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Salvador Luria: An Immigrant Biologist in Cold War America
The life of Nobel-winning biologist Salvador Luria, whose passion for science was equaled by his commitment to political engagement in Cold War America.
Blacklisted from federal funding review panels but awarded a Nobel Prize for his research on bacteriophage, biologist Salvador Luria (1912–1991) was as much an activist as a scientist. In this first full-length biography of Luria, Rena Selya draws on extensive archival research; interviews with Luria’s family, colleagues, and students; and FBI documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act to create a compelling portrait of a man committed to both science and society.
In addition to his work with viruses and bacteria in the 1940s, Luria broke new ground in molecular biology and cancer research from the 1950s to the 1980s and was a leader in calling for scientists to accept an educational and advisory responsibility to the public. In return, he believed, the public should rely on science to strengthen social and political institutions.
Luria was born in Italy, where the Fascists came to power when he was ten. He left Italy for France due to the antisemitic Race Laws of 1938, and then fled as a Jewish refugee from Nazi Europe, making his way to the United States. Once an American citizen, Luria became a grassroots activist on behalf of civil rights, labor representation, nuclear disarmament, and American military disengagement from the Vietnam and Gulf Wars. Luria joined the MIT faculty in 1960 and was the founding director of the Center for Cancer Research. Throughout his life he remained as passionate about his engagement with political issues as about his science, and continued to fight for peace and freedom until his death.
Blacklisted from federal funding review panels but awarded a Nobel Prize for his research on bacteriophage, biologist Salvador Luria (1912–1991) was as much an activist as a scientist. In this first full-length biography of Luria, Rena Selya draws on extensive archival research; interviews with Luria’s family, colleagues, and students; and FBI documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act to create a compelling portrait of a man committed to both science and society.
In addition to his work with viruses and bacteria in the 1940s, Luria broke new ground in molecular biology and cancer research from the 1950s to the 1980s and was a leader in calling for scientists to accept an educational and advisory responsibility to the public. In return, he believed, the public should rely on science to strengthen social and political institutions.
Luria was born in Italy, where the Fascists came to power when he was ten. He left Italy for France due to the antisemitic Race Laws of 1938, and then fled as a Jewish refugee from Nazi Europe, making his way to the United States. Once an American citizen, Luria became a grassroots activist on behalf of civil rights, labor representation, nuclear disarmament, and American military disengagement from the Vietnam and Gulf Wars. Luria joined the MIT faculty in 1960 and was the founding director of the Center for Cancer Research. Throughout his life he remained as passionate about his engagement with political issues as about his science, and continued to fight for peace and freedom until his death.
236 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 25, 2022
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February 22, 2023I had a great time with this relatively short biography of Luria. It is probably best suited to those with some existing understanding of the heady world of 1920s-1960s science. In addition to his own significance, Luria was a student in Fermi's lab before the Fascists expelled Jews in 1938 (when Luria fled to France, always a wince moment with hindsight). Many years later, Luria chose his first graduate student well in James Watson, who remained close to him for many years. In the middle there, Luria, along with Max Delbruck, more or less proved the existence of genes in bacteria and that natural selection was the driving force of developing resistance. This discovery changed everything (my words, Selya explains better).
It is Luria's political work which is the focus here - a lifelong left-wing liberal, Luria was also involved in the fight that resulted in the US withdrawing from biological weapon development. He was the US scientist tasked with (unsuccessfully) writing to Haldane urging him to publicly review Lyskenko's work to stop it from becoming Soviet orthodoxy. In addition, he championed racial and sexual equality, and marched, wrote and taught against the war on Vietnam. Blackbanned by the FBI, and denied a passport, Luria nevertheless pursues a rewarding and influential career. (Selya has a rare moment of speculation around the international conference at which Rosalind Franklin first showed her images of DNA, noting that if some of the leftwing scientists denied passports for petty vindictive reasons had attended, the US might have got to the double-helix first).
It is Luria's political work which is the focus here - a lifelong left-wing liberal, Luria was also involved in the fight that resulted in the US withdrawing from biological weapon development. He was the US scientist tasked with (unsuccessfully) writing to Haldane urging him to publicly review Lyskenko's work to stop it from becoming Soviet orthodoxy. In addition, he championed racial and sexual equality, and marched, wrote and taught against the war on Vietnam. Blackbanned by the FBI, and denied a passport, Luria nevertheless pursues a rewarding and influential career. (Selya has a rare moment of speculation around the international conference at which Rosalind Franklin first showed her images of DNA, noting that if some of the leftwing scientists denied passports for petty vindictive reasons had attended, the US might have got to the double-helix first).
February 21, 2023
I'm about halfway thru, but the relevance of this story for each of us as a citizen at the current moment of peril for our democracy could not be greater. Meticulously researched. And Selya's prose styling is a pleasure to read.
Finished the book 2.20 and really enjoyed Selya's writing and Luria's story.
Finished the book 2.20 and really enjoyed Selya's writing and Luria's story.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews