Jonas Salk was born in New York City, New York in the year 1914. Although originally pursuing a career in Law, he decided to go into pre-med. 

At the New York University of Medicine, Salk researched influenza briefly, and after graduating, joined a research fellowship at the University of Michigan. 

Under the direction of Dr. Thomas Francis, Salk began to work toward an influenza vaccine for the military. This was important because WWII was happening at the time. 

Fellowship Complete! 

Salk began to study the polio virus at the University of Pittsburgh