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Yellapragada Subba Row, also known as Subbarao or Subba Roa, transformed science by making a large number of major discoveries which changed lives. He made important contributions in more than one field. Yellapragada helped in the discovery of the antibiotic, tetracycline, which is widely used today. He was born to a poor family in Bhimavaram Andhra Pradesh, India, on January 12,1895, one of three boys in his family. It took him three times to pass his high school examination from the Hindu High School in Madras. He attended Presidency College and was also admitted to Madras Medical College. He was able to pay for college with the help of various charities and financial assistance raised by his father-in-law.  Yellapragada Subba Row
married Seshagiri in 1922 and was able to travel
to the United States in 1923 to pursue his life long dream to study
medicine. One of the reasons why he wanted to study medicine was
because a tropical disease claimed the lives of his two
brothers.He worked various odd jobs just to get by. A lecturer in anatomy he was also a nighttime porter at a Boston, Massachusetts hospital. He managed to get a diploma in tropical medicine from Harvard Medical School because his Indian diploma was not accepted in the U.S. Then Yellapragada went to get his PhD. in biochemistry, which landed him at Lederle Laboratories. He helped in the discovery of tetracycline, an antibiotic, and folic acid, a vitamin. Then, suddenly on August 9,1948, Yellapragada Subba Row died peacefully in his sleep. He was only 53 years old. After the death of Yellapragada Subba Row, a drug was named after him, Subbaromyces Splendens. He made dozens of discoveries including vitamin B12, vitamin B9, methotrexate used to treat autoimmune diseases as well as cancer. His research led to the drug doxoicline which helped protect American soldiers of World War II from for malaria, although he wasn't an American citizen. For his great discoveries one would wonder why he was never awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Yellapragada Subba Row was not recognized by name by most people, including scientists around the world. He made a major contribution in the treatment of cancer with the drug methotrexate. Yellapragada Subba Row was not credited for his hard work and research. Dr. Subba Row was a genius for all of his wonderful research. Famous for transforming science and saving lives, Yellapragada invented drugs for people with health issues. He will be forever known for the discovery of antibiotics that we still use today. Yellapragada was finally honored in India by his face being on Hindu stamps and being Hindu of the year. |
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