Robbins, Frederick C. (Chapman

Robbins, Frederick C. (Chapman (1916–  ) virologist, pediatrician; born in Auburn, Ala. After completing his medical studies, he served the army as an epidemiological investigator (1942–46). At Children's Hospital, Boston (1946–50), he joined John F. Enders and Thomas Weller in devising tissue culture techniques for cultivating the poliomyelitis virus, thus enabling the development of a polio vaccine. This breakthrough won Robbins and his two colleagues the 1954 Nobel Prize in physiology. He moved to Harvard Medical School (1950–52), then became a professor of pediatrics at Case Western Reserve (1952–80). After his retirement, he became president of the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences (1980–85).