward with determination.
He taught himself to read lips at the DePaul Institute for the Deaf and completed high school with straight A's. After earning his undergraduate degree in bacteriology, he joined Penn State in 1944, working full-time in animal pathology while taking one class at a time. His academic perseverance culminated in a Ph.D. in 1958.
"It was never about what I had lost, but what I could still build."
— Paul J. Glantz, How I Did It (1958)
The Birth of the ECRC
By the mid-1960s, Dr. Paul J. Glantz was focused on a growing challenge in veterinary microbiology: the inability to consistently classify Escherichia coli strains linked to animal disease. Building on a decade of research and diagnostic work, he formally established the E. coli Reference Center in 1967, housed in the Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences at Penn State.
As part of the Center's foundational work, Glantz produced antisera for all known O, H, and K antigens, enabling standardized strain classification through serotyping, which is a method that would remain a diagnostic cornerstone for decades. He generated this antisera by inoculating rabbits with specific E. coli strains and harvesting the resulting antibodies, refining protocols that became national references.
"The need for a central reference laboratory for E. coli classification became increasingly apparent as the number of untypeable strains rose."
— Dr. Paul J. Glantz, How I Did It (1958)
He worked closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to distribute antisera, train staff, and accept isolate submissions from across the country. These collaborations helped the Center become a trusted national partner in public health and veterinary diagnostics.
"We received cultures from laboratories in 25 states within the first three years of operation. These were tested and typed using the antisera we developed."
— Dr. Paul J. Glantz, Bacteriological and Serological Studies of E. coli (1958)
His work addressed the urgent need for reliable classification in disease outbreaks, particularly in calves, and laid the groundwork for molecular epidemiology well before the genomic era began.
A Life Beyond the Lab
Colleagues recall Glantz as humble, exacting, and deeply devoted to his students. He was also a winemaker, woodworker, and farmer. He and his wife, Norma Mae, raised seven children, four of whom earned Penn State degrees. He authored more than 48 peer-reviewed publications and maintained a sense of humor and generosity even through hardship.
He retired in 1979 and passed away in 1980. His work lives on in the Center's continued mission and in the people he mentored and inspired.
"He overcame his handicap to build a laboratory that earned international reputation."
— The House That Glantz Built, published after his retirement
