Draft:Elsie N. Ward
Dr. Elsie N. Ward was a microbiologist who contributed to the development of a polio vaccine through her work in Jonas Salk's Virus Research Laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh. Ward's role was to grow poliovirus in monkey tissues.[1]
Ward was born in Bellevue.[2]
In a 1952 experiment, Ward cared for and assessed the test tubes containing monkey cells mixed with live poliovirus and blood from vaccinated individuals.[3] Acid-sensitive red dye was added to the tubes to demonstrate the success of the vaccine. A color change from red to yellow indicated the presence of healthy cells in the test tube, and thus that the vaccine had produced antibodies in sufficient, protective amounts.[3] Ward discovered that the experiment was successful when she entered the lab early one morning in mid-September 1952 and saw the yellow dye within the tubes at her station.[3]
Salk's lab went on to reproduce the results, and in 1955, Thomas Francis announced to scientists and reporters at the University of Michigan that the lab had developed a safe and effective polio vaccine.[4] At that announcement, which Elsie Ward attended, Salk thanked some individuals but none of his team members at the Virus Research Laboratory.[5] In a later interview, Salk credited Ward along with four other scientists from the lab for their work.[5] Ward was the only woman he acknowledged, though many women worked for or contributed to the lab, including Ward's assistants Ethel Bailey and Louise Boccella.[5]
Selected publications
[edit]- SALK, JONAS E.; YOUNGNER, J. S.; WARD, ELSIE N. (1954). "USE OF COLOR CHANGE OF PHENOL RED AS THE INDICATOR IN TITRATING POLIOMYELITIS VIRUS OR ITS ANTIBODY IN A TISSUE–CULTURE SYSTEM12". American Journal of Epidemiology. 60 (2): 214–230. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a119714. ISSN 1476-6256.
- Salk, Jonas E.; Ward, Elsie N. (1957-12-27). "Some Characteristics of a Continuously Propagating Cell Derived from Monkey Heart Tissue". Science. 126 (3287): 1338–1339. doi:10.1126/science.126.3287.1338. ISSN 0036-8075.
- Baroni, C. D.; Ward, Elsie N. (1969). "Persistence of Rosette-forming Cells in Long Term Spleen Cell Tissue Cultures". Nature. 221 (5182): 766–768. doi:10.1038/221766a0. ISSN 0028-0836.
- Klöne, W.; Kulemann, Helga; Ward, Elsie N.; Salk, J. E. (1963-08-01). "Some observations on measles induced giant cell formation". Experimental Cell Research. 31 (2): 438–440. doi:10.1016/0014-4827(63)90023-5. ISSN 0014-4827.
- YOUNGNER, J. S.; LEWIS, L. JAMES; WARD, ELSIE N.; SALK, JONAS E. (1952). "STUDIES ON POLIOMYELITIS VIRUSES IN CULTURES OF MONKEY TESTICULAR TISSUE12". American Journal of Epidemiology. 55 (3): 347–356. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a119526. ISSN 1476-6256.
External links
[edit]Photograph, "Elsie Ward ca. 1954-1955," University Archives, the University of Pittsburgh: https://documenting.pitt.edu/islandora/object/pitt%3Asalk0044
References
[edit]- ^ "The Networks of Women Behind the Polio Vaccine". Lady Science. 2020-09-17. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
- ^ Troan, John (1954-03-28). "Salks polio team works around the clock". The Pittsburgh Press; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
- ^ a b c Magazine, Smithsonian. "Conquering Polio". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
- ^ "1955 Polio Vaccine Trial Announcement | University of Michigan School of Public Health". sph.umich.edu. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
- ^ a b c Kerlin, Julie (2020-09-01). "The Women of the Virus Research Laboratory: The Hidden History of the Salk Vaccine through the Women who worked with Dr. Jonas Salk in Pittsburgh, PA from 1947 to 1955". The Macksey Journal. 1 (1).
- ^ "Article clipped from The Gaffney Ledger". The Gaffney Ledger; Gaffney, South Carolina. 1958-01-02. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
- ^ Blakeslee, Alton L. (1956-11-13). "Dr. Salk sees polio end by adult shots". Syracuse Herald-Journal; Syracuse, New York. Retrieved 2024-10-28.