Portrait: Coincidences, convergences and opportunities

Born in 1944, I grew up in a world in which polio was both a gripping fear and real threat. Then in a matter of a few years—polio was eradicated by a vaccine developed by Jonas Salk. Later I learned that Salk’s efforts were built on pioneering work of many others, including John Enders, Thomas Weller and Frederick Robbins (Nobelists, 1954), and David Bodian, who pioneered studies of polio pathogenesis and immunity. Bodian became my teacher in medical school, and Robbins became a colleague. Later, Salk, Robbins and I shared a platform at an infectious diseases symposium, and I was privileged to speak at Robbins’ retirement. But that gets ahead of my story. In January 1956, at age 12 y, I received my first of dose of the “Salk” vaccine. Other kids had pictures of athletes in their rooms; I had a picture of Jonas Salk.