| Albert Schatz | |
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| Born | February 2, 1922 |
|---|---|
| Died | January 17, 2005 (aged 84) Philadelphia |
| Cause of death | Pancreatic cancer |
| Occupation | Scientist |
| Employer | Rutgers (1943) Temple University (1969) |
| Known for | Streptomycin |
| Partner | Selman Waksman |
Albert Schatz (2 February 1922 – 17 January 2005) was the co-discoverer of streptomycin, the first antibiotic remedy used to treat tuberculosis and a number of other diseases. Originally, the discovery of streptomycin was credited only to Schatz's supervisor, Selman Waksman.[1]
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Early life and education
Schatz was born in Norwich, Connecticut of Jewish-Russian and English parents and was raised on a farm [1]. After a change of direction from farmer to pedology following a course by Dr Jacob Joffe, Schatz began graduate school at Rutgers, at Selman Waksman's laboratory.
Streptomicyn Discovery and War over Nobel Prize
With a meager stipend Schatz lived in a small room in a greenhouse of the university. At the beginning of 1942 he was drafted to the army and served as a laboratory aid at Miamy Hospital. At this time he experienced the death of young soldiers who although had Penicilin available, could not be treated for Penicilin immune infections. He began a simple and frantic research in Petri dishes of soil with bacteria that would inhibit growth of Penicilin immune microbes. He sent these strains to Dr. Waksman for futher testing.
In early 1943 Schatz was released from the army due to problems with his back, and returned to graduate school, where he continued work on these strains in Dr. Waksman's basement laboratory at Cook College in Rutgers University. Dr Waksman was at the last stages of isolating less toxic strands of Streptomicyn, after successfuly testing it at an external lab in vivo in animals, naming it Streptomicyn, and formulating the procedures for the isolation of the expected strands.
According to Schatz memoirs, he convinced Dr. Waksman to continue his research, started at the Miamy Hospital, and continued at it day and night.
In any case, Schatz, according to coworker and friend Professor George Pieczenik, of Rutgers University, was known to sleep in his basement laboratory. Upon marrying his wife, due partially to Shatz' dedication to his science and largely to their lack of money, the couple was forced to move a bed into the lab, which was so small that the two had to "lean it against the wall just so that it would fit"[2].
After 3 months of these conditions, Schatz isolated two strains of Actinobacteria, which could effectively cease the growth of several penicillin-resistant bacteria, on October 19, 1943.[1]
Schatz was listed second on the patent after Waksman, first on the scientific paper, and had soon after the discovery issued his doctorate thesis on the discovery of Streptomicyn.
Career
Originally, the discovery of streptomycin was credited only to Schatz's supervisor, Selman Waksman, who would later receive a Nobel Prize in 1952 for this work. Schatz, however, strongly contested the crediting and in 1950 brought litigation against Waksman, requesting recognition as streptomycin's co-discoverer and a portion of streptomycin royalties. Schatz's requests were eventually granted in an out-of-court settlement.
Dr. Schatz held faculty positions at Brooklyn College; the National Agricultural College in Doylestown, Pennsylvania; the University of Chile; and joined the Temple University faculty in 1969. He retired from Temple University in 1980.
Schatz was awarded the Rutgers medal in 1994 for his work on developing streptomycin.
Schatz was a socialist, an active environmentalist and was involved in local welfare, co-operatives and community recycling projects. An example of his community involvement is that until two years before his death, Schatz volunteered at the nearby Weavers Way (co-op) sharpening knives. He campaigned against water fluoridation and argued for a "proteolysis-chelation theory"[3] of tooth decay,[4] which was criticized as "more philosophic than experimental".[5]
In 2004, author Inge Auerbacher co-wrote the book Finding Dr. Schatz: The Discovery of Streptomycin and a Life It Saved with Schatz. The book chronicled his discovery of streptomycin and meeting Auerbacher, a holocaust survivor and recipient of his antibiotic. A documentary by the same name "Finding Dr. Schatz", directed by Richard Colosi from Rochester, NY will be released in 2009.
Schatz died from pancreatic cancer at his home in Philadelphia in 2005.
Albert Schatz's archives have been donated to the Temple University Library.
External links
- November 2, 2002 Guardian article on Albert Schatz and the Discovery of Steptomycin
- Scientific America, No Nobel for You - Top 10 Nobel Snubs (Dr. Schatz is number 4)
- Memoirs at Rutgers Oral History Archives
- Schatz on fluoridation
- Weavers Way Co-op.
- San Diego Union-Tribune obituary
- Rutgers Focus obituary
- Streptomycin, Schatz v. Waksman, and the Balance of Credit for Discovery
- Private website about Dr. Schatz containing newspaper articles from the time of the discovery of Streptomycin
References
- ^ a b "Time, and the great healer.". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,3605,823114,00.html. Retrieved on 2008-04-17. "In 1943, a young research scientist found a cure for TB. It should have been the proudest moment of Albert Schatz's life, but ever since he has watched, helpless, as another man got all the credit" It is important to note that this headline is misleading, since Schatz never publicly claimed that Waksman had NO part in the discovery, and in the final agreement, Schatz received 3% while Waksman still received 10% of the prize money.
- ^ This needs further checking, following the book and movie. As far as I understand his wife met him only after the discovery was made famous
- ^ SCHATZ A, MARTIN JJ (September 1962). "The proteolysis-chelation theory of dental caries". J Am Dent Assoc 65: 368–75. PMID 14498070.
- ^ Wainwright M. (2005). Albert Schatz Co-discoverer of streptomycin. The Independent.
- ^ Williams JE (1967). "Relationship of sialic acid to dental caries". J. Dent. Res. 46 (3): 514–21. PMID 4381723. http://jdr.sagepub.com/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=4381723.
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