Robbins (Robbins), Charles Frederick

genus. August 25, 1916
American bacteriologist Frederick Chapman Robbins was born in Auburn (Alabama). His parents were William Robbins, a specialist in plant physiology, who later became director of the New York Botanical Garden, and Kristina Robbins (Chapman), who worked before marriage researcher in the field of botany. The family had three brothers, Frederick was a senior. Childhood P. held in Columbia (Missouri), where his father worked as a professor of botany at the University of Missouri. In 1936, Mr.. R., interested in science, especially medicine, received a Bachelor of Arts degree, and in 1938. - Bachelor of Science at the University of Missouri. After graduation, R. entered Harvard Medical College. In a college dorm he lived in the same room with his classmate, Thomas X. Weller. In 1940. R. graduated from medical college and began to specialize in bacteriology at the Children's Medical Center hospital in Boston, and in 1941 ... 1942. worked as an intern.
In 1942, Mr.. R. and Weller arrived at the military medical service and were sent to the 15 th overall medical laboratory. Here P. As head of the department of viral and rickettsial diseases headed the laboratory diagnosis of viral lesions and studied the diseases caused by viruses and rickettsia. Studies of these two types of microorganisms are similar in that respect, . that viruses, . and rickettsiae are parasites and can exist only in the cells of the host (although rickettsia are bacteria and viruses are different from both the size, . and the complexity of the organization),
. In connection with studies that P. conducted during the war, he was sent to North Africa and Italy, where he majored in infectious hepatitis and typhoid, and identified rickettsia causing Ku fever - an infectious disease similar to viral pneumonia. In 1945, Mr.. He was awarded a bronze medal "For Distinguished Service ', and in 1946. discharged with the rank of Major.
In 1946, Mr.. R. returned to the Children's Hospital Boston and two years later graduated from training in pediatrics. At that time, his friend, Weller has also worked at the hospital in the department of infectious disease research, led by John Anders. After some time, P. received a national scholarship for leading researchers and on the advice Weller joined the department Enders.
Since viruses can only exist in cells, their study has been largely due to problems with tissue culture (ie. cells of living organisms in vitro). Weller was engaged in research of the virus of mumps and chicken pox, and P. tried to isolate the virus that causes infant diarrhea epidemic - a dangerous disease, often occurring in children's hospitals. While none of the staff Enders has not engaged in the study of poliomyelitis.
In 40-ies. Polio was the most dangerous of all viral diseases. In the XX century. incidence of other viral infections has gradually decreased, whereas polio, by contrast, became increasingly common disease. Currently, scientists believe, . that the transformation of polio in severe disease was the result of some kind of improvement in health care: before, they only hurt little children, . and the prognosis was relatively favorable, . and with the improvement of sanitary conditions, many people began to sicken them in 10 ... 20 years, . in this age of polio leads to serious complications.,
. Studies polio was slow
. The virus that causes the disease, was first isolated by Karl Landsteiner in 1908, Mr.. However, only one of three types of this virus can be cultivated in mice or other laboratory animals are available while the remaining two existed only in apes and humans. In earlier studies have found that the polio virus is neurotropic, ie. can grow only in nervous tissue. Cultivating this tissue in the quantities needed for experimental work, it is difficult. However, Enders questioned the very nature of the neurotropic virus of poliomyelitis. He found that patients with the number of viruses excreted in urine and feces, much more than if they had bred only in the nervous system.
Meanwhile, Enders, R. Weller and significantly improved methods of cultivation of cells in tissue culture. In studying mumps Enders and Weller have shown that viruses can multiply in cultured cells. R. for their first works on childhood diarrhea produced tissue culture mouse intestine, and Weller used a culture of human cells for the cultivation of the virus, varicella. Subsequently, the researchers wrote that 'as a result have been established and were always ready to use similar culture and at the same time in the next cell kept the culture of the poliomyelitis virus Lansing-strain. Once we realized that everything is ready, without any extra effort in order to again try to grow the polio virus is not in the culture of nervous tissue '.
Attempt made by scientists, successful. In 1948, Mr.. R., Enders and Weller found that the polio virus can be grown in laboratory cultures of human tissue, even in the absence of nerve cells. This otkrytis was very important for the treatment of poliomyelitis in humans.
Until that time for the diagnosis of polio extracts of tissues or body fluids of patients were introduced into the brain of monkeys to study the development of their pathological symptoms. This required much time, effort and cost. R. and his colleagues using the new techniques were able to obtain growth of the virus in culture, eight days after sowing. As these techniques become known, other researchers are also convinced that for the experiments instead of laboratory animals can be used tissue culture. It became possible not only to grow viruses, but also to change the culture to assess the degree of virulence of a strain. It was also found that the tissue can be protected against virus infection with serum obtained from patients with poliomyelitis. Because the antibodies in these sera were tipospetsifichnymi, this discovery was very important to study different types of polio virus in human populations.
. In the method of cultivation, . developed by R., . Enders and Weller, . to protect the culture of a bacterial infection antibiotics are used, . that allowed to grow the polio virus, even from samples, . much infected by other microorganisms,
. Apparently, without antibiotics, this method would have been impossible. Subsequently, the researchers wrote that the 'discovery of antibiotics has made a real revolution not only in tissue culture, but also in many other areas. This is another example of how one discovery leads to another '.
The discovery of antibiotics helped, R., Enders and Weller in the work, then study them in turn, made a significant step in developing a vaccine against polio. In 1954, Mr.. he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for his discovery of the ability to grow the polio virus in cultures of various tissues'. In the congratulatory speech researcher at the Karolinska Institute, Sven Gard called the message of scientists from 1949. 'article, concise volume, but the sensational content'. He also added that the successful cultivation of poliomyelitis virus in cultures of human tissues in vitro 'opened a new epoch in the history of virology'.
In 1952, Mr.. R. was appointed professor of pediatrics at the Medical School, University of Western Reserve (now University of Case-Western Reserve) and from 1966 to 1980. was dean of the school. Subsequently, he moved to Bethesda (Maryland), where up to 1985. worked as director of the Institute of Medicine.
In 1948, Mr.. R. married Alice Nor trails, worked as a researcher. Two of their daughters - both children and granddaughter of Nobel laureates: the father of Alice Northrop, John X. Northrop, in 1946. was awarded (in collaboration) of the Nobel Prize in chemistry.
P. is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Philosophical Society. In 1961. He was elected president of the Society for Pediatric Research. In 1953, Mr.. He together with Weller was awarded the Mead Johnson Award of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He was awarded an honorary doctorate degree, John Carroll University in Cleveland and the University of Missouri and New Mexico.