Findlay E. Russell

Findlay Ewing Russell (1 September 1919 – 21 August 2011) was an American internal medicine physician and toxicologist. He pursued a research interest in venomous and poisonous animals and the effects of toxins on the human nervous system and was widely acknowledged as one of the world's leading authorities on snakes and the pharmacology of snake venoms. Consulting work for the United Nations and various governmental agencies took him all over the world.

Russell served as a U.S. Army medic in World War II. He graduated from Loma Linda University School of Medicine in 1951. As an intern at Los Angeles County General Hospital (now the Los Angeles County and USC Medical Center), Russell applied for a research fellowship in neurophysiology in the Biology Division at Caltech under Professor Anthonie Van Harreveld. He was a Caltech research fellow from 1951 to 1953. By 1953 he was publishing studies on the venom of stingrays and continued to study the venoms of many species throughout his career. His research on stingray venom was eventually supported by Office of Naval Research. His colleagues at Caltech included Howard Teas and Richard Schweets and he came under the influence Max Delbrück. Other associates included George Wells Beadle, Arie Jan Haagen-Smit and Nobelists William Shockley and Linus Pauling (he treated Pauling's dog with vitamin C injections). During this time he also taught students ballroom dancing and organized dances with Pasadena City College.

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