Selman A. Waksman
Facts
Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.
Selman Abraham Waksman
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1952
Born: 22 July 1888, Priluka, Russian Empire (now Nova Pryluka, Ukraine)
Died: 16 August 1973, Hyannis, MA, USA
Affiliation at the time of the award: Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
Prize motivation: “for his discovery of streptomycin, the first antibiotic effective against tuberculosis”
Prize share: 1/1
Work
After Robert Koch discovered that tuberculosis is caused by a bacterium, the hunt for a cure began. In 1939 Selman Waksman and colleagues began systematic studies of how microorganisms in soil affect tubercle bacteria. They found that their growth was impeded by another bacterium, Streptomyces grisues. In 1943 Waksman's colleague, Albert Schatz, isolated streptomycin from this bacterium, which proved an effective medicine against tuberculosis.
Streams during Nobel Week
Watch the 2025 Nobel Prize lectures, Nobel Week Dialogue, the prize award ceremonies in Oslo and Stockholm and Nobel Peace Prize Forum here at nobelprize.org.
