Herbert Spencer Gasser | |
|---|---|
 Gasser in 1944 | |
| Born | (1888-07-05)July 5, 1888 Platteville, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Died | May 11, 1963(1963-05-11) (aged 74) New York City, U.S. |
| Education | |
| Known for |
|
| Awards | Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine (1944) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physiology |
| Institutions | |
| Academic advisors | Joseph Erlanger |
| 2nd Director ofRockefeller Institute | |
| In office 1935–1953 | |
| Preceded by | Simon Flexner |
| Succeeded by | Detlev Bronk |
Herbert Spencer Gasser (July 5, 1888 – May 11, 1963) was an Americanphysiologist, and recipient of theNobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1944 for his work withaction potentials innerve fibers while on the faculty ofWashington University in St. Louis, awarded jointly withJoseph Erlanger.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Gasser was born inPlatteville, Wisconsin, to Herman Gasser and Jane Elisabeth Griswold Gasser. His father was a physician[7][8] from Dornbirn in the Austrian province ofVorarlberg; his mother was ofNew England Yankee andGerman Russian ancestry.[9][10][11]
Gasser attended State Normal School in Platteville, then entered theUniversity of Wisconsin in 1907. Finishing his undergraduate studies in zoology in only two years, he enrolled in the university's medical school in 1909, studying physiology underJoseph Erlanger, and pharmacology under Arthur S. Loevenhart. While still a student, he was named an instructor in pharmacology (1911). Since UW only provided preclinical medical instruction, Gasser transferred toJohns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1913, where he received his medical degree in 1915. He then returned to UW as a pharmacology instructor.In 1916 Gasser moved to the department of physiology atWashington University.
As the United States became involved inWorld War I and the armies began using chemical warfare, Gasser was urged to contribute his knowledge of human physiology to the subject. Accordingly, in the summer of 1918 he joined the Armed Forces Chemical Warfare Service in Washington D.C.[12] After theArmistice he returned toWashington University, where he was made a professor ofpharmacology in 1921.
During the years 1923–1925 Gasser studied in London, Paris and Munich under aRockefeller Foundation grant, with the goal of improving the caliber of US medical education. After completing these studies he returned to Washington University.
In 1931 Gasser moved to New York City and became a professor of physiology atCornell Medical College. After four years at that post, he was named the second director of theRockefeller Institute, following the long tenure ofSimon Flexner, who had founded the institute. He remained in that position until 1953. During his tenure there, he was elected a member of the United StatesNational Academy of Sciences, theAmerican Philosophical Society, and theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences.[13][14][15]
In 1936 Gasser and Erlanger gave a series of lectures at theUniversity of Pennsylvania, summarizing their investigations into the actions of humannerve cells. This work led to their recognition in 1944, when they jointly received the Nobel Prize (Gasser used his prize money to fund further research into the subject).
After his retirement from the Rockefeller Institute in 1953, Gasser continued his research. He published over 100 scientific papers during his lifetime. He died in New York City on May 11, 1963.
including the Nobel Lecture on December 12, 1945Mammalian Nerve Fibers
