Page "Wolf Szmuness" Paragraph 5

In 1969, Szmuness, his wife and their daughter Helena were permitted to attend a scientific meeting in Italy.

Upon arriving, Szmuness defected and emigrated to New York City in the United States for religious and political reasons.

Through the intervention of Walsh McDermott, a professor of public health at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, Szmuness was hired by the New York City Blood Center.

Because doctors from abroad are not usually accredited in the United States, Szmuness began as a laboratory technician, but his skills were quickly recognized, and, within two years, Szmuness headed his own lab.

A separate department of epidemiology at the Center was created for him, and he also became a full professor at the Columbia University School of Public Health.

According to Aaron Kellner, President of the Center, within five years of arriving in New York, Szmuness became " an international figure in epidemiology and the field of hepatitis ".