| thomas huckle weller md: nobel laureate and research pioneer in poliomyelitis, varicella-zoster virus, cytomegalovirus, rubella, and other infectious diseases. | in 1954, the nobel prize for medicine was awarded to drs john enders, thomas weller, and frederick robbins for their watershed discovery that growth of poliomyelitis virus occurred in cultures of cells of extraneural origin, first reported in 1949. their demonstration in 1949 that the lansing type ii strain of poliomyelitis could be grown in cultures of human embryonic tissue set into motion a race to develop a vaccine for the disease that had crippled countless thousands of individuals. the dis ... | 2002 | 12118846 |