Ruth Kirschstein, a trusted advisor and long-time administrator at the National Institutes of Health who helped develop and refine safety tests of viral vaccines for diseases such as rubella, measles, and polio, died last night (Oct. 6) after "battling a long illness," according to the NIH. In 1974, Kirschstein was the first woman to serve as director of an NIH institute -- the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)-- and served as acting NIH director on several occasions. She was 82.

Ruth L. Kirschstein Image: NIH

"She was a very fine and strong role model for women," Anthony Fauci, the director of the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a colleague of Kirschstein's, told The Scientist. "She assumed a leadership role, as director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, well before women in general were assuming leadership roles. I'll miss her not only as a scientific colleague, but as a friend."

Kirschstein, a Brooklyn, NY native, made working and conducting research in government science agencies her focus for more than 50 years, starting as a pathologist at the Division of Biologics Standards -- now called the US Food and Drug Administration's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research -- in 1957.

In 1961 she became the chief of the agency's pathology laboratory, where she was in charge of testing the safety of a variety of vaccines in common use. Her work there helped speed the licensure of the oral Sabin polio vaccine, which was licensed in 1962 and circumvented many of the problems associated with Jonas Salk's earlier injectable vaccine.

"She was very influential at a time when we were going through an important public health issue in our country," Fauci said.

Kirschstein received her MD from the Tulane University School of Medicine in 1951 and went on to residencies at hospitals across the country, including the Warren G. Magnuson Clinical Center at the NIH. "It was one of the single best things that happened to our medical school that Ruth Kirschstein was a graduate," Scott Cowen, the president of Tulane University, told The Scientist. "She was clearly one of our most distinguished alumni. She was a very accomplished scientist, especially at a time when women were not as [much] at the forefront of advancing science as they are today."

Cowen said that in 2002 the university awarded Kirschstein a lifetime achievement award for her "incredible contributions to the advancement of science." Cowen added that he referred to Kirschstein as a "triple threat" for her talents as an administrator, a researcher, and an educator. Fauci agreed that Kirschstein was always focused on helping new researchers establish their own careers in science. "Young people in science very much owe her a debt," he said.

Kirschstein held her post as NIGMS director for almost 20 years, and served as acting NIH director twice, once in 1993 and again from 2000 to 2003. She was also deputy director under Harold Varmus throughout his term as NIH director.

In recognition of her work on promoting the Sabin vaccine, Kirschstein was awarded the Department of Health, Education and Welfare's Superior Service Award in 1971. This was followed by a slew of other honors, including the US Public Health Service (PHS) Superior Service Award in 1978, the Presidential Meritorious Executive Rank Award in 1980, both the PHS Special Recognition Award and the Presidential Distinguished Executive Rank Award (the highest honor for a career civil servant) in 1985, and the Women of Achievement Award from the Jewish Anti-Defamation League in 2000.

Fauci noted Kirschstein's unwavering dedication to the agency where she spent the majority of her career. "She would phone in for the institute's directors meetings from her home because she wanted to stay involved," he said. "She was literally involved right up until the very end."

"Ruth worked up to her last days," NIH director Francis Collins echoed in a statement released today (Oct. 7). "Last week, in fact, I was on a conference call with her, and her insightful contribution made it clear she had not missed a beat."

Kirschstein is survived by her husband Alan Rabson, a pathologist and a one-time deputy director of the National Cancer Institute, and their son Arnold Rabson, a geneticist at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

Click here to watch a video of Kirschstein.


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