University of Pittsburgh

The University of Pittsburgh is significant in polio history because it was here that Dr. Jonas Salk developed the Salk polio vaccine. Of special interest in the archives collections are recorded interviews with Dr. Salk, photos of the first inoculations and administrative papers on Dr. Salk’s hiring and departure.

The University’s Health Sciences Center maintains a museum-quality Salk exhibit adjacent to the Elmer Grimm Museum of Pharmacy in Salk Hall, where initial polio research was conducted and the vaccine was developed.

In 2005, the university organized a three-day 50th anniversary commemoration of the development of the Salk vaccine. The event included a community celebration honoring Pittsburgh Polio Pioneers, a two-day scientific symposium and a celebratory banquet. One product was the publication, Defeat of an Enemy, which presents the print versions of key presentations given during the commemoration activities. The student newspaper, The Pitt News, reissued three press releases on the Salk vaccine from 1955.

University of Pittsburgh
Archives Service Center
7500 Thomas Blvd
Pittsburgh, PA 15208
USA
412-244-7091
412-244-7077 fax
archives-ref@mail.pitt.edu