Solomon Berson

Solomon Aaron Berson (April 22, 1918 – April 11, 1972) was an American physician and scientist whose discoveries, mostly together with Rosalyn Yalow, caused major advances in clinical biochemistry. Five years after Berson's death, Yalow received a Nobel Prize, which cannot be awarded posthumously, for their joint work on the radioimmunoassay. They were able to distinguish between two types of diabetes, Type I and Type II, which have significantly different mechanisms.

With the success of the insulin RIA, Berson and Yalow extended their success to other hormones, such as corticotropin, gastrin, parathyroid hormone and growth hormone, making significant discoveries in their physiology along the way.

Death In 1972, Berson died of a heart attack in Atlantic City while attending a FASEB meeting. Upon his death he was survived by his widow and two daughters.

The Solomon A. Berson Medical Alumni Achievement Award was created in Berson's honor by NYU School of Medicine.

Awards Berson, usually together with Yalow, received numerous awards for his work. In 1968, he was elected Murray M. Rosenberg Professor and Chair of Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine of the City University of New York, enjoying great popularity. He also served on the editorial boards of several medical journals. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1972. In 1975 Berson and Yalow received the AMA Scientific Achievement Award (Berson posthumously), and two years later Yalow received a Nobel Prize (which cannot be awarded posthumously) for their joint work on the radioimmunoassay.