Irving M. London | |
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| Born | 24 July 1918 Malden, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | 23 May 2018(2018-05-23) (aged 99) |
| Alma mater | Harvard University Hebrew College Harvard Medical School |
| Known for | Molecular regulation of hemoglobin synthesis |
| Awards | Theobald Smith Award in Medical Sciences of the American Association for the Advancement of Science(1953) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Health Sciences and Technology |
| Institutions | Harvard University Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Irving M. London (July 24, 1918 – May 23, 2018) was ahematologist andgeneticist. He was an associate professor of medicine atColumbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons when he was selected to be the founding chair of the department of medicine at theAlbert Einstein College of Medicine in 1955.[1] He was recruited to become the founding director of theHarvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology in 1970.[2][3] Dr. London was the first professor to hold dual roles at both Harvard and MIT.[4]
London graduated fromHarvard College andHarvard Medical School.[5] London died on May 23, 2018, at age 99.[6]
London was born inMalden, Massachusetts on 24 July 1918. His parents identified as Russian Jewish.[7] His mother may have been named Rose London (1892-1944), and a sister named Marion.[8]
In his childhood years, London hadpolio. He completed his primary and secondary education atMalden Public Schools inMassachusetts.[7]
While in college, London worked at a library on a salary funded by theNational Youth Administration as part of theNew Deal during theGreat Depression era.[7]
London married Huguette Piedzicki. They met in Paris and maintained a long-distance relationship until marriage. They had two Children, Robb and David, and many extended family members.[4]
London graduated fromHarvard College in 1939summa cum laude. He was on a student committee at Harvard that gave 14 refugee students the opportunity to leaveNazi-occupied Europe to study in Boston.[4][7] London also earned a second undergraduate degree fromHebrew College inRoxbury at the same time.[7] London delivered the graduating address at Harvard, the content of which was inspired by his thesis "The Jeffersonian Tradition in American Nationalism".[7] London gave serious thought to attending law school after graduation, but ultimately chose to enroll in medical school.[7]
After completing an MD from HMS in 1943, Dr. London accepted an internship atColumbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. DuringWorld War II he served as a US Army captain in the Medical Corps where he conducted research on the use ofchloroquine as anantimalarial medication. After the war, he was assigned toBikini Atoll in theMarshall Islands of the SouthPacific Ocean to serve a physician at theatomic bomb testing.[9]
London returned to New York City after the war to continue residency training. Upon completion, he joined the department of biochemistry atColumbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons and was promoted to faculty, teaching and tenure. His research focused on the lifespan ofred blood cells in normal and pathological conditions.[4] In 1954, he was selected to be the founding chair of the department of medicine at theAlbert Einstein College of Medicine, and was director of medical services atBronx Municipal Hospital until 1970.[9]
In 1968, London was invited as a consultant to planning for theMassachusetts Institute of Technology andHarvard Medical School joint program. In 1970 he accepted a position a director of the newHarvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology, and around 1972 he was also a physician atPeter Bent Brigham Hospital.[10] London served as director of the program until 1985 while simultaneously a professor of medicine at HMS and a professor of biology at MIT.[9]
London is best known for groundbreaking explanation for the molecular regulation (gene transcription and translation) ofhemoglobin synthesis.[9] London and colleagues demonstrated that hemoglobin is the endogenous source ofbilirubin,[11] an important event in the fields ofjaundice andheme oxygenase research.
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