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Jonas Edward Salk ( / sɔːlk /; born Jonas Salk; October 28, 1914 – June 23, 1995) was an American virologist and medical researcher who developed one of the first successful polio vaccines. He was born in New York City and attended the City College of New York and New York University School of Medicine.
Learn about Jonas Salk, the scientist who developed the polio vaccine and founded the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Discover his life story, his research, his legacy and his quote.
May 20, 2021 · Learn about Jonas Salk, the American physician who created the first polio vaccine in 1955. Find out about his life, education, research, books and legacy.
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- Staff Editorial Team And Contributors
- Although polio was the most feared disease of the 20th century, it was hardly the deadliest. “Polio was never the raging epidemic portrayed in the media, not even at its height in the 1940s and 1950s,” writes David M. Oshinsky in his Pulitzer Prize-winning book “Polio: An American Story.”
- Franklin D. Roosevelt proved instrumental in the vaccine’s development. A year after his nomination as a Democratic vice presidential candidate, rising political star Franklin D. Roosevelt contracted polio while vacationing at his summer home on Campobello Island in 1921.
- Salk challenged prevailing scientific orthodoxy in his vaccine development. Elvis Presley makes an appearance in support of the March of Dimes, 1950s.
- Salk tested the vaccine on himself and his family. After successfully inoculating thousands of monkeys, Salk began the risky step of testing the vaccine on humans in 1952.
However, the poliovirus is on the verge of global eradication today – an astounding achievement of modern medicine. Jonas Salk played a pivotal role in achieving this success by being the first to devise and implement a safe and effective vaccine against polio.
- Siang Yong Tan, Nate Ponstein
- 2019
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Jun 23, 2016 · Scientists racing to develop a vaccine against Zika virus disease this summer may be hoping for results like those of Dr. Jonas Salk, creator of the first successful vaccine against...
Oct 28, 2020 · The founder of the Salk Institute, who developed the polio vaccine, is celebrated on his 106th birthday during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Institute continues his legacy of scientific research on various challenges, including climate change, cancer and aging.
