Saul Krugman - Biography

Not to be confused with Paul Krugman.

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

Early Years and Education

The son of Russian Jewish 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.

Career

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 . The ethical concerns of the study were acknowledged by Krugman and Ward (1958) 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 have been widely debated and continue to challenge students of bioethics.

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

See also

• Human experimentation in the United States

External links

• Saul Krugman, M. D.: Physician, Scientist, Teacher