Anna Mitus was a medical researcher best known for her work on the

measles vaccine Measles vaccine protects against becoming infected with measles. Nearly all of those who do not develop immunity after a single dose develop it after a second dose. When the rate of vaccination within a population is greater than 92%, outbreaks ...

as a part of the

John Enders John Franklin Enders (February 10, 1897 – September 8, 1985) was an American biomedical scientist and Nobel Laureate. Enders has been called "The Father of Modern Vaccines." Life and education Enders was born in West Hartford, Connecticut on Fe ...

lab. Her most significant contribution to the research was her research on human amnion cells with Dr. Milan V. Milovanovic and how they supported the growth of the

measles virus The measles virus (MV), with scientific name ''Morbillivirus hominis'', is a single-stranded, negative-sense, enveloped, non-segmented RNA virus of the genus ''Morbillivirus'' within the family ''Paramyxoviridae''. It is the cause of measles. H ...

Work on the measles vaccine

In 1957, with Dr. Milan V. Milovanovic and John Enders, Anna Mitus published their research “Cultivation of Measles Virus in Human Amnion Cells and in Developing Chick Embryo”. It was published in the journal of Experimental Biology and Medicine. In this research, the team was able to propagate the measles virus throughout 28 serial passages in human amnion cells. After the 28th passage in human amnion cells, the measles virus was then inoculated into chick embryos. This procedure was key because no viral activity inside of an egg had yet been detected at this point. In 1959, Mitus was the lead author of an article entitled “Persistence of Measles Virus and Depression of Antibody Formation in Patients with Giant-Cell Pneumonia after Measles” published in

The New England Journal of Medicine ''The New England Journal of Medicine'' (''NEJM'') is a weekly medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. Founded in 1812, the journal is among the most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals. Its 2023 impact factor w ...

. She collaborated with John F. Enders, John M. Craig and Ann Holloway. The main conclusion from this paper was that in a proportion of giant-cell

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

cases, the measles virus was found to be an etiologic agent. Overall, Mitus published at least 9 peer-reviewed journal articles on measles and the measles virus. On October 1, 1961,

wrote a letter to the editor of the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

in which he made sure that his six other lab members received just as much credit as him saying “To me it seems most desirable that the collaborative character of these investigations should be understood, not solely for personal reasons but because much of all modern medical research is conducted in this way.”

Personal life

Mitus and her husband, Dr. W. Jack Mitus, immigrated to the United States in 1953. Anna Mitus became an Assistant Physician at

Children's Hospital A children's hospital (CH) is a hospital that offers its services exclusively to infants, children, adolescents, and young adults from birth up to until age 18, and through age 21 and older in the United States. In certain special cases, the ...

and Children's Cancer Research Center in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. Her husband worked as a professor at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

. Together they had two daughters; her daughter (A. Jacquline Mitus) became a doctor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitis, Anna American medical researchers British women biologists American women biologists 20th-century American women scientists