Cold War tensions and the polio vaccine Cold War tensions and the polio vaccine Polio (Infantile paralysis or poliomyelitis) epidemics were a concern during the summer months for children globally, with records of polio from the Egyptians and Greeks to the 1950s epidemics. In the summer of 1921, this epidemic became notorious when Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the Democratic contender for the vice presidency, was struck down by polio at the age of 39. Two U.S. virologists, Jonas Salk of the University of Pittsburgh and Albert B. Sabin of the University of Cincinnati emerged as the most prominent among dozens of American researchers on the quest for a
Americans for Medical Progress issues the Albert. B. Sabin Hero of Science Award to honor leading medical scientists and advocates of biomedical research. Past recipients have included Dr. Sabin himself, Nobel laureate Joseph E. Murray, vaccine designer Maurice Hilleman, and herceptin developer Dennis Slamon, as well as opera legend Beverly Sills, actress Barbara Barrie, and former U. S. Representatives John E. Porter and Patricia Schroeder for their support and advocacy of medical research. In Spring 2008 the organization awarded Tom Holder, the spokesman for Pro-Test, the Michael D. Hayre fellowship in public outreach. This allowed Holder to move to the United States, and with