Prince was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. After graduating as valedictorian from Dixie College (St. George, Utah), he served a two-year missioninBrazil for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) at age 19.[2] Upon returning to the United States in 1969, Prince attended graduate school at the University of California, Los Angeles, receiving a D.D.S. (valedictorian) in 1973 and a Ph.D.inpathology in 1975. In 1975 he and his wife, JaLynn Rasmussen, moved to Washington D.C., for a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health. After spending more than a decade at NIH and Johns Hopkins University, he co-founded Virion Systems, Inc. (VSI), a biotechnology company focused on the prevention and treatment of pediatric infectious diseases. Building on discoveries that Prince made as a doctoral student, VSI pioneered the prevention of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) disease in high-risk infants through the use of monoclonal antibody. (RSV is the primary cause of infant pneumonia throughout the world.) VSI's technologies were licensed to MedImmune, Inc., and the collaborative efforts of the two companies and other partners resulted in the approval by the U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationofSynagis, a drug that is currently given to approximately a quarter-million high-risk infants throughout the world each year. In 2020, Prince became CEO of Soft Cell Biological Research, Inc. and its subsidiary company, Soft Cell Labs, Inc. Both labs focus on the role of L-form bacteria (bacteria that shed their cell walls and thus become capable of evading the immune system) in chronic human diseases.
In 2008, Prince and his wife established the Madison House Autism Foundation, named after their youngest son who is autistic, for the purpose of addressing the perplexing issues facing adults with autism, along with those facing family members, caregivers and society at large.
Prince serves on the boards of several non-profit institutions including the National Advisory Council, Utah Tech University; the Dean's Advisory Council, University of Utah School of Dentistry; and the Board of Governors, Wesley Theological Seminary.
In recognition of his lifetime achievements, Prince was inducted into the Dixie State College Hall of Fame in 1999, and in 2012 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities by the same institution. In 2013 he was named Alumnus of the Year of the UCLA School of Dentistry, and in 2017 he was given the Distinguished Service Award by Utah State University.
Prince is the author of over 150 scientific publications in the field of infectious diseases, the majority dealing with RSV. He has also published several articles on religious history and theology, as well as five books in the same field: Having Authority: The Origins and Development of Priesthood During the Ministry of Joseph Smith (1993); Power from On High: The Development of Mormon Priesthood (1995); David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism (2005), co-authored with William Robert Wright; Leonard Arrington and the Writing of Mormon History (2016); and Gay Rights and the Mormon Church: Intended Actions, Unintended Consequences (2019). The McKay book was the recipient of four prestigious awards, and the Arrington book received the Evans Biography Award. In 2023, he was given the Leonard J. Arrington Award for Lifetime Achievement by the Mormon History Association, the highest award given by that organization.
Val G. Hemming; Gregory A. Prince (May–June 1990). "Immunoprophylaxis of Infections with Respiratory Syncytial Virus: Observations and Hypothesis [with Discussion]". Reviews of Infectious Diseases. 83 (6): S470–S475.
Gregory A. Prince; Jean-Paul Prieels; Moncef Slaoui; David D. Porter (1999). "Pulmonary Lesions in Primary Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection, Reinfection, and Vaccine-Enhanced Disease in the Cotton Rat (Sigmodon hispidus)". Laboratory Investigation (11). United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology: 1385.
Gregory A. Prince; Amy Mathews; Spencer J. Curtis; David D. Porter (2000). "Treatment of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Bronchiolitis and Pneumonia in a Cotton Rat Model with Systemically Administered Monoclonal Antibody (Palivizumab) and Glucocorticosteroid". The Journal of Infectious Diseases (5): 1326.
Gregory A. Prince; Carine Capiau; Marguerite Deschamps; Luc Fabry; Nathalie Garcon; Dirk Gheysen; Jean-Paul Prieels; Georges Thiry; Omer Van Opstal; David D. Porter (2000). "VACCINES AND ANTIVIRAL AGENTS - Efficacy and Safety Studies of a Recombinant Chimeric Respiratory Syncytial Virus FG Glycoprotein Vaccine in Cotton Rats". Journal of Virology (22): 10287.
Gregory A. Prince; Amy Mathews; Spencer J. Curtis; David D. Porter (2001). "CORRESPONDENCE - Reply - Neutralizing Antiviral Antibodies Reduce Hematogenic Viral Spread but Not Antiviral Cytotoxic T Cell Induction and Subsequent Immunopathology". The Journal of Infectious Diseases (9): 1426.
Gregory A. Prince; Martin G. Ottolini; Anne Moscona (2001). "PATHOGENESIS AND IMMUNITY - Contribution of the Human Parainfluenza Virus Type 3 HN-Receptor Interaction to Pathogenesis In Vivo". Journal of Virology (24): 12446.
Gregory A. Prince; James J. Mond; David D. Porter; Kevin C. Yim; Steve J. Lan; Dennis M. Klinman (2003). "VACCINES AND ANTIVIRAL AGENTS - Immunoprotective Activity and Safety of a Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccine: Mucosal Delivery of Fusion Glycoprotein with a CpG Oligodeoxynucleotide Adjuvant". Journal of Virology (24): 13156.
Maryna C. Eichelberger; Gregory A. Prince; Martin G. Ottolini (2004). "Influenza-induced tachypnea is prevented in immune cotton rats, but cannot be treated with an anti-inflammatory steroid or a neuraminidase inhibitor". Virology. 322 (2): 300–7. doi:10.1016/j.virol.2004.01.032. PMID15110527.
Marie-Ève Hamelin; Gregory A. Prince; Ana M. Gomez; Richard Kinkead; Guy Boivin (2006). "Human Metapneumovirus Infection Induces Long-Term Pulmonary Inflammation Associated with Airway Obstruction and Hyperresponsiveness in Mice". The Journal of Infectious Diseases (12): 1634.
"A Turbulent Coexistence: Duane Hunt, David O. McKay, and a Quarter-Century of Catholic-Mormon Relations". Journal of Mormon History. 31 (1): 142–63. Spring 2005.