Jonas Salk
Biologist and physician Jonas Salk was one of three sons born to Russian immigrants. While Salk wanted to become an attorney when he was young, he yielded to his mother's wishes and studied medicine instead. Although he practiced as a physician, his most noteworthy achievements were in the field of epidemiology, courtesy of his development and refinement of a vaccine credited with helping eradicate polio. This ground-breaking vaccine was tested in one of the first double-blind placebo-controlled tests ever conducted. Later in his life, Salk took on the challenge of developing an AIDS vaccine. His vision of how to address a life-and-death medical crisis removed the scourge of polio from modern life.
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