Howard Atkinson Howe (July 29, 1901 – December 22, 1976) was an American physician, whose work at the Johns Hopkins medical institutions helped to lay the groundwork for the Salk polio vaccine.

Early years and education

A native of Wabash, Indiana who credited a high school teacher in Indianapolis with arousing his interest in biology, Howe attended

Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study within six colleges in the arts, business, communic ...

and graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1925. In 1929, he graduated from the Hopkins medical school and remained there serving in a number of faculty posts. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha Omega Alpha and other professional groups. Howe was a member of the

United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2004, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called reservists, are categorized as being in either the S ...

during and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, leaving the Reserve in 1953 with the rank of lieutenant commander.

Polio researcher

Howe had started the original polio program at the

Johns Hopkins School of Medicine The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) is the medical school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Established in 1893 following the construction of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, th ...

in 1937 and remained as a director of the laboratory when it was transferred to the School of Hygiene arid Public Health in 1942. At his retirement in 1959, he was adjunct professor of epidemiology. He and his associates traced the pathways through the body of the polio virus, identified the three types of virus and produced immunity in chimpanzees with inactivated virus. In 1952, he successfully inoculated children at the Rosewood State Hospital, just before the pioneer inoculation programs of Dr.

Jonas Salk Jonas Edward Salk (; born Jonas Salk; October 28, 1914June 23, 1995) was an American virologist and medical researcher who developed one of the first successful polio vaccines. He was born in New York City and attended the City College of New ...

who used a more refined vaccine that was easier to mass-produce. Dr. David Bodian, professor of neurobiology and anatomy at the medical school, who for a number of years directed the program with Dr. Howe, described him as "rigorous" and using an "objective approach" in the laboratory, but as a "somewhat romantic" person with cultural and artistic interests who was prized for his personal qualities and was "quite unlike what people think of as a researcher."

Awards and recognition

In 1942, Dr. Howe was a winner of the first E. Mead Johnson Award and in 1958 was named to the Polio Hall of Fame of the National Foundation in Warm Springs, Ga. His work had also resulted in a number of awards from local groups including a McCormick Unsung Hero award.

Later life

Following his retirement from Hopkins as a result of ill health, he continued to do research for the Maryland State Health Department until moving to Warwick, Rhode Island.

Early years and education

Polio researcher

Awards and recognition

Later life

References

Further reading