Fighting for science and sanity

Patrick Crago, MS ’70, PhD ’74, wheeled across the hardwood floor of his Cleveland Heights living room with practiced ease, then reached up from his chair to greet me with a handshake and a warm smile. The emeritus professor of biomedical engineering long ago learned to navigate life with a crippling handicap. Still, he’s astonished, and angry, that any parent would risk the same fate for their child.

The Salk vaccine came too late for Crago, who was five years old when polio struck with paralyzing power. Now, as more and more parents skip vaccines for their children, he finds himself sharing his life story. He’s emerged as one of the spokespeople for Grandparents for Vaccines, which you’ll read about in this issue and which is why I recently visited his home.

Crago sees a frightening irony at work. So effective were vaccines, he believes, many people have no memory of the horrible diseases they prevented. And so they become susceptible to misinformation and anti-science rhetoric.

Crago can never forget. He spent nearly a year in a rehabilitation center learning how to walk with braces and crutches.

He went on to an impactful career at Case, where he pioneered motor control and neural engineering and retired after 40 years on the faculty. Now he finds himself teaching again, sharing his story as measles outbreaks re-emerge. “I think it’s alarming” what’s being done to children, he says. “It’s very disturbing to see that they come down with a horrible disease that’s entirely preventable.” For 140 years, Case alumni have stood up for science. Many can still recite the cheer that ends with a rousing “S-C-I — E-N-C-E!” Professor Crago is the latest, noble champion of that tradition.