John R. Paul
Encyclopedia
John Rodman Paul was an American virologist
whose research focused on the spread of polio and the development of treatments for the disease.
and received his medical training at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
, which awarded him an M.D. degree. He began his career as an assistant pathologist at Johns Hopkins in 1919 and 1920, and followed that with an internship at Pennsylvania Hospital
in Philadelphia from 1920 to 1922.
In 1928, Paul joined the faculty of the Yale School of Medicine
in 1928 as a professor of internal medicine
and held the position of professor of preventive medicine
starting in 1940, which he retained until his retirement. Paul established the Yale Poliomyelitis Study Unit in 1931 together with Dr. James D. Trask, advancing the concept of "clinical epidemiology" in which the path of disease outbreaks in small communities was directly studied. Together with Trask, Paul received the first grant from the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (better known as the March of Dimes
), which was renewed each year for another 30 years. As part of the study unit, Paul went to Middletown, Connecticut
and New Haven into neighborhoods where polio was spreading and collected samples from patients in an effort to understand how the virus spread. Paul's team found that poliovirus
was excreted by people afflicted with the condition and could be found in sewage in areas that had experienced outbreaks. In a 1951 article published in The New York Times Magazine in 1951, Paul noted the improvements that had been made in treating and relieving pain in those afflicted with polio, but lamented the lack of progress in prevention of polio. He travelled to the Soviet Union
in 1956 as part of a group of five doctors who visited medical facilities there.
Paul's research also included work on hepatitis
, infectious mononucleosis
and rheumatic fever
. After his retirement from the medical school in 1961 he continued to lecture on the history of medicine. As a member of the polio advisory committee of the United States Public Health Service
, Paul joined in a 1962 recommendation that the use of an oral polio vaccine created by Dr. Albert B. Sabin in treating adults should be halted based on the lack of clinical evidence showing that the vaccine prevented those receiving the vaccine from developing the disease. In his 1971 book A History of Poliomyelitis, Paul put forth the proposition that humans had always been exposed to poliovirus
but had been protected by antibodies contained in the mothers milk, and that it was the clean water, sewer systems and improved hygiene of modern civilization that prevented children from being exposed to the virus at an early age, hypothesizing that protection would be conferred if people were exposed to the virus as infants.
A resident of the New Haven, Connecticut
suburb of Guilford
, Paul died at age 78 on May 6, 1971, at Yale – New Haven Hospital after what The New York Times
described in his obituary as a "long illness".
Virology
Virology is the study of viruses and virus-like agents: their structure, classification and evolution, their ways to infect and exploit cells for virus reproduction, the diseases they cause, the techniques to isolate and culture them, and their use in research and therapy...
whose research focused on the spread of polio and the development of treatments for the disease.
Life and achievements
Paul was born on April 18, 1893, in Philadelphia. He earned his undergraduate degree in 1915 from Princeton UniversityPrinceton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
and received his medical training at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine , located in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S., is the academic medical teaching and research arm of Johns Hopkins University. Hopkins has consistently been the nation's number one medical school in the amount of competitive research grants awarded by the National...
, which awarded him an M.D. degree. He began his career as an assistant pathologist at Johns Hopkins in 1919 and 1920, and followed that with an internship at Pennsylvania Hospital
Pennsylvania Hospital
Pennsylvania Hospital is a hospital in Center City, Philadelphia, affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania Health System . Founded on May 11, 1751 by Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Bond, it was the first hospital in the United States...
in Philadelphia from 1920 to 1922.
In 1928, Paul joined the faculty of the Yale School of Medicine
Yale School of Medicine
The Yale School of Medicine at Yale University is a private medical school located in New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. It was founded in 1810 as The Medical Institution of Yale College, and formally opened its doors in 1813....
in 1928 as a professor of internal medicine
Internal medicine
Internal medicine is the medical specialty dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. Physicians specializing in internal medicine are called internists. They are especially skilled in the management of patients who have undifferentiated or multi-system disease processes...
and held the position of professor of preventive medicine
Preventive medicine
Preventive medicine or preventive care refers to measures taken to prevent diseases, rather than curing them or treating their symptoms...
starting in 1940, which he retained until his retirement. Paul established the Yale Poliomyelitis Study Unit in 1931 together with Dr. James D. Trask, advancing the concept of "clinical epidemiology" in which the path of disease outbreaks in small communities was directly studied. Together with Trask, Paul received the first grant from the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (better known as the March of Dimes
March of Dimes
The March of Dimes Foundation is a United States nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of mothers and babies.-Organization:...
), which was renewed each year for another 30 years. As part of the study unit, Paul went to Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles south of Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated as a town under its original Indian name, Mattabeseck. It received its present name in 1653. In 1784, the central...
and New Haven into neighborhoods where polio was spreading and collected samples from patients in an effort to understand how the virus spread. Paul's team found that poliovirus
Poliovirus
Poliovirus, the causative agent of poliomyelitis, is a human enterovirus and member of the family of Picornaviridae.Poliovirus is composed of an RNA genome and a protein capsid. The genome is a single-stranded positive-sense RNA genome that is about 7500 nucleotides long. The viral particle is...
was excreted by people afflicted with the condition and could be found in sewage in areas that had experienced outbreaks. In a 1951 article published in The New York Times Magazine in 1951, Paul noted the improvements that had been made in treating and relieving pain in those afflicted with polio, but lamented the lack of progress in prevention of polio. He travelled to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1956 as part of a group of five doctors who visited medical facilities there.
Paul's research also included work on hepatitis
Hepatitis
Hepatitis is a medical condition defined by the inflammation of the liver and characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ. The name is from the Greek hepar , the root being hepat- , meaning liver, and suffix -itis, meaning "inflammation"...
, infectious mononucleosis
Infectious mononucleosis
Infectious mononucleosis is an infectious, widespread viral...
and rheumatic fever
Rheumatic fever
Rheumatic fever is an inflammatory disease that occurs following a Streptococcus pyogenes infection, such as strep throat or scarlet fever. Believed to be caused by antibody cross-reactivity that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain, the illness typically develops two to three weeks after...
. After his retirement from the medical school in 1961 he continued to lecture on the history of medicine. As a member of the polio advisory committee of the United States Public Health Service
United States Public Health Service
The Public Health Service Act of 1944 structured the United States Public Health Service as the primary division of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare , which later became the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The PHS comprises all Agency Divisions of Health and...
, Paul joined in a 1962 recommendation that the use of an oral polio vaccine created by Dr. Albert B. Sabin in treating adults should be halted based on the lack of clinical evidence showing that the vaccine prevented those receiving the vaccine from developing the disease. In his 1971 book A History of Poliomyelitis, Paul put forth the proposition that humans had always been exposed to poliovirus
Poliovirus
Poliovirus, the causative agent of poliomyelitis, is a human enterovirus and member of the family of Picornaviridae.Poliovirus is composed of an RNA genome and a protein capsid. The genome is a single-stranded positive-sense RNA genome that is about 7500 nucleotides long. The viral particle is...
but had been protected by antibodies contained in the mothers milk, and that it was the clean water, sewer systems and improved hygiene of modern civilization that prevented children from being exposed to the virus at an early age, hypothesizing that protection would be conferred if people were exposed to the virus as infants.
A resident of the New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
suburb of Guilford
Guilford, Connecticut
Guilford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, that borders Madison, Branford, North Branford and Durham, and is situated on I-95 and the coast. The population was 21,398 at the 2000 census...
, Paul died at age 78 on May 6, 1971, at Yale – New Haven Hospital after what The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
described in his obituary as a "long illness".
Publications
A complete list of Paul's numerous publications can be found in the NAS publication by Horstmann and Beeson pp. 347−368- A History of Poliomyelitis. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1971.
Awards
- 1945: Member of the United States National Academy of SciencesUnited States National Academy of SciencesThe National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
- 1946: Medal of Freedom
- 1946: Charles V. ChapinCharles V. ChapinCharles Value Chapin was a pioneer in public- health practice, serving as one of the Health Officers for Providence, Rhode Island between 1884 and 1932...
Award - 1950: Honorary member of the Royal Society of MedicineRoyal Society of MedicineThe Royal Society of Medicine is a British charitable organisation whose main purpose is as a provider of medical education, running over 350 meetings and conferences each year.- History and overview :...
in London - 1954: the Howard T. Rickets Award
- 1958: inducted into the Polio Hall of FamePolio Hall of FameThe Polio Hall of Fame consists of a linear grouping of sculptured busts of fifteen scientists and two laymen who made important contributions to the knowledge and treatment of poliomyelitis...
in Warm Springs, GeorgiaWarm Springs, GeorgiaWarm Springs is a city in Meriwether County, Georgia, United States. The population was 478 at the 2010 census.-History:Warm Springs first came to prominence in the 19th century as a spa town, due to its mineral springs which flow constantly at nearly 32 °C... - 1963: Kober MedalAssociation of American PhysiciansThe Association of American Physicians is a medical society founded in 1885 by the Canadian physician Sir William Osler and six other distinguished physicians of his era, for "the advancement of scientific and practical medicine." Election to the AAP is an honor extended to individuals with...
by the Association of American PhysiciansAssociation of American PhysiciansThe Association of American Physicians is a medical society founded in 1885 by the Canadian physician Sir William Osler and six other distinguished physicians of his era, for "the advancement of scientific and practical medicine." Election to the AAP is an honor extended to individuals with...
Further reading
- Dorothy M. Horstmann, Paul B. Beeson: John Rodman Paul, 1893−1971, A biographical memoir, published by The National Academy of Sciences, Washington D.C,, 1975; also online PDF