Born in Lansing, MI, December 20, 1897, the son of Charles Edward and Maud Alice (Skidmore) Marshall, Max Marshall received his BS at the University of Massachusetts in 1918, and the AM from the University of Michigan in 1922, where he also received his PhD in 1925.

During his lengthy and distinguished career as a microbiologist, Dr. Marshall did research on microbial association in milk (University of Massachusetts, 1919-20), and was a research bacteriologist at the Michigan Department of Health (1923-27).

In 1927 Dr. Marshall joined the faculty of the UCSF School of Medicine, becoming professor of microbiology in 1943, chair of the division, 1947-62, and emeritus professor in 1965. He was also professor of microbiology in the Schools of Dentistry and Pharmacy. In 1958 Dr. Marshall was appointed Distinguished Visiting Professor at Michigan State University.

Dr. Marshall served in the U.S. Army from 1917 to 1919. He was a member of the AAAS and the Society of Microbiology. His research interests encompassed milk, bacteriophage, surface tension; scarlet and undulant fever, dissociation, intestinal flora, disinfectants, biologic products, immunology and education, and was the author of many articles on the above subjects, and two books, Applied Medical Bacteriology (1947; 1949), and Crusader Undaunted: Dr. J.C. Geiger, Private Physician to the Public (New York: Macmillan, 1958). He served as consultant to the laboratories of the San Francisco Department of Public Health.