Jonas Salk, MD

Born: October 28, 1914
Died: June 23, 1995

Major Contribution:

Jonas Salk is known best as the developer of the first successful vaccine against poliomyelitis. The vaccine contains inactivated ("killed") poliovirus and is given by injection.

Other Information:

Brief Biography: Jonas Salk was born in New York City. He grew up in East Harlem and the Bronx. He entered City College at 15 and graduated in 1934 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He completed medical school at New York University in 1939. During his last year in medical school, he became friends with Dr. Thomas Francis, chairman of the Department of Bacteriology, who was conducting important research on influenza and other diseases. Salk worked with him for nine months following his graduation from medical school. Salk then undertook a two-year internship at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, which he completed in 1942.

Salk worked again with Thomas Francis at the University of Michigan, where they developed the first successful influenza vaccine. Salk then became Associate Research Professor of Bacteriology at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Medicine (1947).

Salk's early work at Pittsburgh was a continuation of his Michigan influenza vaccine research. Next, he focused on carrying out part of the systematic classification of the various strains of poliovirus. As that program neared completion, he began research on a vaccine for the prevention of polio. The central element in Salk's efforts was the development of a non-infectious, or "killed virus", vaccine. He used tissue-culture methods to produce the poliovirus and employed a formaldehyde solution to inactivate it.

By June of 1952, he and his team had developed what they considered to be a promising experimental polio vaccine, and began testing the vaccine in local children. A massive, nationwide field trial of the vaccine, involving a total of 1,831,702 children in grades one through three, began on April 26, 1954. 441,131 children received the Salk vaccine, 201,229 were injected with a placebo, and the remainder served as uninjected controls. The field trial was coordinated by Thomas Francis at the University of Michigan, who reached the conclusion that the vaccine was “safe, effective, and potent”. Francis presented his report in Ann Arbor on April 12, 1955, coincidentally the tenth anniversary of the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who himself had been a victim of polio. Salk's work was funded by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, which raised money from the public through its “March of Dimes” campaign.

By the end of April 1955, around 5 million children had been inoculated with commercially produced Salk vaccine. Unfortunately, a large batch of vaccine manufactured by Cutter Laboratories (Berkeley, California) actually caused polio in 250 cases. The Cutter vaccine was taken off the market and more stringent specifications for the manufacture of the vaccine were put in place. On May 27, 1955, the Surgeon-General announced that the vaccination program could be resumed.

Although Salk's inactivated vaccine was successful in combating polio, other researchers, most notably Hilary Koprowski and Albert Sabin, had been exploring live, attentuated (weakened) poliovirus vaccines. They felt that a killed-virus vaccine like Salk's would not be as effective at preventing polio. Sabin’s oral vaccine was fully licensed in the U.S.in 1962.

By 1960 Salk had chosen San Diego as the site for what would become the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. A substantial amount of start-up funds came from the National Foundation-March of Dimes. He served as Director of the Salk Institute from 1963-1975.

Salk also conducted important research on the prevention and treatment of influenza, multiple sclerosis, cancer, and acquired immune deficiency syndrome. In his later years he wrote and lectured extensively on an evolutionary perspective to provide insight on ways to improve the human condition.

Location of papers:
Salk Archives
Mandeville Special Collections Library
University of California San Diego Libraries 0175S
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA 92093-0175
858-534-2533
858-534-5950 fax
spcoll@ucsd.edu

See Mandeville Special Collections Library for links to the on-line register to the Salk papers (1926–1991), most of which refer to his time at the University of Pittsburgh. The collection is restricted. Send requests to spcoll@ucsd.edu.

Additional Resources: The Jonas Salk Center, representing the family of Jonas Salk, manages his historical and educational legacy. The site provides resources for teachers and students, research services, biographical sketches, and a bibliography of important journal articles and other publications. Jonas Salk Licensing manages copyrights, rights of publicity (use of name, voice, photograph or other image) and other intellectual property rights on behalf of the family of Jonas Salk. Email Info@Jonas-Salk.org.

The Salk Institute publication, Inside Salk, commemorates the 100th anniversary of Salk's birth.