In 1952, Samuel I. Rapaport, MD, while working at the Long Beach Veterans Administration Hospital, was introduced to Norwegian physician Paul Owren. Dr. Owren was giving a lecture on new developments in the blood coagulation field. During his visit, Dr. Owren mentioned to Dr. Rapaport that there was a Fulbright Research Scholarship in Medicine available in Norway, and, impressed with his interest in blood coagulation, he urged Dr. Rapaport to apply for it. After talking with his wife, Joyce, and after giving her several reasons why he shouldn't apply, she was persistent in urging him to submit an application. He relented, but he did so with the proviso that she type the application.

These events were the beginning of an illustrious research career in blood coagulation spanning four and a half decades that resulted in key discoveries, including the discovery that factor VII existed in plasma in two forms: VII and VIIa, the development of the activated partial thromboplastin time, the importance of a trace of thrombin to activate factor V... [Continue reading this article by selecting the Profile link below.]