Dr. Kilbourne, who spent most of his career as a medical research scientist in New York, was involved in every aspect of preparing vaccines for the influenza season. He was an expert on the genetics of the virus and helped make the recommendation of what the vaccine formulation should be each year, Food and Drug Administration officials said on his formal retirement in 2002.
Without his efforts, the United States may not have had an annual influenza vaccine - or its development might have been delayed for years or decades.
