Albert Lasker
Basic Medical Research Award

Award Description

Oswald Avery
Homer Smith
 
Oswald Avery
For distinguished service through studies on the chemical constitution of bacteria.

With unusual persistence, remarkable insight and extraordinary accuracy of observation, Oswald Avery has devoted the greater part of his scientific career to the study of the pneumococcus.

Animated by an unsurpassed intellectual curiosity and a desire to conquer one of the most deadly enemies of man, he undertook to elucidate in logical sequence the biological activities, the immunological characteristics and the pathogenic properties of any pneumococcus. In this he so far succeeded that today it is fair to say that more is known about this organism than about any other human parasite.

Were this all, it would be a unique accomplishment, but quite early in the course of his investigations he became interested in searching for a chemical explanation for the type specificity of pneumococci. As a consequence, he discovered and identified the capsular polysaccharides and demonstrated their role in determining this specificity.

He furthermore succeeded in throwing light on the immunological relationships of the intracellular constituents of this organism.

Through these discoveries he laid the foundation for his brilliant analysis in chemical terms of the antigenic constitution of the whole pneumococcus. He thus established a perfect pattern for the antigenic analysis of other microorganisms both by himself and by others who have followed in his footsteps.

Among Dr. Avery's many brilliant contributions to scientific knowledge, none has been more outstanding than his studies on the antigenic constitution of bacteria. Through them, he is one of the founders of the science of immunochemistry. Because of them, our comprehension of the complex problems of infectious disease has been immeasurably enriched.
 
Homer Smith
For distinguished research on cardiovascular and renal physiology.

Homer Smith is honored for his distinguished contributions in the fields of renal and vascular physiology.

His work falls into a unique and logical pattern. Early fundamental studies upon osmotic regulation in fish provided a basis for a masterly analysis of the available data in the formulation of a theory of the evolution of the mammalian kidney.

Within this framework, he has been led to a fruitful investigation of the specific activities by which the mammalian kidney performs its regulatory duties. Unalterably opposed to the "unphysiological preparation" in experimentation, he devised simple tests by which glomerular filtration rate, renal blood flow, and renal tubular capacities might be measured quantitatively without pain, operative procedures, or anesthesia.

These tools of investigation are applicable in the study of man, and under Dr. Smith's direction, they have been energetically employed in man in clarifying problems of renal function in health and disease.

These studies are masterpieces of clinical investigation, sparkling with new concepts, gracefully phrased and logically developed. They have thrown new light upon the problems of renal and cardiorenal diseases, which are at present the chief causes of death, and have provided the background for many future investigations in this important field of medicine and public health.

Homer Smith has also been prominent among those responsible for the physiological bearing of the current trend in medical thinking. In part this influence springs from the character of the man.

Modest, self-effacing, and consecrated to his work, he does not shun the fight for what he considers is right, fair, and just. In paying tribute to his work, we pay homage to the man.