Waksman emigrated to the United States in 1910 and became anaturalized U.S. citizen in 1916.[2] A professor of biochemistry and microbiology at Rutgers University for four decades, he discovered several antibiotics (and introduced the modern sense of that word to name them), and he introduced procedures that have led to the development of many others. The proceeds earned from the licensing of his patents funded a foundation for microbiological research, which established theWaksman Institute of Microbiology located at the Rutgers UniversityBusch Campus inPiscataway, New Jersey (USA). After receiving the Nobel Prize, Waksman and his foundation later were sued byAlbert Schatz, one of his Ph.D. students and the discoverer of streptomycin, for minimizing Schatz's role in the discovery.[4]
In 2005, Waksman was granted anACS National Historic Chemical Landmark in recognition of the significant work of his lab in isolating more than 15 antibiotics, including streptomycin, which was the first effective treatment fortuberculosis.[5]
Selman Waksman was born on July 22 [O.S. July 8] 1888,[6] toJewish parents, in Nova Pryluka,Kiev Governorate, Russian Empire,[7] nowVinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine. He was the son of Fradia (London) and Jacob Waksman.[8] In 1910, shortly after receiving his diploma from the Fifth Gymnasium inOdessa,[9] he immigrated to the United States and became anaturalized American citizen in 1916.[2]
In 1931, Waksman organized the division of Marine Bacteriology at theWoods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in addition to his task at Rutgers.[8] He was appointed a marine bacteriologist there and served until 1942. He was elected a trustee at WHOI and finally a Life Trustee.
In 1951,[11] using half of his patentroyalties, Waksman created the Waksman Foundation for Microbiology.[12] At a meeting of the board of trustees of the foundation, held in July 1951, he urged the building of a facility for work in microbiology, named theWaksman Institute of Microbiology, which is located on theBusch Campus of Rutgers University inPiscataway, New Jersey. The foundation's first president, Waksman, was succeeded in this position by his son, Byron H. Waksman, from 1970 to 2000.[citation needed]
Waksman had been studying theStreptomyces family of organisms since his college student days and had, for a time, been studying the organismStreptomyces griseus. Streptomycin was isolated fromS. griseus and found effective againsttuberculosis by one of Waksman's graduate students,Albert Schatz.[13] These results were later confirmed byElizabeth Bugie Gregory, whose name was also published on "Streptomycin, a Substance Exhibiting Antibiotic Activity Against Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacteria" with Schatz and Waksman.[14] However, Bugie's name was not on the second key paper in 1944, which was regarding the efficacy of streptomycin against tuberculosis in test tubes, as Schatz claimed Bugie was not involved with the experiment.[14] Bugie was also not given credit for her work on streptomycin, nor was she listed on the patent proposal, as she signed an affidavit stating that she did not have any contribution in discovering streptomycin.[15] This was submitted under an attorney of the Rutgers Research and Endowment Foundation.[citation needed]
The details and credit for the discovery of streptomycin and its usefulness as an antibiotic were strongly contested byAlbert Schatz, leading to litigation in 1950.[16] However, it was possible that Waksman did not see Schatz's contribution as significantly as Schatz saw his contributions. Waksman noted that Schatz was away at the military in 1943, adding that he was only in the lab for three months and only played a small role in discovering streptomycin.[17][14] Waksman and Rutgers settled out of court with Schatz, resulting in financial remuneration and entitlement to "legal and scientific credit as co-discoverer of streptomycin."[18][19] Schatz was awarded $120,000 for patent rights and 3% of royalties.[20]The Lancet claimed that "the Nobel committee made a considerable mistake by failing to recognize Schatz's contribution."[21]
Systematic experiments to test several strains of antibiotics against several different disease organisms were underway in Waksman's laboratory at the time. Their classic approach was to explore a complete matrix with rows consisting of antibiotics and columns consisting of different diseases. The bacteria which produced the antibiotic streptomycin were discovered by Schatz in the farmland outside his lab and tested by him.[18] Waksman, however, eventually came to claim sole credit for the discovery.[citation needed]
The controversy of streptomycin between Waksman and Schatz brought to light the challenges of distributing credit for scientific research, discoveries, and patents.[4] It prompted schools and universities to become more involved in the patenting process and to have more regulations on how credit is dispersed. Schools would also provide clearer lines for each individual's role in a lab to minimize future litigations against the school.[4]
Neomycin is derived from actinomycetes and was discovered by Waksman and Hubert A. Lechevalier, one of Waksman's graduate students. The discovery was published in the journalScience.[22]
Waksman's research also examined the role of bacteria in marine systems, with a particular focus on the role of bacteria in nutrient cycles. Waksman examined the degradation ofalginic acid,[23] cellulose,[24] and zooplankton.[25] Waksman, working with Cornelia Carey,Margaret Hotchkiss,Yvette Hardman, and Donald Johnston, conducted multiple studies on the actions of bacteria in marine systems which included quantifying the abundance[26] and viability of bacteria in seawater.,[27] examining the impact of copper on bacterial growth,[28] estimating the impact of bacterial activity on the nitrogen cycle,[29][30] and a separation of bacteria into groups based on habitat use in seawater, on plankton, or in the sediments.[31]
Waksman acquired many awards and honors, including theNobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1952; the Star of the Rising Sun granted to him by the emperor of Japan, and the rank ofCommandeur in the FrenchLégion d'honneur.[7][32][33] He won the Nobel Prize for "ingenious, systematic, and successful studies of the soil microbes that led to the discovery of streptomycin."[4] During his Nobel Prize award presentation, Waksman was called "one of the greatest benefactors to mankind," as the result of his discovery of streptomycin.[34] Schatz protested being left out of the award, even sending a letter toGustaf VI Adolf, the King of Sweden, but the State did not have any influence over the Nobel Prize Committee's decision and they ruled that he was a mere lab assistant working under a scientist.[17][18]
Waksman was married to Deborah B. Mitnik. They had one son, Byron H. Waksman, M.D., who was an assistant professor at Harvard University Medical School, and Professor of Microbiology at Yale University Medical School.[8]
Selman Waksman died on August 16, 1973, at a Hyannis, Massachusetts, hospital and was interred at the Woods Hole Village Cemetery inWoods Hole, Massachusetts.[7]
^Mistiaen, Veronique (November 2, 2002)."Time, and the great healer".The Guardian. London. RetrievedApril 13, 2010.The story of streptomycin – of scientific triumphs, all-too-human scientists and a long quest for justice – lies somewhere between these two men.
^"Dr. Selman Waksman". The Waksman Institute at Rutgers (No further authorship information available). Archived fromthe original on April 18, 2008. RetrievedJanuary 17, 2008.
