Abel Develops the First Artificial Kidney.

The origins of the artificial kidney are found in the biochemical research of John Jacob Abel, the first professor of pharmacology at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and the clinical investigations of Willem Johan Kolff, a Dutch physician. Abel, often praised as the “father of American pharmacology,” is the prototype of the first generation of professional American scientists. To pursue a career in physiological chemistry, Abel went to Europe, where he worked in the laboratories of several notable biochemists. Under their tutelage, he learned both the theory and the laboratory technique necessary to conduct independent biochemical research. He received his medical degree in Strasbourg in 1888.