Jonas Edward Salk was born on October 28, 1914 in New York City. His parents, who were uneducated, were determined to help Salk succeed in school and they were very encouraging throughout his life. He was the first in their family to attend college. He started at City College of New York with the intention of studying law, however he quickly became interested in medicine and science. He went on to medical school at New York University and there, in 1938, he began working with microbiologist Thomas Francis, Jr., who was looking for an influenza vaccine. Working together they developed one that was used for the army during World War II.
        Salk began his immunology research in 1938 at New York University and he later participated in a program at the University of Pittsburgh to identify the known strains of polio virus. While at the University of Pittsburgh, with the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, gave Salk the opportunity to study polio  and work to develop a vaccine against polio.
        Polio, or poliomythelitis, is a very dangerous virus.Viruses reproduce by
invading healthy cell, doing this forces the cell to produce more virus
resulting in the cells death.  Although its just microscopic, the virus known as
polio, can cause life long paralysis and sometimes even death. Those who survive polio can end up being severely crippled for the rest of their lives.
        Salk devoted the next eight years to studying polio and working to find an
effective and safe vaccine. Salk grew the virus with tissue cells in bottles and
then killed them with formaldehyde. This “killed” virus mixture had the ability
to immunize without  the risk of infecting the patient. The vaccine proved
effected and it was tested nationally starting in 1954. The trial included 1,
829,916 children, and the vaccine proved to be 70 to 90 percent effective
against the disease. Shortly after the trial the vaccine was being used widely
around the world and the threat of polio became very small compared to what it
had been before the vaccine.
        When the news of the discovery got around the world Salk was known as a
“miracle worker”. He also refused to patent the vaccine because he didn’t want
to profit personally from it, he only wanted it to help people. He relieved a
Congressional Gold Medal  for his “great achievement in the field of medicine.”
        Salk’s vaccine was replaced quickly by a variation developed by Albert Sabin that could be taken orally. The oral one became popular very quickly and Salk's was used very less often. Unlike Salk’s vaccine, Sabin’s was made from “live” polio virus,instead of “killed” virus, however the cases of polio reported after that were a result of the “live” polio virus in the vaccine. Salk’s Vaccine  has begun to replace Sabin's in places like the United States.
        In 1963 Salk founded the Jonas Salk Institute for Biological studies in LaJolla California, which was used for medical and science related research. He resigned at the University of Pittsburgh to work full time at the Institute and he continued to study infectious disease. Salk also went on to write books and work with his sons, who were also studying medicine and science. He remained the director of the Institute until his death.
        Jonas Salk spent his last years searching for a vaccine against AIDS. Jonas Salk  died on June 23, 1995. He was 80 years old. Salk is best known for
developing he first successful vaccine for polio, however he also made
significant contributions to our understanding of influenza and other infectious
diseases.

Bibliography
Travers, Bridget. World of Scientific Discovery. Scientific Milestones and the
 People who Made Them Possible. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1994.
Robbins, Dr. Fred.  “The Quest For A Vaccine.” World Health Jan-Feb 1995: 14- 15.
“American Physician and Research Scientist.”  www.bena.com/lucidcafe/library/95oct/jesalk.html.
“Jonas Salk”. http://edweb.sdsu.edu/SDHS/bio/salk.htm.