Selman Waksman
Soil microbiologist who discovered streptomycin and other antibiotics.
Last updated
via Wikipedia: Sergei Winogradsky · see source
Selman Waksman was a Russian-born biochemist and microbiologist who discovered several antibiotics from soil organisms.[1] He received the 1952 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his systematic studies of soil microbes that led to streptomycin.[2] Waksman's work also included founding the Waksman Institute of Microbiology at Rutgers University.[3]
Life and work
Waksman was born on July 22, 1888, in Priluka, near Kiev, Russia, to Jacob Waksman and Fradia London.[4] He emigrated to the United States in 1910 after receiving his diploma from the Fifth Gymnasium in Odessa.[4] Waksman became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1916 and earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of California in 1918.[4] Waksman married Deborah B. Mitnik, and they had one son, Byron H. Waksman, who became a professor at Harvard and Yale.[4]
Streptomycin was the initial antibiotic used to cure tuberculosis and the first medication effective against gram-negative bacteria.[5]
What the cited sources add
A 2021 article in Lady Science notes that Merck & Co. funded Waksman's lab at Rutgers University.[6] The same source states that Albert Schatz, a doctoral student, and Elizabeth Bugie, a master's student, co-discovered streptomycin with Waksman in 1944.[6] Bugie's name was not on the patent application, and she signed an affidavit stating she had no role in discovering streptomycin.[6] The lawsuit between Schatz and Waksman was settled with Rutgers receiving 80 percent of royalties, Waksman 10 percent, and Schatz 3 percent.[6]
Waksman alone received the 1952 Nobel Prize for the streptomycin discovery.[6] He and his wife established the Foundation for Microbiology to support research and publications worldwide.[4]
References
- Wikipedia, "Selman Waksman" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Books, "A Dictionary of Scientists", Oxford University Press, 1 January 2003; Books, "Who's Who in the Twentieth Century", Oxford University Press, 1 January 2003 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Selman Waksman" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Foundation and Its History", waksman-foundation.org; "Dr. Selman Waksman", The Waksman Institute at Rutgers (No further authorship information available); "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1952", www.nobelprize.org; Kingston, "Streptomycin, Schatz v. Waksman, and the balance of credit for discovery", Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, 2004-07-01, p. 441–462; "Nobelprize.org", www.nobelprize.org; Milton., "Streptomycin : discovery and resultant controversy", [Verlag nicht ermittelbar], 1991; Pringle, "No en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Selman Waksman" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kingston, "Streptomycin, Schatz v. Waksman, and the balance of credit for discovery", Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, 2004-07-01, p. 441–462 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "Selman A. Waksman - Biographical", nobelprize.org. facts only, no text reused. nobelprize.org
- Wikipedia, "Selman Waksman" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Selman Waksman and Antibiotics", National Historic Chemical Landmarks (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "The Forgotten Women of the Antibiotics Race", Lady Science, 22 July 2021. facts only, no text reused. ladyscience.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Selman Waksman (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Selman Waksman (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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