George W. Thorn

George Widmer Thorn (born January 15, 1906 in Buffalo , New York , † June 26, 2004 in Beverly , Massachusetts ) was an American endocrinologist at Harvard Medical School and longtime leader of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute .

Thorn first studied at the College of Wooster in Ohio and earned an MD from the University at Buffalo with a medical degree. From 1942 to 1972, Thorn was medical director of the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital , a teaching hospital at Harvard Medical School . He was able to make significant contributions to the diagnosis and therapy of Addison's disease ( adrenal insufficiency ). The ACTH stimulation test and the treatment with synthetic glucocorticoids go back to Thorn. He also promoted the development of nephrology there . The first long-term successful kidney transplant took place in 1954 at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital ( Joseph Edward Murray , Nobel Prize for Medicine 1990). The dialysis machines available at the "Brigham" were also significantly improved. In 1950, Thorn was a founding editor of Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine , now a standard textbook in internal medicine (19th edition 2016).

Thorn had been friends with the entrepreneur Howard Hughes since the 1940s and was able to convince him to donate the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) in 1953 . After Hughes' death in 1976, large parts of his billions went to the foundation. Thorn had a decisive influence on the HHMI. He himself was research director and member of the supervisory board from 1955, president from 1981 to 1984 and chairman of the HHMI from 1984 to 1990 . After his retirement in 1998 he remained chairman emeritus .

George W. Thorn was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1944 . In 1959 he received the Banting Medal of the American Diabetes Association , in 1961 the Amory Prize of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (together with John P. Merrill and Benjamin F. Miller , for their imaginative handling of the medical problems connected with the management of renal failure and kidney transplantation ), the George M. Kober Medal of the Association of American Physicians in 1976 and the Public Welfare Medal of the National Academy of Sciences in 1997 . Thorn held a total of 13 honorary doctorates , including from Boston University , Temple University and the University of Geneva . At Brigham and Women's Hospital , the successor to Peter Bent Brigham Hospital , the George W. Thorn Center for Endocrine Disorders has existed since 1986 .

Thorn was married twice. From his first marriage to Doris Weston († 1984) comes a son. With his second wife, Claire Hyman Steinert († 1990), he had two stepchildren.

Web links

• In Memoriam George W. Thorn, 1906-2004 ( Memento of August 28, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
• Nora Krug: George Thorn, 98, Pioneer In Addison's Disease, Dies. In: nytimes.com. July 18, 2004, accessed July 19, 2017 . 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Book of Members 1780 – present, Chapter T. (PDF; 432 kB) In: American Academy of Arts and Sciences (amacad.org). Retrieved July 19, 2017 . 
2. ^ Banting Medal for Scientific Achievement Award. (No longer available online.) In: diabetes.org. Archived from the original on November 13, 2016 ; Retrieved July 19, 2017 . 
3. ^ Past Prizes. In: amacad.org. Retrieved September 7, 2019 . 
4. ↑ George M. Kober Medal and Lectureship. In: aap-online.org. Retrieved July 19, 2017 . 
5. ↑ George W. Thorn to Receive 1997 Public Welfare Medal, Academy's Highest Honor. In: www8.nationalacademies.org. February 7, 1997, accessed July 19, 2017 .