General History | School of Public Health

Jonas Salk

Jonas Salk began his studies at the New York University School of Medicine. The first person to attend college within his family, he was driven and eager to work. His career started as a scientist physician at Mount Sinai Hospital. After working for a few years, Salk returned to University to further his studies. At the University of Michigan, Salk was mentored by Thomas Francis JR. Here the two were able to research influenza and subsequent vaccine development.

After developing his skills and knowledge in vaccinology in 1947, Salk accepted a position as the director of the Virus Research Laboratory at the University School of Pittsburgh. Obtaining funding from the NFIP (National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis) Salk re-directed his professional efforts towards the disease of poliomyelitis.

Jonas Salk and Pitt Schools of the Health Sciences

Appointed in 1948, Jonas Salk Began his work on Polio through the newly created school of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh. Salk’s lab was facilitated at the now Dentistry and Pharmacy schools. To show recognition of the great scientific strides made here, this location is now formally referred to as Salk Hall. Over the next few years, Salk appointed an incredible research team, with whom he successfully developed a killed virus vaccine against polio.

Beginning by inoculating himself, family, lab team, volunteers, and local school children, Salk was able to spread relief and safety to Pittsburgh before the national vaccination campaign was implemented.

Jonas Salk and Lab Team

Julius Younger, Senior Scientist

Elsie Ward, Lab Technician

Byron Bennett and Frank T. Buscheck, Research Assistants

Ethel Bailey, Research Assistant

Lab Technicians

Salk and Poliomyelitis

At its peak in the 1940s and 1950s poliomyelitis, also known as infantile paralysis, was an incredibly feared disease that killed or paralyzed millions of children and adults yearly. Summer epidemics of polio among children threatened cities across the country, including Pittsburgh.

With the goal of minimizing polio’s scourge, Salk and his team, alongside other laboratories across the country, collected and examined samples of polio in order to identify the various strains of the virus. Once all three types of poliovirus were identified, Salk and his team began to develop their vaccine.

Salk’s vaccine was unlike any others of the time. Live vaccines were common practice, and many were afraid of the possibility of a killed virus vaccine. However, Salk understood the effects of this infectious disease. With polio already at epidemic status, the potential for spreading disease, no matter how minute, was not a risk he was willing to take.

Deciding to face national fear and scientific scrutiny, Salk developed a killed vaccine effective on all 3 types of Polio. Salk’s killed vaccine was administered through a shot, unlike Sabin’s later vaccine. Sabin administered his live vaccine orally through a sugar cube. Although Sabin’s vaccine was less costly in production, it did not represent the same certainty as Salk’s.

Pittsburgh and Polio

The first volunteers in the world to be given the vaccine long lines of children being vaccinated

were patients at the D.T. Watson Home in Sewickley, PA. These studies are known as phase I trials. At D.T. Watson safety and dose findings were made possible. During this same time, trials occurred at the Polk School in Venango and Leetsdale County. In total, these first phase trials were completed with the volunteering of over 630 brave individuals.

After this success, phase II trials in school children could begin. For this, Salk engaged local Pittsburgh area public, parochial, and private schools. During phase II process, first, second, and third grade school children in the Pittsburgh area were put into two groups

Vaccine A Participants - 5,409 children who were vaccinated and periodically checked for safety and development of antibodies

Extended Phase Participants - 5,373 participants vaccinated with a serum manufactured outside of Salk's laboratory who were also periodically checked for antibodies.

Both phase II groups were found successful!

In total, 7,500 Pittsburgh school children were given the earliest versions of the vaccine months before the national trial. Salk was able to spread relief and immunization locally due to this contribution. Without this city's courage and willingness to band together to fight Polio, Jonas Salk's legacy may not be remembered today. Salk's vaccine is Pittsburgh's vaccine.

National Vaccine Trials

The Salk team then served as a laboratory reference for the large 1954-1955 Phase III Field Trial of the Salk vaccine. Phase III was carried out by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis among 1.8 million school children nationwide.

Participants in this large national trial earned the team consulting

sobriquet “Polio Pioneer.” There were four Phase III Field Trial sites in Pennsylvania, in Center, Clinton, McKean, and Mercer Counties, all small counties distant from Pittsburgh with participants equating to 5,655.

Pittsburgh was not a site for the Phase III Field trial, so no one in Pittsburgh was an official “Polio Pioneer.” When the Phase III Field Trial was completed and announced to be safe and effective in 1955, the Salk vaccine was immediately licensed and distributed.