This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Albert Schatz (scientist) is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
| Albert Schatz | |
 |
|
| Born | February 2, 1922 |
|---|---|
| Died | January 17, 2005 (aged 84) Philadelphia |
| Cause of death | Pancreatic cancer |
| Occupation | Scientist |
| Employer | Rutgers (1943) Temple University (1969) |
| Known for | Streptomycin |
| Partner | Selman Waksman |
Albert Schatz (2 February 1922 – 17 January 2005) was a scientist who was eventually named the discoverer of streptomycin, an antibiotic remedy used to treat tuberculosis and a number of other diseases.
Contents |
Early life and education
Schatz was born in Norwich, Connecticut of Jewish-Russian and English parents and was raised on a farm [1]. In 1943 Schatz returned to graduate school and took the dangerous job of looking for an antibiotic for tuberculosis, working alone in a basement laboratory at Cook College in Rutgers University. According to coworker and friend Professor George Pieczenik, of Rutgers University, Shatz was known to sleep in his basement laboratory. Upon marrying his wife, due partially to Shatz' dedication to his science and largely to their lack of money, the couple was forced to move a bed into the lab, which was so small that the two had to "lean it against the wall just so that it would fit". After 3 months of these conditions, Schatz isolated two strains of Actinobacteria, which could effectively cease the growth of several penicillin-resistant bacteria, on October 19, 1943. 1
Career
Originally, the discovery of streptomycin was credited only to Schatz's supervisor, Selman Waksman, who would later receive a Nobel Prize in 1952 for this work. Schatz, however, strongly contested the crediting and in 1950 brought litigation against Waksman, requesting recognition as streptomycin's co-discoverer and a portion of streptomycin royalties. Schatz's requests were eventually granted in an out-of-court settlement.
Dr. Schatz held faculty positions at Brooklyn College; the National Agricultural College in Doylestown, Pennsylvania; the University of Chile; and joined the Temple University faculty in 1969. He retired from Temple University in 1980.
Schatz was awarded the Rutgers medal in 1994 for his work on developing streptomycin.
Schatz was a socialist, an active environmentalist and was involved in local welfare, co-operatives and community recycling projects. An example of his community involvement is that until two years before his death, Schatz volunteered at the nearby Weavers Way (co-op) sharpening knives.
In 2004, author Inge Auerbacher co-wrote the book Finding Dr. Schatz: The Discovery of Streptomycin and a Life It Saved with Schatz. The book chronicled his discovery of streptomycin and meeting Auerbacher, a holocaust survivor and recipient of his antibiotic. A documentary by the same name "Finding Dr. Schatz", directed by Richard Colosi from Rochester, NY will be released in 2009.
Schatz died from pancreatic cancer at his home in Philadelphia in 2005.
Albert Schatz's archives have been donated to the Temple University Library.
External links
- The Guardian article on Albert Schatz
- Memoirs at Rutgers Oral History Archives
- Schatz on fluoridation
- Weavers Way Co-op.
- San Diego Union-Tribune obituary
- Rutgers Focus obituary
- Streptomycin, Schatz v. Waksman, and the Balance of Credit for Discovery
- The Official Website for Albert Schatz, Ph. D.
References
- ^ "Time, and the great healer.", The Guardian. Retrieved on 17 April 2008. "In 1943, a young research scientist found a cure for TB. It should have been the proudest moment of Albert Schatz's life, but ever since he has watched, helpless, as another man got all the credit"
 This biographical article related to medicine in the United States is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 23 November 2008, at 00:59.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Albert Schatz (scientist)".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.