StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

Jonas Salk - Research Paper Example

Cite this document
Summary
Jonas Salk was a medical researcher and virologist who became famous for his discovery and development of the first effective polio vaccine. Salk was born to Daniel and Dora Salk on October 28, 1914 in New York City…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER96.2% of users find it useful
Jonas Salk
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Jonas Salk"

Download file to see previous pages

Salk was the oldest of three children, having two younger brothers by the names of Herman and Lee. Despite the fact that Salk’s parents, being Russian-Jewish immigrants, had not been able to receive substantial and formal education, Salk was raised to be an intellectual, brilliant young man. Salk attended the local public schools of New York, but when it was time for him to begin high school at the young age of thirteen, he was sent to Townsend Harris High School. This high school was a free alternative to the expensive private schools for intellectually gifted students, catering to intellectually talented males of immigrant parents, just like Salk (McPherson 11).

While in high school, Salk quickly became known for his intelligence and his desperate want to learn; he was constantly reading and he was one of the few students at the school who completed his four-year education in the required three, whereas most of his classmates dropped out before the three years were up. This success enabled Salk to attend City College of New York, which is one of the most competitive colleges in the United States. While Salk was in college, he worked for and obtained his Bachelor of Science degree.

Salk originally attended the college with the hopes of one day becoming a lawyer, but his mother encouraged him to take an interest in the medical field instead. After his years at CCNY, Salk was accepted into New York University School of Medicine. Although Salk remained strong in his dislike of studying medicine, he found an interest in the research and scientific aspects of the medical field. He studied biochemistry and then eventually made his primary focus bacteriology, claiming that his “desire was to help humankind in general rather than single patients (Bookchin & Schumacher 72).

” When Salk was in his final year at the medical school, he did a work study program in the laboratory of Doctor Thomas Francis, who was noted for having discovered the Type B influenza virus. Francis’ influence was great over Salk, and Salk became addicted to the field of virology. After medical school, Salk obtained an internship at New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital and continued to work in Francis’ laboratory whenever he got the chance. After his time at Mount Sinai, Salk sought for a more permanent research job, but had difficulty in doing so because of his Jewish heritage.

He was unable to be hired at Mount Sinai, as this went against their rules, and Francis had moved and could not help Salk in his job-seeking endeavors. However, Francis had extra grant money and was able to give Salk a job, enabling him to work on an army-commissioned project to develop an influenza vaccine. It was during this time that Salk “discovered and isolated one of the flu strains that was included in the final vaccine (Sherrow 31).” In 1947, Salk set out to find an institution that would allow him to take charge of his own laboratory.

He was offered space at the University of Pittsburg School of Medicine. After obtaining numerous grants, he was able to create the laboratory he required to continue his research on flu vaccines. Not too long after, Salk was offered a job to work with the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis and aid the other researchers in creating a polio vaccination, a position that Salk was only too eager to accept. Polio had been a disease that stalked the human species since 1835 and Salk was desperate to rid the world of the devastation it caused.

In the years leading up to 1955, Salk worked relentlessly to discover a safe and effective vaccination to treat the polio disease. People were so optimistic about the science that Salk was doing that, six months prior to the completion and approval of

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Jonas Salk Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved de https://studentshare.org/english/1424734-write-a-three-page-factual-report-on-the-life-and
(Jonas Salk Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words)
https://studentshare.org/english/1424734-write-a-three-page-factual-report-on-the-life-and.
“Jonas Salk Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/english/1424734-write-a-three-page-factual-report-on-the-life-and.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Jonas Salk

Architecture and the Environment Paper

If done rightly, architecture can work wonders as it has in the past; “Jonas Salk claimed that it wasn't until he left his basement lab in the States and went to clear his head in a monastery in Assisi that he became able to solve the puzzle of polio.... Human response to physical structure How physical structure affects human behavior Architecture controls human behavior....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin in Their Search for a Vaccine for Polio

In the paper “Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin in Their Search for a Vaccine for Polio” the author compares Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin.... Although Sabin tried opposed the use of salk's vaccine, we note that these men have many similarities that set them apart from other researchers.... hellip; The author states that salk's vaccine which mainly used in the U.... Notably, salk was also interested in research, in viruses that caused infectious diseases while attending his medical school at the New York University, he was invited to investigate the virus that causes the flu i....
4 Pages (1000 words) Assignment

Understanding of Modernism in Architecture: Louis Isadore Kahn

The goal of this essay "Understanding of Modernism in Architecture: Louis Isadore Kahn" is to examine how the characteristics of modernism are depicted in architecture.... Particularly, the essay will describe the role of Louis Isadore Kahn in the development of modernism in architecture.... hellip; In order to understand the role of Kahn in the development of Modernism in architecture, it would be necessary to refer primarily to the key elements of the specific trend, as they have been revealed in buildings developed between the World War I and the late 1960s, the period most influenced by Modernism....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

Leadership Assessment

This assignment "Leadership Assessment" how there are many factors to consider when picking a job.... Some may look at the compensation it offers.... Others may consider the credibility of the company.... A company that is dependable usually receives more applications from job-seekers.... hellip; These may happen inside an office or on the field....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

Teacher Faculty meeting

Keeping this in mind, I attended a teacher faculty meeting taking place in Jonas Salk Elementary School on October 16, 2014.... Competency and quality of education system is one of the key factors ensuring development of the nation, training of professional of high level that would be able to contribute to well-being of the country....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Louis Kahn, Salk Institute, La Jolla, California, 1959-1965

Jonas Salk founded it in the year 1959; he was popular at that time because he founded the polio vaccine.... Jonas Salk foundedit in the year 1959; he was popular at that time because he founded the polio vaccine.... salk wanted to develop a facility that would enable researchers to study the basic… He hoped that the salk Institute would create a space where biologists and their counterparts would work in harmony (The salk Institute and Elsewhere)....
1 Pages (250 words) Assignment

Architecture and Environment

Jonas Salk proved that the design of the room and the environment has a very discerning effect on the human thought processes and moods.... At that time he was working on the cure for polio in a dark basement laboratory and was stuck at some… To gain insights and freshen up his mind he went to a monastery and was struck with new ideas one of which lead to his awarded polio vaccine....
4 Pages (1000 words) Assignment

The Life of Wilma Rudolph

Jonas Salk created the polio vaccine in 1955 (Smith 2). Wilma started wearing steel brace on her left leg when she was five.... The paper “The Life of Wilma Rudolph” discusses the life of Wilma Rudolf.... She was born prematurely at seven months, weighing only four and a half pounds upon delivery....
3 Pages (750 words) Term Paper
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us