Robert L. Rausch

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Robert Lloyd Rausch (born July 20, 1921 in Marion , Ohio ; died October 6, 2012 in Bainbridge Island , Washington ) was an American parasitologist , mammalologist, and veterinarian .

education

Robert L. Rausch began his academic training at Ohio State University , where he received a bachelor's degree in zoology and entomology in 1942 and a degree in veterinary medicine (DVM, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine) in 1945 . Further studies in parasitology and wildlife management led him to a Masters of Science degree from Michigan State University in 1946 and a PhD from the University of Wisconsin in 1949 .

Professional career

In late 1948, Robert L. Rausch began working as a Senior Assistant Scientist at the Alaska Health Research Center (AHRC) of the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) in Anchorage , Alaska . At the time, there was little knowledge of the diversity of pathogens and their transmission routes to humans. Rausch's task was to research zoonotic diseases of the indigenous population. As part of his job, he conducted extensive field studies in the Brooks Range , the North Slope region and on St. Lawrence Island . He spent a lot of time with members of the Iñupiat people , whose support helped him in his research into the nature of Alaska. Occasionally he accompanied the last wandering groups of nomads through the wilderness.

From 1967 to 1974 Robert L. Rausch was the head of the Infectious Diseases Division of the AHRC in Fairbanks and taught at the same time, until 1975, at the University of Alaska Fairbanks . From 1975 he worked in Canada in the Department of Veterinary Microbiology of the Western College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan . In 1978 he moved to the University of Washington and taught in the departments of pathobiology and comparative medicine until 1992 . Since then he has held the title of Professor Emeritus .

In addition to his research and teaching activities, Rausch served as a consultant for numerous national and international organizations on issues relating to public health , zoonotic diseases and polar biology. The bodies he advised included bodies from the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization , the National Science Foundation , the National Academy of Sciences, and the Government of the People's Republic of China.

From 1976 to 1978 Robert L. Rausch was a member of the governing body of the Wildlife Disease Association. The American Society of Parasitologists elected him Vice President in 1982 and President in 1984, each for a term of one year.

Researches

Robert L. Rausch pioneered the study of alveolar echinococcosis , which was common among the Inuit in some areas , while he was in Alaska in the 1940s and 1950s . His research in North America and that of Hans Vogel at the Hamburg Institute for Tropical Medicine led to the discovery of the fox tapeworm as the causative agent of the disease and to the elucidation of its life cycle. This settled a dispute among parasitologists that had lasted almost a hundred years. His research on echinococci resulted in the discovery and first description - together with Jon J. Bernstein - of Echinococcus vogeli , the pathogen of polycystic echinococcosis widespread in Latin America . Other areas of Rausch's work were zoonoses such as trichinella , rabies , brucellosis and tularemia .

Rausch attached great importance to international cooperation from an early stage. Since the 1960s he had close contact with Soviet colleagues and repeatedly traveled to Siberia. To this day, the name Robert L. Rausch is inextricably linked to research into the parasite fauna and zoonoses of the polar regions of Alaska and Eastern Siberia.

Rausch's academic career spanned more than 60 years, and until a few years before his death he wrote more than 300 essays and book chapters. He carried out a large part of his research together with his wife Virginia R. Rausch , who survived him. The collection of mainly parasitic worms created by the Rausch couple consists of more than 60,000 objects, preserved in alcohol, on glass carriers and specimens for scanning electron microscopy . As the Robert L. and Virginia R. Rausch Helminthological Collection, it formed the basis of the parasite collection established in 2011 at the Museum of Southwestern Biology at the University of New Mexico . Another 4,000 specimens from mammals are also in this museum. Nearly 800 inventory items, including 133 type series , are in the United States National Parasite Collection .

Awards

  • Henry Baldwin Ward Medal from the American Society of Parasitologists (1961)
  • Awarded the Meritorious Service Medal by the United States Public Health Service (1965)
  • Establishment of the Robert and Virginia Rausch Visiting Professorship , a visiting professor at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan (1978)
  • KF Meyer Award from the American Veterinary Epidemiology Association (1979)
  • Wildlife Disease Association Distinguished Service Award (1983)
  • North Slope Borough Arctic Science Prize (1984)
  • Honorary Doctorate from the University of Saskatchewan (1985)
  • Honorary Doctorate from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (1987)
  • Honorary doctorate from the Vetsuisse Faculty of the University of Zurich (1992)
  • Distinguished Alumnus of Ohio State University (1994)
  • Distinguished Service Award from the American Society of Parasitologists (2001)
  • Public Service Award of the American Veterinary Medical Association (2009)
  • Appointment as Eminent Parasitologist by the American Society of Parasitologists (2011)

Dedication names (selection)

Initial descriptions (selection)

Publications (selection)

  • Notes on the Nuamiut Eskimo and mammals of the Anaktuvuk Pass Region, Brooks Range, Alaska . In: Arctic 1951, Volume 4, pp. 146-196, doi : 10.14430 / arctic3943 .
  • On the ecology and distribution of Echinococcus spp. (Cestoda: Taeniidae) and characteristics of their development in the intermediate host . In: Annales de parasitologie humaine et comparée 1967, Volume 42, No. 1, pp. 19-63, doi : 10.1051 / parasite / 1967421019 .
  • Trichinosis in the Arctic . In: Sylvester E. Gould (Ed.): Trichinosis in man and animals . Thomas, Springfield, IL 1970, pp. 348-373, OCLC 01599782 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Eric P. Hoberg: In Memoriam: Robert Lloyd Rausch - A Life in Nature and Field Biology, 1921–2012 . In: Journal of Parasitology , Volume 100, No. 4, 2014, pp. 547-552, online PDF, 1.4 MBhttp: //vorlage_digitalisat.test/1%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fdigitalcommons.unl.edu%2Fcgi%2Fviewcontent.cgi%3Farticle%3D1811%26context%3Dparasitologyfacpubs~GB%3D~IA%3D~MDZ%3D%0A~3D~MDZ% SZ% 3D ~ double-sided% 3D ~ LT% 3DOnline-PDF% 2C% 201% 2C4% 26nbsp% 3BMB ~ PUR% 3D (accessed July 5, 2017)
  2. ↑ a b c d e Johannes Eckert and Peter Deplazes: In memory of Prof. Dr. Dr. hc mult. Robert L. Rausch (July 20, 1921 - October 6, 2012). Honorary doctorate from the Vetsuisse Faculty in Zurich . In: Swiss Archives for Veterinary Medicine Volume 155, Issue 6, June 2013, p. 376, doi : 10.1024 / 0036-7281 / a000474
  3. ↑ Eric P. Hoberg: Presentation of the ASP Distinguished Service Award to Robert L. Rausch . In: Journal of Parasitology , Volume 87, No. 6, 2001, p. 1239, online PDF, 1.4 MBhttp: //vorlage_digitalisat.test/1%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fdigitalcommons.unl.edu%2Fcgi%2Fviewcontent.cgi%3Farticle%3D1670%26context%3Dparasitologyfacpubs~GB%3D~IA%3D~MDZ%3D%0A~3D~MDZ%3D%0A~ SZ% 3D ~ double-sided% 3D ~ LT% 3DOnline-PDF% 2C% 201% 2C4% 26nbsp% 3BMB ~ PUR% 3D (accessed July 5, 2017)
personal data
SURNAME Rausch, Robert L.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rausch, Robert Lloyd (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American Parasitologist, Mammalogist, and Veterinarian
DATE OF BIRTH July 20, 1921
PLACE OF BIRTH Marion , Ohio
DATE OF DEATH October 6, 2012
Place of death Bainbridge Island , Washington