Saul Krugman

Infobox_Scientist
name = Saul Krugman


image_width =
birth_date = 1911
birth_place = Bronx, New York, USA
death_date = 1995
nationality =
field = Medical researcher
alma_mater = Medical College of Virginia, New York University (NYU)
work_institution = New York University (NYU)
known_for = Contributions to Pediatric Infectious Diseases (textbook and primary research), Willowbrook Hepatitis Studies

Saul Krugman (1911 – 1995) was a medical researcher who discovered a vaccine against hepatitis B.

The son of Russian immigrants, Krugman was born in the Bronx in 1911. He began his undergraduate studies at Ohio State University in 1929 and, after taking time off following his junior year to earn money so he could complete his studies, graduated from the University of Richmond in 1934.

Dr. Krugman began his medical studies at the Medical College of Virginia and later went on to pursue research at the New York University (NYU). Krugman was the first to distinguish hepatitis A from hepatitis B and made great strides in describing their different characteristics and behaviors. While examining blood samples from patients with hepatitis at NYU, Krugman discovered that heating blood containing hepatitis B would kill the virus while preserving an antibody response when used as a vaccine.

In a contentious set of experiments (widely considered grossly unethical), live virus preparations were injected by Krugman and co-workers into pediatric inmates at the notoriously overcrowded Willowbrook State School in Staten Island, New York. Krugman and coworkers showed that by injecting patients upon admission to the institution with immunoglobulins, a passive immunity could be achieved [Ward, Krugman, Giles, Jacobs, and Bodansky. 1958. New England Journal of Medicine 248:407] . The ethical concerns of the study were acknowledged by Krugman and Ward (1958) [Krugman, S. and Ward, R. 1958. Clinical and Experimental Studies in Infectious Hepatitis. Pediatrics. 22:1016-1022.] These studies were sponsored by the Armed Forces Epidemiological Board, Office of the Surgeon General, U.S. Army and approved by the New York State Department of Mental Hygiene,. The ethics of the Willowbrook Studies (this was the first of many) have been widely debated [Beecher, H.K. 1966. Ethics and Clinical Research. New England Journal of Medicine 274:1354-60.] [ Krugman, S. The Willowbrook hepatitis studies revisited: ethical aspects. Reviews of Infectious Diseases. 1986 Jan-Feb;8(1):157-62. ] and continue to challenge students of bioethics.

In 1972, Krugman became the president of the American Pediatric Society.

References

External links

* [http://library.med.nyu.edu/library/eresources/featuredcollections/krugman/index.html Saul Krugman, M. D.: Physician, Scientist, Teacher]