1906-1993

Polish-American Microbiologist

Albert Sabin is best known for his pioneering research on poliomyelitis ("infantile paralysis") and his development of an orally administered live attenuated vaccine for the prevention of the disease. Poliomyelitis is an acute viral infection that can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis. Where the disease is common, most infections probably go unnoticed, or result in mild symptoms.

Sabin was born in Bialystok, Poland. At the end of World War I, he immigrated to the United States to escape religious persecution. His family settled in New Jersey in 1921, where he attended Patterson High School. He enrolled in the dental school at New York University, but switched to microbiology. After working in Dr. William H. Park's laboratory, Sabin was admitted to the medical school of New York University. He received his M.D. in 1931, then pursued further training as an intern...