Selman Waksman
| Selman Waksman | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | Selman Abraham Waksman July 22, 1888 Nova Pryluka, Kiev Governorate, Russian Empire |
| Died | August 16, 1973 (aged 85) Woods Hole, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States |
| Residence | Woods Hole, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States |
| Citizenship | United States of America (After 1916) |
| Fields | Biochemistry and Microbiology |
| Alma mater |
Rutgers University University of California, Berkeley |
| Notable awards | Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research (1948) Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1952) Leeuwenhoek Medal (1950) |
| Spouse | Deborah B. Mitnik (1 child) (died 1974) |
Selman Abraham Waksman (July 22, 1888 – August 16, 1973) was a Ukrainian-born, Jewish-American inventor, biochemist and microbiologist whose research into organic substances—largely into organisms that live in soil—and their decomposition promoted the discovery of Streptomycin, and several other antibiotics. A professor of biochemistry and microbiology at Rutgers University for four decades, he discovered over twenty antibiotics (a word which he coined) and 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 the Waksman Institute of Microbiology located on Rutgers University's Busch Campus in Piscataway, New Jersey (USA). In 1952 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in recognition "for his discovery of "streptomycin," the first antibiotic active against tuberculosis." Waksman was later accused of playing down the role of Albert Schatz, a PhD student who did the work under Waksman's supervision to discover streptomycin.
In 2005 Selman Waksman was granted an ACS National Historical Chemical Landmark in recognition of the significant work of his lab in isolating more than fifteen antibiotics, including streptomycin, which was the first effective treatment for tuberculosis.
Selman Waksman was born on July 22, 1888, to Jewish parents, in Nova Pryluka, Podolia Governorate, Russian Empire, now Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine. He was the son of Fradia (London) and Jacob Waksman. He immigrated to the United States in 1910, shortly after receiving his matriculation diploma from the Fifth Gymnasium in Odessa, and became a naturalised American citizen six years later.
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