Developing a vaccine against yellow fever in 1937 established a primary defense against the disease, earning Max Theiler the 1951 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. As the first African-born Nobel laureate, his career bridged international medical institutions while fundamentally shifting the global approach to viral pathology through laboratory research in the United States.
Academic Foundation
Born in 1899 in Pretoria, Theiler pursued his early education at Pretoria Boys High School before attending Rhodes University College and the University of Cape Town. He later moved to London to refine his medical training, attending St Thomas's Hospital Medical School, King's College London, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. By 1922, he attained a diploma in tropical medicine and hygiene, establishing the technical foundation for his subsequent research in the United States.
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Upon arriving in the United States in 1922, he joined the Harvard University School of Tropical Medicine in Cambridge, Massachusetts. During his tenure there, he focused on amoebic dysentery and rat-bite fever. Working alongside Andrew Sellards, he contributed to the identification of the yellow fever virus. In 1930, he transitioned to the Rockefeller Foundation in New York, eventually serving as director of the Virus Laboratory.
The 17D Vaccine Development
Theiler achieved a breakthrough by subculturing the virulent Asibi strain of yellow fever in chicken embryos. Working with Hugh Smith, he succeeded in 1937 after over 100 subcultures to produce the attenuated 17D strain. This vaccine proved safe and immunizing in animal trials. Between 1940 and 1947, the Rockefeller Foundation produced more than 28 million doses, effectively curbing yellow fever as a major public health threat.
Scientific Legacy and Later Years
In 1937, he identified a virus causing paralysis in mice, now named Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus, which serves as a model for studying multiple sclerosis. His career included a professorship at the Yale School of Medicine from 1964 to 1967. He received the Chalmers Medal in 1939, the Flattery Medal in 1945, and the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award in 1949. He died in 1972 in New Haven.
Fast facts
- Born: 1899, Pretoria
- Died: 1972, New Haven
- Nationality: South Africa, United States
- Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: 1951
- Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award: 1949
- Education: University of Cape Town, King's College London
- Key Discovery: Yellow fever vaccine 17D
- Research Institutions: Harvard University, The Rockefeller University
Questions readers ask
What was the mouse protection test?
A method developed by Theiler where sera from vaccinated human subjects were injected into mice to determine if they had developed immunity against the yellow fever virus.
What is the significance of the 17D strain?
It is an attenuated strain of the yellow fever virus developed by Theiler and Hugh Smith that allowed for the safe and mass production of a human vaccine.
Achievements
- Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award — 1949
- Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine — 1951
- Held posts at Harvard University and The Rockefeller University
- Educated at King's College London, Pretoria Boys High School and Rhodes University
- Fields of research: virus
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