George Whipple
Encyclopedia
George Hoyt Whipple was an American physician, pathologist, biomedical researcher, and medical school educator and administrator. Whipple shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
in 1934 with George Richards Minot and William Parry Murphy "for their discoveries concerning liver
therapy in cases of anemia
."
Whipple was born to Ashley Cooper Whipple and Frances Anna Hoyt in Ashland, New Hampshire
. He was the son and grandson of physicians. Whipple attended Phillips Academy
and then Yale University
from which he graduated with a B.A. degree in 1900. He attended medical school at the Johns Hopkins University
from which he received the M.D. degree in 1905.
After graduation. Whipple worked in the pathology department at Hopkins until he went to Panama
, during the time of the construction of the Panama Canal
, as pathologist to the Ancon Hospital in 1907-08. Whipple returned to Baltimore
, serving successively as Assistant, Instructor, Associate and Associate Professor in Pathology at The Johns Hopkins University
between 1910 and 1914.
In 1914, Whipple was appointed Professor of Research Medicine and Director of the Hooper Foundation for Medical Research at the University of California
Medical School. He was dean of that medical school in 1920 and 1921.
At the urging of Abraham Flexner
, who had done pioneering studies of medical education, and University of Rochester
President Rush Rhees
, Whipple agreed in 1921 to become Dean of the newly funded and yet-to-be-built medical school in Rochester, New York
. Whipple thus became Professor and Chairman of Pathology and the founding Dean of the new School of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Rochester. Whipple served the School as the Dean until 1954 and remained at Rochester for the rest of his life. He was remembered as a superb teacher. Whipple died in 1976 at the age of 97 and is interred in Rochester's Mount Hope Cemetery
.
Though he is not related to Allen Whipple
, who described the Whipple procedure and Whipple's triad
, the two were lifelong friends.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016508599704853.
and with the physiology
and pathology
of the liver
. He won the Nobel Prize for his discovery that liver fed to anemic dogs reverses the effects of the anemia. This remarkable discovery led directly to successful liver treatment of pernicious anemia
by Minot and Murphy. Before that time, pernicious anemia had been truly pernicious in that it was invariably fatal.
In presenting the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1934, Professor I. Holmgren of the Nobel committee observed that "Of the three prize winners, it was Whipple who first occupied himself with the investigations for which the prize is now awarded. ... Whipple's experiments were planned exceedingly well, and carried out very accurately, and consequently their results can lay claim to absolute reliability. These investigations and results of Whipple's gave Minot and Murphy the idea that an experiment could be made to see whether favorable results might also be obtained in the case of pernicious anemia
...by making use of the foods of the kind that Whipple had found to yield favorable results in his experiments regarding anemia from loss of blood."
Whipple was also the first person to describe an unknown disease he called lipodystrophia intestinalis because there were abnormal
lipid
deposits in the small intestine wall. Whipple also correctly pointed to the bacteria
l cause of the disease in his original report in 1907. The condition has since come to be called Whipple's disease
.
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will...
in 1934 with George Richards Minot and William Parry Murphy "for their discoveries concerning liver
Liver
The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...
therapy in cases of anemia
Anemia
Anemia is a decrease in number of red blood cells or less than the normal quantity of hemoglobin in the blood. However, it can include decreased oxygen-binding ability of each hemoglobin molecule due to deformity or lack in numerical development as in some other types of hemoglobin...
."
Whipple was born to Ashley Cooper Whipple and Frances Anna Hoyt in Ashland, New Hampshire
Ashland, New Hampshire
Ashland is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,076 at the 2010 census. Located near the geographical center of the state, Ashland is home to Scribner-Fellows State Forest....
. He was the son and grandson of physicians. Whipple attended Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy is a selective, co-educational independent boarding high school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, along with a post-graduate year...
and then Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
from which he graduated with a B.A. degree in 1900. He attended medical school at the Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
from which he received the M.D. degree in 1905.
After graduation. Whipple worked in the pathology department at Hopkins until he went to Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, during the time of the construction of the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
, as pathologist to the Ancon Hospital in 1907-08. Whipple returned to Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, serving successively as Assistant, Instructor, Associate and Associate Professor in Pathology at The Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
between 1910 and 1914.
In 1914, Whipple was appointed Professor of Research Medicine and Director of the Hooper Foundation for Medical Research at the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
Medical School. He was dean of that medical school in 1920 and 1921.
At the urging of Abraham Flexner
Abraham Flexner
Abraham Flexner was an American educator. His Flexner Report, published in 1910, reformed medical education in the United States...
, who had done pioneering studies of medical education, and University of Rochester
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.The...
President Rush Rhees
Rush Rhees
Rush Rhees was a philosopher at Swansea University from 1940 to 1966Rhees is principally known as a student, friend, and literary executor of the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. With G. E. M. Anscombe, he edited Wittgenstein's posthumous Philosophical Investigations , a highly influential work...
, Whipple agreed in 1921 to become Dean of the newly funded and yet-to-be-built medical school in Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
. Whipple thus became Professor and Chairman of Pathology and the founding Dean of the new School of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Rochester. Whipple served the School as the Dean until 1954 and remained at Rochester for the rest of his life. He was remembered as a superb teacher. Whipple died in 1976 at the age of 97 and is interred in Rochester's Mount Hope Cemetery
Mount Hope Cemetery, Rochester
Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester, New York, founded in 1838, is the United States' first municipal rural cemetery. Situated on 196 acres of land adjacent to the University of Rochester on Mount Hope Avenue, the cemetery is the permanent resting place of over 350,000 people...
.
Though he is not related to Allen Whipple
Allen Whipple
Allen Oldfather Whipple was an American surgeon who is known for the pancreatic cancer operation which bears his name as well as Whipple's triad....
, who described the Whipple procedure and Whipple's triad
Whipple's triad
Whipple's triad is a collection of three criteria that suggest a patient's symptoms result from hypoglycemia that may indicate insulinoma...
, the two were lifelong friends.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016508599704853.
Whipple's research
Whipple's main research was concerned with anemiaAnemia
Anemia is a decrease in number of red blood cells or less than the normal quantity of hemoglobin in the blood. However, it can include decreased oxygen-binding ability of each hemoglobin molecule due to deformity or lack in numerical development as in some other types of hemoglobin...
and with the physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
and pathology
Pathology
Pathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....
of the liver
Liver
The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...
. He won the Nobel Prize for his discovery that liver fed to anemic dogs reverses the effects of the anemia. This remarkable discovery led directly to successful liver treatment of pernicious anemia
Pernicious anemia
Pernicious anemia is one of many types of the larger family of megaloblastic anemias...
by Minot and Murphy. Before that time, pernicious anemia had been truly pernicious in that it was invariably fatal.
In presenting the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1934, Professor I. Holmgren of the Nobel committee observed that "Of the three prize winners, it was Whipple who first occupied himself with the investigations for which the prize is now awarded. ... Whipple's experiments were planned exceedingly well, and carried out very accurately, and consequently their results can lay claim to absolute reliability. These investigations and results of Whipple's gave Minot and Murphy the idea that an experiment could be made to see whether favorable results might also be obtained in the case of pernicious anemia
Pernicious anemia
Pernicious anemia is one of many types of the larger family of megaloblastic anemias...
...by making use of the foods of the kind that Whipple had found to yield favorable results in his experiments regarding anemia from loss of blood."
Whipple was also the first person to describe an unknown disease he called lipodystrophia intestinalis because there were abnormal
lipid
Lipid
Lipids constitute a broad group of naturally occurring molecules that include fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins , monoglycerides, diglycerides, triglycerides, phospholipids, and others...
deposits in the small intestine wall. Whipple also correctly pointed to the bacteria
Bacteria
Bacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...
l cause of the disease in his original report in 1907. The condition has since come to be called Whipple's disease
Whipple's disease
Whipple's disease is a rare, systemic infectious disease caused by the bacterium Tropheryma whipplei. First described by George Hoyt Whipple in 1907 and commonly considered a gastrointestinal disorder, Whipple's disease primarily causes malabsorption but may affect any part of the body including...
.