He was "an internationally recognized authority on infectious diseases and is credited with controlling the spread of brucellosis (undulant fever)".
[2] He attended the University of Wisconsin–Superior for one year and then, with the aid of a football scholarship, transferred to Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota.
[3] During these years, he was influenced by Hans Zinsser and George Minot[4] and co-authored a number of papers with his supervisor Chester Keefer.
Because of Dr. Spink's work, along with his colleagues at the University, the Minnesota Legislature enacted a law requiring the pasteurization of all milk for human consumption in 1950.
[1]Spink did research on gonorrhea, streptococcal pharyngitis, staphylococcal infections, brucellosis, and sepsis and septic shock caused by Gram-negative bacteria.