A titan in the field of genetics has crossed over
For
those of you who knew Dr. Robert Gorlin, he passed away of
complications of lymphoma on Tuesday morning, August 29, 2006. The
following is from the
School of Dentistry at the University of Minnesota.
Dr. Robert Gorlin:
Although
Dr. Gorlin retired from his position at the dental school in 1993, he
continued to lecture, write articles, edit text books, consult and, of
course, to come to the dental school every day until only recently when
his illness curtailed those visits. In addition to his faculty position
at the dental school, Dr. Gorlin also held joint appointments in the
University's Departments of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology,
Obstetrics and Gynecology, Otolaryngology, Pediatrics, and Dermatology.
Dr.
Gorlin was an internationally acclaimed expert on oral and
maxillofacial pathology, as well as genetic defects and syndromes,
craniofacial disorders and hereditary hearing loss. A lifelong observer
of life's rarer forms of disease, he studied physical malformations for
clues they provide about normal development and for the answers to some
of biology's most basic questions. Over the course of his 50 years at
the University, he studied and named more than 100 syndromes caused by
genetic defects, discovering six in the process that were named for
him. For several of those 100 syndromes, he and colleagues have been
able to isolate the gene that causes the condition. His pioneering work
has enabled physicians to assess and treat many genetic birth defects
and is helping molecular biologists find ways to prevent or lessen
their effects.
Internationally applauded across a variety of
disciplines, he was the recipient of numerous awards, including five
honorary doctorate degrees from universities as far away as Athens,
Dublin and Copenhagen. In 1997, he was named a Senior Fellow in the
Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences which serves
as an advisor to the country in the conduct of studies and other
activities on matters of significance to health. That same year, he
also received the prestigious Premio Phoenix Anni Verdi Award,
presented by the Italian Medical Genetics Society in recognition of his
basic and applied research in genetically transmitted diseases, as well
as the Goldhaber Award from Harvard University. In 2002, he received
the University of Minnesota's highest honor, an honorary Doctor of
Science Award, and in 2003 he was recognized by the American Dental
Association with its Norton A. Ross Award. In 2004 he was the recipient
of the American Society of Human Genetics Award for Excellence in Human
Genetics Education and was the invited presenter on the topic of
genetic signaling in development and disease at the Nobel Foundation
conference in Stockholm. Committed always to sharing his knowledge and
inspiring others, he mentored and helped launch the careers of more
than 20 postdoctoral fellows and attracted the nation's scientific
leaders to the University of Minnesota for conferences, guest lectures,
and faculty positions. In 1967, he played a pivotal role in creating
the Lasby Visiting Professorship program, which continues to this day
as a vehicle for bringing distinguished international or American
health sciences scholars to the U-M School of Dentistry to complement
current research and education programs. For the last 13 years, he has
been honored by an annual Robert J. Gorlin Dysmorphology Conference
which attracts scientists and clinicians from all over the world to
discuss their research.
Dr. Gorlin earned his doctor of dental
surgery degree from Washington University School of Dentistry in 1947
and his master's in Oral Pathology from the State University of Iowa in
1956. The same year, he joined the faculty at the U-M School of
Dentistry as associate professor and chair of the Divisions of Oral
Histology and Oral Pathology. He was named a U-M Regents Professor in
1978.
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