Frederick Chapman Robbins

Frederick Chapman Robbins
Born	August 25, 1916 Auburn, Alabama
Died	August 4, 2003 (aged 86) Cleveland, Ohio
Nationality	American
Fields	Pediatrics Virology
Institutions	Case Western Reserve University
Alma mater	University of Missouri, Harvard University
Notable awards	E. Mead Johnson Award (1953) Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1954)

Frederick Chapman Robbins (August 25, 1916 – August 4, 2003) was an American pediatrician and virologist.

He received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1954 along with John Franklin Enders and Thomas Huckle Weller, making Robbins the only Nobel laureate born in Alabama. The award was for his breakthrough work in isolation and growth of the polio virus, paving the way for vaccines developed by Jonas Salk, Albert Sabin, etc. He attended school at the University of Missouri and Harvard University.

In 1952, he was appointed as Professor of Pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University.^[1] Robbins was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1962.^[2] From 1966 onwards, Robbins was Dean of the School of Medicine at Case Western.^[3] He led the medical school until 1980 when he assumed the Presidency of the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine. Five years later, in 1985, Robbins returned to Case Western Reserve as Dean Emeritus and distinguished University professor Emeritus.^[4] He continued to be a fixture at the medical school until his death in 2003. The medical school's "Frederick C. Robbins Society" is named in his honor.

Robbins received the Benjamin Franklin Medal for Distinguished Achievement in the Sciences of the American Philosophical Society in 1999.^[5] He was an atheist.^[6]

See also

• List of Case Western people

References

1. Frederick C. Robbins – Biography. Nobelprize.org. Retrieved on 2012-02-11.
2. "Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter R" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
3. "Professor Frederick C. Robbins". The Independent. London. August 8, 2003. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
4. Health Sciences Tour. 4. Frederick C. Robbins Building. Case Western Reserve University
5. "Benjamin Franklin Medal for Distinguished Achievement in the Sciences Recipients". American Philosophical Society. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
6. Margenau, Henry, and Roy Abraham. Varghese. Cosmos, Bios, Theos: Scientists Reflect on Science, God, and the Origins of the Universe, Life, and Homo Sapiens. La Salle, IL: Open Court, 1992. Print. Page 194

Further reading

• Zetterström, Rolf; Lagercrantz Hugo (2006). "J.F. Enders (1897–1985), T.H. Weller (1915–) and F.C. Robbins (1916–2003): a simplified method for the multiplication of poliomyelitis virus. Dreams of eradicating a terrifying disease". Acta Paediatr. 95 (9): 1026–8. doi:10.1080/08035250600900073. PMID 16938745.
• "The Abraham Flexner Award for distinguished service to medical education. Frederick C. Robbins, M.D". Journal of Medical Education. 63 (2): 121–2. 1988. PMID 3276892.
• Bendiner, E (1982). "Enders, Weller, and Robbins: the trio that 'fished in troubled waters'". Hosp. Pract. (Off. Ed.). 17 (1): 163, 169, 174–5 passim. PMID 6295913.
• Marshall, E (1980). "Institute of Medicine names Robbins president". Science. 207 (4436): 1184–5. doi:10.1126/science.6986655. PMID 6986655.
• Sulek, K (1968). "[Nobel prizes for John F. Enders, Frederick Ch, Robbins and Thomas H. Weller in 1954 for discovery of the possibility of growing poliomyelitis virus on various tissue media]". Wiad. Lek. 21 (24): 2301–3. PMID 4303387.

• Robbins's Nobel biography
• Frederick Chapman Robbins — Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences