Sarah Stewart (cancer researcher) at the age of 39. Stewart returned to the NIH in 1951, joining the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and eventually becoming medical director. Stewart developed an interest in researching viral links to cancer in light of the pioneering research of Jonas Salk in developing a vaccine for the virus which caused polio. Stewart developed an interest in researching viral links to cancer in light of the pioneering research of Jonas Salk in developing a vaccine for the virus which caused polio. Stewart is credited with discovering the Polyomavirus in 1953. She and research partner, Dr. Bernice E. Eddy, were successful
Jonas Salk ... who read everything he could lay his hands on," according to one of his fellow students. Students had to cram a four-year curriculum into just three years. As a result, most dropped out or flunked out, despite the school's motto "study, study, study." Of the students who graduated, however, most would have the grades to enroll in CCNY, noted for being a highly competitive college. Salk enrolled in CCNY from which he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry in 1934. Oshinsky writes that "for working-class immigrant families, City College represented the apex of public higher education. Getting