Dr. Jonas Edward Salk (born October 28, 1914 – June 23, 1995) was an American virologist, medical researcher, and humanitarian. Celebrated as one of the greatest saviors of human life in modern history, Salk developed the first safe and effective polio vaccine in 1953. In an act of unparalleled moral generosity, when famously asked who owned the patent to the life-saving vaccine, Salk replied: "Well, the people, I would say. There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?"
New York Roots to Virus Research at Pittsburgh
Born in New York City to immigrant parents, Salk worked his way through the City College of New York and earned his medical degree from the New York University School of Medicine in 1939. Turning away from lucrative private clinical practice to pursue academic medical research, Salk collaborated with Dr. Thomas Francis Jr. at the University of Michigan to develop the first operational influenza vaccines for the U.S. Army during World War II.
The Conquering of Polio: The Inactivated Vaccine (1953–1955)
In 1947, Salk was appointed director of the Virus Research Laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. At the time, poliomyelitis was the most terrifying epidemic facing the Western world, paralyzing tens of thousands of children every summer and confining victims to mechanical "iron lungs."
Defying scientific consensus that claimed only live-attenuated viruses could confer immunity, Salk developed an inactivated (killed-virus) vaccine using formaldehyde. Following successful tests on monkeys, himself, his wife, and his three sons, the massive 1954 national field trial tested 1.8 million children ("Polio Pioneers"). On April 12, 1955, the vaccine was declared "safe, effective, and potent." Within years, polio cases plummeted by over 95%.
The Salk Institute for Biological Studies
In 1963, Salk realized his dream of establishing a collaborative sanctuary where scientists and humanists could work together on biomedical frontiers. Partnering with visionary architect Louis Kahn, he founded the world-renowned Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, which has produced over a dozen Nobel laureates. In his later years, Salk worked tirelessly on developing an immunotherapy vaccine against HIV/AIDS.
