A Biomedical Who's Who

FDA Consumer, March, 2001 by John Henkel

Julius Axelrod. Christian Anfinsen. Joshua Lederberg. Oswald Avery. These .may not be household names, but these men have touched our lives in many ways. They are prominent 20th century biomedical scientists, each responsible for discoveries that advanced understanding of how the human body works.

Anfinsen, for example, received a Nobel Prize for his work on the function of proteins in living cells. Avery's findings proved that genetic material is composed of DNA. You can read about these accomplished researchers on "Profiles in Science" (www.profiles.nlm.nih.gov), a Web site run by the National Library of Medicine. Published and unpublished papers from each scientist are included, along with diaries, letters, photographs, audiotapes, and other audiovisual materials. The site offers a fascinating glimpse at the lives of these men, and it should interest anyone fascinated by the processes of the human body. At the moment, "Profiles in Science" is concentrated primarily on Nobel laureates who did their prizewinning work in National Institutes of Health labs, but the library plans to add other prominent researchers to the site in the near future.