Schatz, Albert, 1920-2005

Dr. Albert Schatz is a medical researcher credited with joint discovery of the drug streptomycin in 1943, the first major remedy against tuberculosis. Schatz joined the Temple Univ. faculty in 1969 and in 1977 he was decorated by the French government for his service to humanity. Schatz.

lost the 1952 Nobel Prize for Medicine to Selman Waksman but he gained international recognition for his study of the impact of water fluoridation on infant mortality in Chile.

Dr. Albert Schatz joined the staff of the Science Education Department at Temple University’s College of Education in 1969. He was responsible for developing courses, programs and research activities for people interested in the teaching of biology.

Dr. Schatz is internationally known for his scientific research, and in 1977, he was decorated by the Government of France for meritorious service to humanity. In a study which drew worldwide interest, he showed that fluoridation of drinking water in Chile markedly increased infant mortality and the death rate of the population in general.

His most important work, and the major subject of this collection, concerns the discovery of the first effective drug against tuberculosis – the drug streptomycin – during the years 1943 and 1944. Following Dr. Schatz’s discovery, there was a lengthy legal battle over rights and ownership of the drug, with the ultimate determination that Dr. Schatz was the “legal and scientific co-discoverer” of streptomycin, with Dr. Waksman.

In 1952, however, the Nobel Prize in Medicine for the discovery of streptomycin went to Dr. Waksman, to the exclusion of Dr. Schatz, and initiated another round of public debate.

Dr. Schatz’s other major areas of study were more controversial. One area was the potential dangers of water fluoridation; as part of this research he traveled to Chile and studied the relationship between infant mortality rates and water fluoridation. The other controversial area was a "proteolysis-chelation theory" of tooth decay.