Gu Fangzhou (; June 1926 – 2 January 2019) was a Chinese virologist, best known for developing domestic OPV ( oral polio vaccine) and eradicating polio in the country.

Early life

Gu matriculated at

Peking University Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charter ...

for a MBBS degree in 1944. He went to the Soviet Union to study virology from 1951 to 1955. He was engaged in poliovirus from 1957. Gu conducted the trials and production of the polio vaccine, especially "sugar cube". He succeeded in developing first domestic inactivated polio vaccine in 1960, and trivalent oral polio vaccine later. He served as president of Peking Union Medical College from 1984 to 1993. He was also the first president of the Chinese Society for Immunology. On 2 January 2019, Gu died in Beijing, at the age of 92.

References

1926 births 2019 deaths Chinese virologists Peking University alumni Academic staff of Peking Union Medical College TWAS fellows Polio Biologists from Shanghai Educators from Shanghai People of the Republic of China {{China-scientist-stub