Temple Pioneers
Temple has been a foundry for many medical firsts, regionally, nationally and globally. For example, Philadelphia's first heart transplant was performed at Temple in 1984 -- and for a time, Temple was the number one center for adult heart transplants in the nation. In the 1940s, Temple became the birthplace of stereotactic surgery. The nation’s first university-based sports medicine department in the world opened at Temple in 1974. In 2014, Temple became the first in the world to excise HIV-1 virus from cultured human cells. Less than two years later, the team eliminated the virus from the genome of human T-cells using the specialized gene editing system. Temple’s legendary faculty includes:
W. Wayne Babcock, professor of surgery from 1903-43, earned wide reputation by invention of instruments and techniques, numerous writings, and expert teaching. He was recipient of the AMA’s Distinguished Gold Medal for outstanding contributions to medicine and humanity, earning worldwide recognition for pioneering the abdominoperipheral proctosigmoidectomy and other procedures and for inventing dozens of surgical instruments, such as Babcock's viscera forceps and Babcock's sump drain and lamp chimney sump drain. His text -- Babcock's Principles and Practice of Surgery -- remained the authoritative text in surgery through the 1950s. In 1907, he used spinal anesthesia for the first time in the United States and was also the first to use steel sutures and wire mesh for hernia repair.
Catherine L. Bacon, psychiatrist expert in psychosomatic medicine; her writings included a book about direct analysis in the treatment of mental disorders.
Harry E. Bacon, medical school alumnus (1925), first editor of SKULL yearbook. Head of Division of Colorectal Surgery; contributions to control of cancer and related problems gained him global recognition. He was a founding member of the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery.
W. Emory Burnett made outstanding contributions to thoracic and vascular surgery--and performed the first pneumonectomy in Philadelphia (1938). He held high office in the American College of Surgeons and other professional organizations.
W. Edward Chamberlain was a radiologist who with Temple associates developed contrast and cine radiological techniques. Their image intensifier in fluoroscopy made possible movie films, television viewing and three-dimensional effects in x-ray diagnosis. He also invented the electrokyomgraph, which made it possible to visualize the movement of the heart.
Agnes Barr Chase, medical school alumna (1909), also an accomplished artist and illustrator. Graduate of Moore College of Art and Design; with husband Dr. Theodore L. Chase compiled an atlas of surgery.
Thomas M. Durant, celebrated internist, made significant contributions to electrocardiography, contrast visualization and dynamics of circulation and respiration. Durant held many high-level posts with professional associations. He was Chair of the American Board of Internal Medicine and President of both the American Federation for Clinical Research and the American College of Physicians.
O. Spurgeon English, renowned psychiatrist, with Dr. Edward Weiss at Temple wrote a signal volume on psychosomatic medicine. Established clinics in child, adult and family mental health. Author, teacher, psychotherapist.
Matthew S. Ersner, medical school alumnus (1912) and long-time Chairman of Temple's Department of Otorhinology. A devoted teacher and skillful surgeon, he trained numerous specialists who continue his work.
Temple S. Fay, neurosurgeon who introduced use of hypothermia in medical and surgical problems (1939). Also developed rehabilitation procedures based upon analysis of phylogenetic movements. Fay was a founding member of the Harvey Cushing Society.
Robison Harley, who headed Temple ophthalmology in the 1970s, wrote the world’s first reference text on pediatric ophthalmology.
Harriet L. Hartley, professor of hygiene and public health for twenty years (1924-44). Her chief interests were maternal and child health and environmental sanitation.
John Franklin Huber, the eminent anatomist who is distinguished for his delineation of the bronchopulmonary segments, research conducted with Chevalier L. Jackson and Charles M. Norris, and for use of audiovisual techniques in teaching.
Chevalier Jackson, known as the father of bronchoesophagology, devoted his long professional life to devising new and life-saving devices and procedures in laryngology and bronchoesophagology. With his son Dr. Chevalier L. Jackson and their co-worker Dr. Charles M. Norris, he instituted the well-known graduate course conducted at Temple University Hospital which attracts physicians from all parts of the world for instruction in various aspects of the air and food passages.
Richard A. Kern, pioneer allergist, medical leader and statesman. Expert in military and tropical medicine, trustee of Temple University, president of the American College of Physicians.
John A. Kolmer, a national leader in preventive medicine and public health, achieved wide recognition by his research in immunology, serodiagnosis and chemotherapy. Kolmer developed one of the first tests for syphilis. He was nationally recognized for his contributions to immunology, serodiagnosis and chemotherapy. In 1935 he opened one of the first polio clinics in the nation at Temple.
Leroy W. Krumperman, medical alumnus (1944), Chairman of Department of Anesthesiology, 1950-75. Recognized for skill in regional anesthesia; first chief of Temple University Hospital's Pain Control Clinic. Research with colleagues on apparatus and techniques won national accolades.
Frank H. Krusen, originator in physical medicine, established the first such department in this country at Temple University Hospital (1929). He moved to the Mayo Clinic in 1935 and later returned to Temple, whose rehabilitation center bears his name.
John Lachman, Chair of Orthopedics, alumnus of the Class of 1943, developed the Lachman test for ACL instability.
John Lansbury, who chaired rheumatology at Temple in the 1930s, established the Lansbury Index, the first method to standardize the assessment of the severity of arthritis.
Dawn B. Marks, served as Professor of Biochemistry and Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies during her tenure at Temple University. Her text, Review of Biochemistry (1990), has been translated into five languages and became the basis for a USMLE biochemistry board review book universally referenced by medical students preparing for the boards.
John Royal Moore, orthopaedic surgeon, originated technique of delayed reduction of fractures and gained wide recognition as an operator and teacher.
Waldo E. Nelson, head of pediatrics for 25 years, medical director of St. Christopher's Hospital for Children. Editor of the well-known Textbook of Pediatrics, now in its 19th edition with translations into several languages.
Wendell Reber, Temple’s first chair of ophthalmology, was a founding member of the American Board of Ophthalmology (1906).
Victor Robinson, a pioneer medical historian, author, editor and teacher of international stature. He was a great contributor to Temple University libraries.
Hugo Roesler, a Vienna-trained cardiologist/electrocardiographer and author of an early book on cardiovascular imaging (1937).
Charles Sajous, Chair of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, published the first American textbook in endocrinology and was founding president of the Association for the Study of the Internal Secretions. He edited the Universal Medical Sciences Annual, Sajous' Analytic Cyclopedia of Practical Medicine, and The Principles of Medicine. He was also managing editor of the New York Medical Journal.
Machteld Elisabeth Sano, Belgian-trained clinical pathologist known for her research on tissue culture and use of fibrin glue for skin grafting. She served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps during World War II.
Jay Shamberg, for whom three dermatological diseases are named.
Sol Sherry, distinguished professor of medicine and dean, famed for research in hemostasis and thrombolytic therapy. Master and clinical investigation medalist of the American College of Physicians, Dr. Sherry revolutionized the treatment of acute myocardial infarction through his pioneering work in thrombolytic therapy -- and trained many of today's leaders in the field of thrombosis and hemostasis. He founded the Council on Thrombosis of the American Heart Association and the International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis.
Ernest A. Spiegel, neurologist, with Dr. Henry T. Wycis and others, devised stereoencephalotomy, with stereotactic procedures for control of pain, tremor, and convulsive disorders.
Shirley M. Tilghman, alumna-faculty member in molecular biology. Scientist at Fox Chase Cancer Center and NIH before Princeton professorship. Eminent in gene-genome research; elected first female president of Princeton University in 2001.
Sidney Weinhouse, headed Fels Research Institute of Temple University and edited the journal Cancer Research. Noted for investigations of biochemical mechanisms and properties of cancer cells, he was a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
J. Robert Willson, who authored three textbooks, including Obstetrics & Gynecology, which had nine editions over the past 35 years.
Joseph Wolpe, professor of psychiatry, ‘father’ of behavioral modification therapy. Internationally recognized leader in psychology and psychiatry. Writer and editor, practitioner, researcher.
Eugene Van Scott, developer of alpha hydroxy acids.