Robert Guthrie

Robert Guthrie was an American microbiologist, born in 1916 and died in 1995, best known for developing the bacterial inhibition assay used to screen newborn infants for phenylketonuria before irreversible neurological damage occurs. He also pioneered collecting whole blood on specially designed filter paper, known as Guthrie cards, a sample method that is still used in newborn screening programs around the world. After his niece was diagnosed with phenylketonuria in 1958 he turned his attention to preventable causes of intellectual disability, and from 1961 his laboratory screened infants, reaching 400,000 American newborns within two years. He adapted the method to galactosemia and maple syrup urine disease, and was involved in a notable 1960s dispute over patent rights to federally funded research. The International Society for Neonatal Screening awards a Robert Guthrie Award in his name.