Robert W. McCollum
Encyclopedia
Robert Wayne McCollum, Jr. (January 29, 1925 – September 13, 2010) was an American
virologist
and epidemiologist
who made pioneering studies into the nature and spread of polio, hepatitis
and mononucleosis
while at the Yale School of Medicine
, after which he served for nearly a decade as Dean of the Dartmouth Medical School
.
, and earned his undergraduate degree there in 1945 from Baylor University
. He received his medical training at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
, graduating in 1948. He did internships at NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital
in pathology
and at Vanderbilt University Hospital
in internal medicine
and completed a residency
in internal medicine at Yale – New Haven Hospital and began his career as a research assistant in preventive medicine
at Yale University
.
, McCollum isolated poliovirus
in blood samples taken from those afflicted with the disease and from their family members, verifying that the virus was present in the bloodstream before it entered the spinal cord
and caused paralysis. This discovery set the stage for the development of the polio vaccine
.
McCollum was a captain in the United States Army Medical Corps
during the Korean War
studying hemorrhagic fever at a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital
, serving from 1952 to 1954.
Attending the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
, McCollum earned a doctorate in public health in 1958. Back at Yale, McCollum and Dr. Saul Krugman
performed studies at Willowbrook State School
in Staten Island
, New York
, where they found that a form of hepatitis was spread through blood transfusions and that transmission of serum hepatitis (now known as hepatitis B) could be blocked using gamma globulin
. New York State Senator Samuel Thayer had raised ethical issues in the 1960s and had been an outspoken critic of how the Willowbrook studies were conducted and how mentally handicapped children had been used, but in 1971 stated that he was satisfied that the hepatitis research had been performed properly. McCollum found increased hepatitis risk in using the blood of paid donors. Other research isolated Epstein-Barr virus
as one of the causes of infectious mononucleosis
. McCollum was appointed Chairman of Epidemiology and Public Health in 1969.
McCollum was named dean of the Dartmouth Medical School and Professor of Community and Family Medicine in 1982, where funding for research, new endowed faculty positions and Dartmouth–Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire
were developed during his tenure. He stepped down as dean in 1990, but continued to teach until 1995.
McCollum died at age 85 on September 13, 2010, at his home in Etna, New Hampshire
due to heart failure. He was survived by his wife, the former Audrey Talmage, as well as by a daughter, a son and two grandchildren.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
virologist
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...
and epidemiologist
Epidemiology
Epidemiology is the study of health-event, health-characteristic, or health-determinant patterns in a population. It is the cornerstone method of public health research, and helps inform policy decisions and evidence-based medicine by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive...
who made pioneering studies into the nature and spread of polio, 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"...
and mononucleosis
Mononucleosis
Mononucleosis , is a disease most commonly caused by the Epstein-Barr virus . The EBV virus affects the lymphocytes- white blood cells that battle infections by attacking antibodies. Mononucleosis can also be caused by Cytomegalovirus , a herpes virus most commonly found in body fluids...
while at 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....
, after which he served for nearly a decade as Dean of the Dartmouth Medical School
Dartmouth Medical School
Dartmouth Medical School is the medical school of Dartmouth College, located in Hanover, New Hampshire, in the United States. The fourth-oldest medical school in the United States, Dartmouth Medical School was founded in 1797 by New England physician Nathan Smith and grew steadily over the course...
.
Early life and education
McCollum was born on January 29, 1925, in Waco, TexasWaco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
, and earned his undergraduate degree there in 1945 from Baylor University
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
. He 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...
, graduating in 1948. He did internships at NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital
NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital
NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital is a prominent university hospital in New York City affiliated with two Ivy League medical schools: Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons and Cornell University's Weill Medical College. It is composed of two distinct medical centers, Columbia...
in pathology
Pathology
Pathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....
and at Vanderbilt University Hospital
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
The Vanderbilt University Medical Center is a collection of several hospitals and clinics, as well as the schools of medicine and nursing associated with Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.It comprises the following units:...
in 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 completed a residency
Residency (medicine)
Residency is a stage of graduate medical training. A resident physician or resident is a person who has received a medical degree , Podiatric degree , Dental Degree and who practices...
in internal medicine at Yale – New Haven Hospital and began his career as a research assistant in preventive medicine
Preventive medicine
Preventive medicine or preventive care refers to measures taken to prevent diseases, rather than curing them or treating their symptoms...
at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
.
Medical research
Working together with Dr. Dorothy M. HorstmannDorothy M. Horstmann
Dorothy Millicent Horstmann was an American epidemiologist, virologist and pediatrician whose research on the spread of poliovirus in the human bloodstream helped set the stage for the development of the polio vaccine...
, McCollum isolated 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...
in blood samples taken from those afflicted with the disease and from their family members, verifying that the virus was present in the bloodstream before it entered the spinal cord
Spinal cord
The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular bundle of nervous tissue and support cells that extends from the brain . The brain and spinal cord together make up the central nervous system...
and caused paralysis. This discovery set the stage for the development of the polio vaccine
Polio vaccine
Two polio vaccines are used throughout the world to combat poliomyelitis . The first was developed by Jonas Salk and first tested in 1952. Announced to the world by Salk on April 12, 1955, it consists of an injected dose of inactivated poliovirus. An oral vaccine was developed by Albert Sabin...
.
McCollum was a captain in the United States Army Medical Corps
Medical Corps (United States Army)
The Medical Corps of the U.S. Army is a staff corps of the U.S. Army Medical Department consisting of commissioned medical officers – physicians with either an MD or a DO degree, at least one year of post-graduate clinical training, and a state medical license.The MC traces its earliest origins...
during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
studying hemorrhagic fever at a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital
Mobile Army Surgical Hospital
The Mobile Army Surgical Hospital refers to a United States Army medical unit serving as a fully functional hospital in a combat area of operations. The units were first established in August 1945, and were deployed during the Korean War and later conflicts. The U.S...
, serving from 1952 to 1954.
Attending the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is a constituent college of the federal University of London, specialising in public health and tropical medicine...
, McCollum earned a doctorate in public health in 1958. Back at Yale, McCollum and Dr. Saul Krugman
Saul Krugman
Not to be confused with Paul Krugman.Saul Krugman was a medical researcher who discovered a vaccine against hepatitis B.-Early Years and Education:The son of Russian Jewish immigrants, Krugman was born in the Bronx in 1911...
performed studies at Willowbrook State School
Willowbrook State School
Willowbrook State School was a state-supported institution for children with intellectual disabilities located in the Willowbrook neighborhood of Staten Island in New York City from the 1930s until 1987....
in Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where they found that a form of hepatitis was spread through blood transfusions and that transmission of serum hepatitis (now known as hepatitis B) could be blocked using gamma globulin
Gamma globulin
Gamma globulins are a class of globulins, identified by their position after serum protein electrophoresis. The most significant gamma globulins are immunoglobulins , more commonly known as antibodies, although some Igs are not gamma globulins, and some gamma globulins are not Igs.-Use as medical...
. New York State Senator Samuel Thayer had raised ethical issues in the 1960s and had been an outspoken critic of how the Willowbrook studies were conducted and how mentally handicapped children had been used, but in 1971 stated that he was satisfied that the hepatitis research had been performed properly. McCollum found increased hepatitis risk in using the blood of paid donors. Other research isolated Epstein-Barr virus
Epstein-Barr virus
The Epstein–Barr virus , also called human herpesvirus 4 , is a virus of the herpes family and is one of the most common viruses in humans. It is best known as the cause of infectious mononucleosis...
as one of the causes of infectious mononucleosis
Infectious mononucleosis
Infectious mononucleosis is an infectious, widespread viral...
. McCollum was appointed Chairman of Epidemiology and Public Health in 1969.
McCollum was named dean of the Dartmouth Medical School and Professor of Community and Family Medicine in 1982, where funding for research, new endowed faculty positions and Dartmouth–Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire
Lebanon, New Hampshire
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,568 people, 5,500 households, and 3,178 families residing in the city. The population density was 311.4 people per square mile . There were 5,707 housing units at an average density of 141.4 per square mile...
were developed during his tenure. He stepped down as dean in 1990, but continued to teach until 1995.
McCollum died at age 85 on September 13, 2010, at his home in Etna, New Hampshire
Etna, New Hampshire
Etna, originally named "Mill Village," is a small village within the town of Hanover, New Hampshire, in the United States. It is located in southwestern Grafton County, approximately east of Hanover's downtown and south of the village of Hanover Center, on Mink Brook...
due to heart failure. He was survived by his wife, the former Audrey Talmage, as well as by a daughter, a son and two grandchildren.