Training and government research
Born in Indiana, Moyer earned a doctorate in plant pathology at the University of Maryland in 1929 and worked on fungi and microorganisms for the US Department of Agriculture. He later served at the Northern Regional Research Laboratory in Peoria, Illinois, retiring in 1957.
References: [1]
Improving the culture medium
When Florey and Heatley sought American help with penicillin production in 1941, the Peoria laboratory joined the effort. Moyer investigated nutrient-rich corn steep liquor, a corn-milling byproduct, together with lactose and cultivation conditions. The USDA’s historical account also records Heatley’s participation in this work.
An industrial contribution
Better media worked alongside productive strains, fermentation equipment and pharmaceutical process development to expand output. Moyer’s production methods were patented, and he was posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1987. His principal contribution concerned production technology rather than the initial observation of penicillin’s antibacterial action.