George H. Scherr is a bacteriologist, researcher and inventor, currently residing in Highland Park, Ill. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Queen’s College in 1941 – majoring in Biology with a minor in Chemistry – and studied chemistry at Princeton University before pursuing graduate study at the University of Kentucky. Scherr graduated from UK with a master’s degree in 1949 and a doctorate in 1951 in microbiology, focusing on bacteriology and cytogenetics.

Before receiving his graduate degrees, Scherr worked as a bacteriologist and researcher for the New York City Department of Health, the U.S. Civil Service Commission and the Biological Warfare Service. Following the completion of his doctorate, he served as an assistant professor of microbiology at the Creighton University School of Medicine and as an associate professor of bacteriology at the University of Illinois College of Medicine.

Much of Scherr’s research has been dedicated to developing methods for stopping life-threatening infections.Through experiments with silver nitrate and sodium alginate, Scherr was able to create the royal silver alginate bandage, a wound dressing that keeps lesions sterile and prevents bacteria from multiplying. He gave the rights to his discovery to three companies – one in the US, one in Ireland and one in India – allowing this important infection-fighting tool to reach virtually all corners of the globe.