Maurice R.Hilieman(1919-2005)

摘要

During the twentieth century, life expectancy in industrialized countries almost doubled. Improvements in nutrition and sanitation certainly played a major role, but the central factor responsible was the development of childhood vaccines. A particular name can be attached to this achievement — that of Maurice R. Hilleman. Hilleman ranks with the most brilliant and productive creators of vaccines of all time, with a stature comparable to that of Edward Jenner and Louis Pasteur. But his career was hardly foreseeable. Born in remote Miles City, Montana, as the last of eight children (his mother and twin sister dying during the birth), Hilleman grew up on his uncle's farm, "where things got done"— as Hilleman himself often said. He was later renowned for bringing the same attitude to work in the laboratory. He would never go home before an experiment was finished, and whenever possible was continually driven to translate results in basic or applied research to practical ends.