Search Results - Gajdusek, Daniel Carleton, 1923-2008

Daniel Carleton Gajdusek

Daniel Carleton Gajdusek ( ; September 9, 1923 – December 12, 2008) was an American physician and medical researcher who was the co-recipient (with Baruch S. Blumberg) of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1976 for work on the transmissibility of kuru, implying the existence of an infectious agent, which he named an 'unconventional virus'. In 1996, Gajdusek was charged with child molestation and, after being convicted, spent 12 months in prison before entering a self-imposed exile in Europe, where he died a decade later. Despite Gajdusek openly admitting to molesting boys and his approval of incest, he still received support from peers advocating for clemency who felt his crimes were lessened by his scientific contributions.

His papers are held at the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland and at the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Provided by Wikipedia