Donald Dexter Van Slyke (1883–1971): An Oral Biography

At the start of the 20th century, clinical chemistry emerged into its own space on the mosaic of medical practice. The pattern of its future growth and development took shape during the first two decades of the new century. Before that time, the United States had played no role in the growth or development of clinical chemistry, but at the turn of the century important work began in the US.One of the names that dominated this period was that of Donald Dexter Van Slyke. His systematic explorations on blood and urine led to practical and clinically applicable methods of analysis based on a new approach to methodology: analysis of small volumes of biological fluids. Using colorimetric and gasometric techniques, his work influenced the practice of medicine and played a major role in guiding the direction of clinical chemistry for the remainder of the century.I met Donald Van Slyke in August 1960 at the Fourth International Congress on Clinical Chemistry in Edinburgh, Scotland. I had presented a paper at an afternoon session after an earlier paper by Dr. Van Slyke. During a break for afternoon tea, a friend and I spotted Dr. Van Slyke sitting alone at a table and asked if we could join him. He welcomed us and started to tell us about his visits to various laboratories on the Continent before the Congress, especially about his reception at a laboratory in Germany. When introduced to the supervisor, he was greeted by shock and surprise: “Ach, du lebst noch!” (What! You’re still alive?), she exclaimed. Van Slyke could barely suppress his laughter. He thought this was a very funny story!This history, dealing mainly with Donald Van Slyke’s career at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research in New York, is derived from the transcript of a 5-h …