Robert Austrian (
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, 12 April 1916 –
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, 25 March 2007) was an
American
infectious diseases physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
and, along with
Maxwell Finland, one of the two most important researchers into the biology of ''
Streptococcus pneumoniae
''Streptococcus pneumoniae'', or pneumococcus, is a Gram-positive, spherical bacteria, alpha-hemolytic (under aerobic conditions) or beta-hemolytic (under anaerobic conditions), aerotolerant anaerobic member of the genus Streptococcus. They ar ...
'' in the 20th century.
Austrian received his
MD from
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...
and did his fellowships in Infectious Diseases at Johns Hopkins and
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
. He went on to found the Infectious Diseases division and fellowship program at the
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
The Perelman School of Medicine, commonly known as Penn Med, is the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1765, the Perelman School of Medicine is the oldest medi ...
and held the endower Robert Herr Musser chair there from 1962-1986. He later continued research at
Kings County Hospital
Kings County Hospital Center is a municipal hospital located in the East Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. It is owned and operated by NYC Health + Hospitals, a municipal agency that runs New York City's public hospitals. It has ...
and
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University.
Austrian's awards include the Maxwell Finland plenary lecture at the
Infectious Diseases Society of America
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) is a medical association representing physicians, scientists and other health care professionals who specialize in infectious diseases. It was founded in 1963 and is based in Arlington, Virginia. ...
annual session in 1974, entitled “Random gleanings from a life with the pneumococcus” and the 1978
Albert Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award. His Lasker award was for the development and clear demonstration of the efficacy of a purified
vaccine
A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious or malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verified. of capsular polysaccharides in the prevention of
pneumococcal disease. Prior to the Austrian polysaccharide vaccine scientists had prepared simpler whole bacteria and capsular polysaccharide vaccines but they were not accepted as standard of care by the medical community. Several medical authorities touted this era as “the end of infectious diseases” due to the remarkable mortality benefits derived from new antimicrobials and anti-parasitics and vaccine research was not thought to be worthwhile.
When antibiotics came into use for the cure of pneumococcal infections in the 1950s and 60s, further
pneumococcal vaccine
Pneumococcal vaccines are vaccines against the bacterium '' Streptococcus pneumoniae''. Their use can prevent some cases of pneumonia, meningitis, and sepsis. There are two types of pneumococcal vaccines: conjugate vaccines and polysaccharide v ...
development was abandoned. Austrian chose to focus on prevention rather than
antibiotic treatment of this debilitating disease. Beginning with surveillance studies which he conducted revealed that despite antibiotic therapy, there were still, in the 1960s, almost half as many deaths from
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...
in the United States as there were at the turn of the century. Austrian also established that persons over 50 years of age, and those with chronic debilitating diseases were the largest group at risk. Austrian established a tremendous knowledge base of pneumococcal biology. He analyzed 83 known types of pneumococci, and determined 14 types were responsible for 80% of invasive pneumococcal infections in man, and that the outer coatings or capsules of these organisms should be included in an effective vaccine. Austrian then devised a multi-valent polysaccharide vaccine and then played a major role in the successful clinical trials which resulted in its licensure.
His Lasker award reads as follows “For his persistent, dedicated efforts which permitted the development of a vaccine that soon may significantly reduce human disease caused by the pneumococcus, this Albert Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award is given.”
Robert Austrian also gives rise to the medical eponym "
Austrian syndrome
Austrian syndrome, also known as Osler's triad, is a medical condition that was named after Robert Austrian in 1957. The presentation of the condition consists of pneumonia, endocarditis, and meningitis, all caused by ''Streptococcus pneumoniae' ...
" which describes the clinical syndrome of pneumococcal
meningitis, pneumonia and
endocarditis
Endocarditis is an inflammation of the inner layer of the heart, the endocardium. It usually involves the heart valves. Other structures that may be involved include the interventricular septum, the chordae tendineae, the mural endocardium, or the ...
, after his 1957 paper in
Archives of Internal Medicine
''JAMA Internal Medicine'' is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal published by the American Medical Association. It was established in 1908 as the ''Archives of Internal Medicine'' and obtained its current title in 2013. It covers all aspects ...
.
References
External links
Robert Austrian Lasker AwardAustrian's initial paper in Archives on internal medicine describing Austrian syndromeRobert Austrian Obituary-Baltimore SunJeffrey N. Weiser and John B. Robbins, "Robert Austrian", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (2013)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Austrian, Robert
1916 births
2007 deaths
American medical researchers
Physicians from Baltimore
Physicians from Philadelphia
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania faculty
Johns Hopkins University alumni
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
Recipients of the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award
Park School of Baltimore alumni
Members of the National Academy of Medicine