David Bodian's Contribution to the Development of Poliovirus Vaccine

David Bodian spent almost his whole scientific career (1942–1983) at the Johns Hopkins University, first in the Department of Epidemiology at the School of Hygiene and Public Health and then in the Department of Anatomy at the School of Medicine. Arguably, his most important research contribution was the elucidation of the pathogenesis of poliomyelitis—a contribution that played a major role in the development of inactivated poliovirus vaccine (Salk vaccine), the first successful vaccine against poliomyelitis. In this historical review, I have chosen to focus on those aspects of Bodian’s research that were relevant to vaccine development. This retelling of the story is necessarily biased, since it emphasizes the work of one investigator while acknowledging that less attention is paid to the work of many others who made important contributions. In addition, I distort history somewhat by presenting the research results in an apparently logical sequence, while in truth the story more resembled a jigsaw puzzle put together somewhat randomly to reveal an orderly whole when completed. Furthermore, I have deliberately chosen some examples from my own collaborations with David Bodian, even though the experiments were performed after 1955. Finally, as Dave Bodian’s last trainee in virology, I write this with fond memories of an inspiring role model. I begin with a quotation from a talk that David Bodian gave in 1976, at the time of his retirement as chair of the Department of Anatomy (1): “In 1945, Professor Burnet of Melbourne wrote, ‘While I was in America recently I had good opportunity to meet with most of the men actively engaged on research in poliomyelitis... The part played by acquired immunity to poliomyelitis is still completely uncertain, and the practical problem of preventing infantile paralysis has not been solved. It is even doubtful whether it ever will be solved.’ ... Most of us doing research on poliomyelitis in 1945 were mainly motivated by curiosity, rather than by the hope of a practical solution in our lifetime.” And yet, on April 12, 1955, just 10 years after Burnet’s 1945 letter, Thomas Francis announced the successful field trial of inactivated poliovirus vaccine (2). What explains this abrupt transition from a state of confusion and dismay to the triumphant optimism of 1955? The explanation lies in a set of discoveries that were made regarding the pathogenesis of poliovirus infection and the role of antibody in its control. This story is the subject of the following essay.