- Persona
- 1920-2008
Dr. Saul Kit (November 25, 1920 - January 24, 2008) was a leader in biochemistry in the Texas Medical Center. He was chief of the section of nucleoprotein metabolism in the Department of Biochemistry at M.D. Anderson Hospital, and later Head of the Division of Biochemical Virology at Baylor College of Medicine. He served as President of the Southwest Section of the American Association for Cancer Researchers, the Treasurer of the American Society for Cell Biology, and President of the American Society for Cell Biology. Dr. Kit was a recipient of numerous research grants from National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, The American Cancer Society, Leukemia Society, Robert A. Welch Foundation, and the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. For over 25 years he received a Research Career Award from the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. In 1987, he was honored with the Distinguished Inventor of the Year Award for developing the world's first genetically engineered vaccine to be licensed by the U.S. government. Dr. Kit was granted numerous United States and International patents for his pioneering vaccine inventions.