Ilya Mark Scheinker (25 June 1902 in Tula – 26 August 1954 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

) was a Russian

neurologist Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous system, which comprises the brain, the ...

and neuropathologist who in 1936 collaborated with Josef Gerstmann and Ernst Sträussler to describe Gerstmann–Sträussler–Scheinker syndrome, a variant of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease. He studied at the University of Jena, and the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

, graduating in 1922, authoring several papers regarding

multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...

. After the ''

anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...

'', he fled to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, working with Georges Guillain at Salpêtrière from 1938, before emigrating to New York in 1941 after the Nazi invasion of France. With assistance from Tracy Putnam, he found work at the

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

General Hospital as head of neuropathology, where he authored several landmark textbooks, before opening a renowned private practice. After suffering a

Myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in 1950, he returned to New York where he was offered a teaching position at New York Medical College, until his death two years later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scheinker, Ilya 1902 births 1952 deaths Austrian neurologists American neurologists Russian neurologists Jewish American scientists People from Tula, Russia Neuropathologists