Herald Rea Cox (1907–1986) was an American

bacteriologist A bacteriologist is a microbiologist, or similarly trained professional, in bacteriology -- a subdivision of microbiology that studies bacteria, typically pathogenic ones. Bacteriologists are interested in studying and learning about bacteria, ...

. The bacterial family Coxiellaceae and the genus '' Coxiella'', which include the organism that causes

Q fever Q fever or query fever is a disease caused by infection with ''Coxiella burnetii'', a bacterium that affects humans and other animals. This organism is uncommon, but may be found in cattle, sheep, goats, and other domestic mammals, including ...

, are named after him.

Biography

Born in

Terre Haute Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

, he graduated from Indiana State Normal School, now

Indiana State University Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...

, in 1928 before obtaining his doctorate from the

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is the public health graduate school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. As the second independent, degree-granting institution for research in epi ...

. In the 1930s, Cox joined the U.S. Public Health Service as Principal Bacteriologist at the Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Hamilton, Montana. While there, he studied

rickettsia ''Rickettsia'' is a genus of nonmotile, gram-negative, nonspore-forming, highly pleomorphic bacteria that may occur in the forms of cocci (0.1 μm in diameter), bacilli (1–4 μm long), or threads (up to about 10 μm long). The term "ricke ...

, a group of organisms that causes

Rocky Mountain spotted fever Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is a bacterial disease spread by ticks. It typically begins with a fever and headache, which is followed a few days later with the development of a rash. The rash is generally made up of small spots of bleedin ...

and

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...

. In 1938, he discovered that rickettsia could be grown in fertile egg membranes, which led to the development of vaccines to combat Rocky Mountain spotted fever and vaccines for several strains of typhus. The family Coxiellaceae and the genus Coxiella, which contain the organism that causes

, are named for Cox. In 1942, Cox became head of the Virus and Rickettsial Research Department at

Lederle Laboratories American Cyanamid Company was a leading American conglomerate which became one of the nation's top 100 manufacturing companies during the 1970s and 1980s, according to the Fortune 500 listings at the time. It started in fertilizer, but added ...

in New York. At that time, public health attention focused on finding a vaccine for

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe sy ...

. Cox was one of many researchers competing to find a breakthrough, which is generally credited to

Jonas Salk Jonas Edward Salk (; born Jonas Salk; October 28, 1914June 23, 1995) was an American virologist and medical researcher who developed one of the first successful polio vaccines. He was born in New York City and attended the City College of New ...

(1952). Although Cox's egg technique was in widespread use by 1943, it had not been successful for polio. In 1947,

John Franklin Enders John Franklin Enders (February 10, 1897 – September 8, 1985) was an American biomedical scientist and Nobel Laureate. Enders has been called "The Father of Modern Vaccines." Life and education Enders was born in West Hartford, Connecticut on ...

and others demonstrated that monkey tissue provided a suitable medium to grow the virus in the lab. Salk employed the Enders method, incubating the virus using rhesus monkey kidneys and testicles. Cox eschewed the technique because of the danger monkey virus represented. In October, 1952, Cox reported that he had grown the Lansing strain of polio virus in fertile hens' eggs, and in 1961, he announced an oral polio vaccine. Meanwhile, human trials of

Albert Sabin Albert Bruce Sabin ( ; August 26, 1906 – March 3, 1993) was a Polish-American medical researcher, best known for developing the oral polio vaccine, which has played a key role in nearly eradicating the disease. In 1969–72, he served as th ...

's successful oral vaccine had begun in 1957, and it would be licensed for general use in 1961. Within Lederle Laboratories, Cox competed with co-worker

Hilary Koprowski Hilary Koprowski (5 December 191611 April 2013) was a Polish virologist and immunologist active in the United States who demonstrated the world's first effective live polio vaccine. He authored or co-authored over 875 scientific papers and co ...

, as each had developed a successful polio vaccine. Cox retired from Lederle in 1972. He was later director of cancer research at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center (then known as Roswell Park Memorial Institute), where he concentrated on cancer immunolog

Honors

* 1940: Theobald Smith Award, American Association for the Advancement of Science (for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever vaccine) * 1942: Doctor of Science, University of Montana * 1946: Typhus Commission Medal * 1951: Ricketts Award * 1958: Distinguished Alumni Award, Indiana State University * 1961: President, American Society for Microbiology * 1971: Honorary Member, Society of American Bacteriologists, American Society for Microbiology

Archived papers

American Society for Microbiology Archives

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, H.R. 1907 births 1986 deaths Indiana State University alumni American microbiologists Polio