Robert Allan Phillips
Robert Allan Phillips MD was a research scientist during World War II who developed battlefield methods to evaluate hemoglobin levels using specific gravity saving many lives. This method is used in blood donor clinics to determine whether a person is healthy enough to donate blood. Continuing in the Navy his research turned to cholera where he spearheaded the efforts of Naval Medical Research Unit Two to develop a cure for the disease. He evaluated the course of the disease and developed the protocol for rehydration used today which has saved millions of lives. His research lead the Lasker Foundation to award him a prize in 1967. In his retirement, he collaborated with the University of Washington and the Chinese Government doing research in kidney failure again using hydration as a solution in remote areas of China where dialysis was not available.
