Kenneth Brinkhous
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Merle Brinkhous (1908–2000) was a professor and chairperson in the Department of 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....

 and Laboratory Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...

. Brinkhous remained active in research until shortly before his death.

Education

Brinkhous graduated from the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...

 Medical School with an M.D. in 1932 and trained in the specialty of pathology there. His mentor, Dr. Harry P. Smith, led a training program that combined clinical aspects of pathology and laboratory research, the latter focusing on aspects of blood coagulation. While in Iowa, Dr. Brinkhous carried out research on hemophilia as part of a research team that included several other physicians interested in coagulation. Brinkhous made the seminal discovery of antihemophilic factor (Factor VIII
Factor VIII
Factor VIII is an essential blood clotting factor also known as anti-hemophilic factor . In humans, Factor VIII is encoded by the F8 gene...

) and showed that it was lacking in hemophiliac patients.

His research in Iowa was disrupted by World War II. During that conflict, Dr. Brinkhous commanded an Army laboratory in Australia, which served as a reference facility for the U. S. military forces in the South Pacific. After the war he returned to Iowa, but did not remain there long.

Career at the University of North Carolina

In 1946, Brinkhous accepted the chairmanship of pathology at the University of North Carolina (UNC), and held that position until 1973. During his tenure, the department evolved from a two-faculty section, without a strong research presence, into a widely-recognized research department. Brinkhous also developed a high quality of teaching and clinical service. He had a leading role in planning and implementing the pathology laboratories for the North Carolina Memorial Hospital that opened in 1952. Brinkhous was influential in the development and staffing of an expanded medical school faculty at UNC, especially in its clinical departments. His philosophy was that excellent teaching and clinical service required associated research programs of high quality.

Brinkhous developed a coagulation research program at UNC, which stressed team efforts between researchers who worked in concert but from different perspectives. Throughout his career, Dr. Brinkhous recruited local students to research, many of whom became renowned scientists in their own right. He was an outstanding mentor, who combined friendship and personal concern with a demand for persistent, intense effort. Contributions made by coagulationists at UNC included the demonstration that hemophilia could be controlled by administering plasma containing Factor VIII, and the development of methods to purify and concentrate Factor VIII for use as a therapeutic agent. The partial thromboplastin test was also developed, as now used in hospital laboratories around the world. The team also investigated Von Willebrand disease
Von Willebrand disease
von Willebrand disease is the most common hereditary coagulation abnormality described in humans, although it can also be acquired as a result of other medical conditions. It arises from a qualitative or quantitative deficiency of von Willebrand factor , a multimeric protein that is required for...

, and studied the effects of snake venom on blood clotting. That work led to the use of proteases in treating victims of vascular thrombosis.

Awards & Honors

Kenneth Brinkhous earned many honors, including honorary doctoral degrees from UNC and the University of Chicago; the O. Max Gardner Award of the UNC Board of Governors; election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...

 and to the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...

; and the Gold-Headed Cane Award from the American Society of Pathologists, an organization he had served as President. In 1997 he received recognition from the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...

 for the longest continuous extramural grant award (1947–1997).

Personal life

Brinkhous was married for 64 years to his wife, Frances. They had 2 sons, one of whom predeceased his father.
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