4 ms·

What's your dad's name? Do you have any material we can read?

Steeeve 10y ago
Steven Bix Kallestad - here's a blurb from early on when he developed a Hepatitis test: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2245&dat=19701221&id=CVszAAAAIBAJ&sjid=iDIHAAAAIBAJ&pg=3326,7065893 https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2245&dat=19701221&id=... Here's an article about his baboons escaping: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1798&dat=19660131&id=4PUeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=AIwEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1941,4002263 https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1798&dat=19660131&id=... (he rescued them from a research facility, they lived in his bathroom while he was at work, they escaped and lived in the trees outside for a few days) His public (amex) company getting sold to a private entity shortly after he died: http://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/03/business/company-news-kallestad-labs-to-be-acquired.html http://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/03/business/company-news-kall... (edited because I originally linked to a consecutive sale) His products still on the market: http://www.bio-rad.com/evportal/evolutionPortal.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=search_page&sfMode=search&sfStartNumber=1&clearQR=true&js=1&searchString=kallestad&database=productskus+productcategories+productdetails+abdProductDetails+msds+literatures+inserts+faqs+downloads+webpages+assays+genes+pathways+plates+promotions&tabName=DIVISIONNAME http://www.bio-rad.com/evportal/evolutionPortal.portal?_nfpb... And by the way... his patent on the mouth guard (he was a hockey player and one day decided people shouldn't lose so many teeth so he put this together with a friend) http://patents.justia.com/patent/3943924 http://patents.justia.com/patent/3943924 There's a whole world of things that he did and obviously there were a lot of other scientists involved, but suffice it to say that he had a hand in many advancements that are taken for granted today like STD tests and treatments, pregnancy tests, etc. He helped develop and improved a lot of equipment as well. A lot of the links I can find right now mention Kallestad products used in research like immunoassays, HGH, nephelometers, etc, but honestly it gets above my comprehension level pretty quickly. I can point to "page 273 of x research article where it mentions a specific product/patent/procedure that the research relied on, but it's not all that interesting if you aren't in the field (I don't think). My favorite story about him is about an aligator named Zago. My Uncle lived in Florida and decided on a whim to send my dad a live alligator. My dad, being a scientist and used to receiving shipments of animal based serums saw the label on the box and put it in the refrigerator. Days later, my Uncle called and asked him how he liked the new pet. He ran to the refrigerator and it was still alive and kicking. He kept it in the bathtub for a few years until it got too big and donated it to a zoo.
- mailshanx 10y ago
  That's a really cool story, thanks for sharing! Your dad has such a large and wide body of work that lives on even today. That's really amazing.

Steven Bix Kallestad - here's a blurb from early on when he developed a Hepatitis test: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2245&dat=19701221&id=CVszAAAAIBAJ&sjid=iDIHAAAAIBAJ&pg=3326,7065893 https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2245&dat=19701221&id=... Here's an article about his baboons escaping: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1798&dat=19660131&id=4PUeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=AIwEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1941,4002263 https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1798&dat=19660131&id=... (he rescued them from a research facility, they lived in his bathroom while he was at work, they escaped and lived in the trees outside for a few days) His public (amex) company getting sold to a private entity shortly after he died: http://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/03/business/company-news-kallestad-labs-to-be-acquired.html http://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/03/business/company-news-kall... (edited because I originally linked to a consecutive sale) His products still on the market: http://www.bio-rad.com/evportal/evolutionPortal.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=search_page&sfMode=search&sfStartNumber=1&clearQR=true&js=1&searchString=kallestad&database=productskus+productcategories+productdetails+abdProductDetails+msds+literatures+inserts+faqs+downloads+webpages+assays+genes+pathways+plates+promotions&tabName=DIVISIONNAME http://www.bio-rad.com/evportal/evolutionPortal.portal?_nfpb... And by the way... his patent on the mouth guard (he was a hockey player and one day decided people shouldn't lose so many teeth so he put this together with a friend) http://patents.justia.com/patent/3943924 http://patents.justia.com/patent/3943924 There's a whole world of things that he did and obviously there were a lot of other scientists involved, but suffice it to say that he had a hand in many advancements that are taken for granted today like STD tests and treatments, pregnancy tests, etc. He helped develop and improved a lot of equipment as well. A lot of the links I can find right now mention Kallestad products used in research like immunoassays, HGH, nephelometers, etc, but honestly it gets above my comprehension level pretty quickly. I can point to "page 273 of x research article where it mentions a specific product/patent/procedure that the research relied on, but it's not all that interesting if you aren't in the field (I don't think). My favorite story about him is about an aligator named Zago. My Uncle lived in Florida and decided on a whim to send my dad a live alligator. My dad, being a scientist and used to receiving shipments of animal based serums saw the label on the box and put it in the refrigerator. Days later, my Uncle called and asked him how he liked the new pet. He ran to the refrigerator and it was still alive and kicking. He kept it in the bathtub for a few years until it got too big and donated it to a zoo.

mailshanx 10y ago
That's a really cool story, thanks for sharing! Your dad has such a large and wide body of work that lives on even today. That's really amazing.