Leona Baumgartner as the cornerstone to the creation of a healthy community, beginning with her work as district health officer in planning classes and clinics. Baumgartner was also an early advocate of the vaccine developed by Jonas Salk as a method of immunization against polio and the fluoridation of water as a bulwark against dental disease. Baumgartner was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1969. She was awarded the Public Welfare Medal from the National Academy of Sciences in 1977. Her other awards include the Sedgwick Medal, the Albert Lasker Public Service Award, the Elizabeth Blackwell
The Immune Response Corporation The Immune Response Corporation The Immune Response Corporation (IRC), founded by Jonas Salk and Kevin Kimberlin and based in Carlsbad, California, pioneered immunotherapeutic products. Francis Crick once said about Salk, “Few have made one discovery that has benefited humanity so greatly. Jonas was a man who, right to his last day, was actively in pursuit of another.” That pursuit was The Immune Response Corporation. Kimberlin “asked Salk to become lead scientific advisor for a new biotech company specializing in ‘anti-idiotypes,’ a novel vaccine technology.” Salk called the proposal “liberating.” The management team included CEO Jim Glavin, former CEO of Genetic