Bacterial Breakthrough

 Illnesses have been around on this earth for years and years. In the ancient times there was not the knowledge we have now of all the medications we have discovered and created. As many diseases present themselves over time on the unknowing population there are people who arise from the crowd and chose to take on the issue at hand. One person we have to thank for stepping up in a time of need is Selman Waksman. Mr. Waksman is the discoverer of the antibiotics we heavily use today for maintenance and cure of bacterial infections that have been discovered, researched and named.

Selman Waksman was born July 22^nd, 1888 in Priluka (“Selman”). His parents were Jacob Waksman and Fradia London. Waksman parents went about his schooling in a private manner; his education was through private tutors and school training also was with private tutors. I always wondered about the argument public versus private education, which one is better. After he completed his private schooling and received his matriculation diploma in 1910 he came to the United States. Waksman received his bachelor’s degree in science in 1915 from Rutgers College.  He obtained his master’s degree in science in 1916 from the same school while he did his graduate work at the New Jersey Agriculture Experiment Station (“Selman”). He received his PhD. in Biochemistry in 1918 from the University of California. I want to follow his path of schooling. He continually went back to school after receiving each of his degrees. I would like to do that too. No “taking a break” after I get the first degree just hard working back to back.

He returned to the college he received his first two degrees from and by 1940 he was the Professor of Microbiology and the Head of the department. Following this achievement in 1949 he was made the Director of the Institute of Microbiology of Rutgers College (“Selman”). In 1943 Selman Waksman discovered antibiotics from the Genus Streptomyces soil. He yielded over 500 antibiotics from this soil. Some are streptomycin, neomycin. Waksman retired from his life of science in 1958. After all of his contributions and hard work to the medical field and mainly science field he died August 16, 1973.  Waksman was married to Deborah Mintik. Together they started the Foundation for Microbiology which supported the research of microbiology at various institutions of the world (“Selman”). They had one son Byron Waksman who followed in is father footsteps and became the Professor of Microbiology at Yale University Medical School.

 

 

"Selman A. Waksman -Biography." .N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2013.