Stafford L. Warren

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Stafford L. Warren
UCLA School of Medicine
In office
1947–1962
Preceded bynone
Succeeded bySherman Mellinkoff
Personal details
Born(1896-07-19)July 19, 1896
Manhattan Engineer District
Battles/warsWorld War II:

Stafford Leak Warren (July 19, 1896 - July 26, 1981) was an American

University of Rochester School of Medicine
.

Warren was commissioned as a colonel in the

nuclear test at Bikini Atoll
.

In 1947 Warren became the first dean of the

professor emeritus, a position he held until his death in 1981. In 1971, he was awarded the Enrico Fermi Award
for his contributions to science and medicine.

Early life

Stafford Leak Warren was born in Maxwell, New Mexico, on June 19, 1896. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1918. He married Viola Lockhart on May 22, 1920. Their marriage produced two sons and a daughter. He went to medical school at the University of California, San Francisco, graduating with his Doctor of Medicine degree in 1922. He then did post-doctoral work at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Harvard University.[2]

University of Rochester

Warren joined the faculty of the Department of

gonococci infections.[7] He was also interested in radiography.[8]

In 1930, Warren became an Associate Professor of Medicine.

stereoscopic technique, using patients rather than specimens and adapting general purpose X-ray equipment to his needs. His method involved having the patient lie on her side with one arm raised while being X-rayed.[12] In 119 women who subsequently underwent surgery, he correctly found breast cancer in 54 out of 58 cases. This represented a leap forward, as it made diagnosis of breast cancer possible without surgery.[11] It also sparked intense interest in the technique around the world.[10] Today mammography saves thousands of lives.[13]

Manhattan Project

In February 1943, Warren met with Dr Albert K. Chapman, the vice president and general manager of

isotopes and asked Warren to become a civilian consultant for the MED.[14] In March 1943, Warren met with Major Hymer L. Friedell at the MED's New York City headquarters. Friedell had joined the Metallurgical Laboratory in August 1942 from the University of California, Berkeley, where he had been involved in radiology research under Dr Robert S. Stone. Friedell requested information about safety matters involving radiation. Warren was unable to provide all the information, but agreed to initiate research at Rochester.[15]

A group of men in uniforms stand in front of a wooden building. One, holding a box, is very tall, towering over the Asian man next to him.
Survey team from the Manhattan Project in Nagasaki, October 1945. Colonel Warren is holding a doll and case given to the team by the Japanese medical commandant of the unit.

Friedell recommended that in view of the scope of the Manhattan Project, a more senior officer be placed in charge. In October, Groves penned a letter to the

venereal disease asked "Why do you want that clap doctor?"[16]

Warren was duly commissioned as a colonel in the United States Army Medical Corps on November 3, 1943. He was appointed as chief of the MED's medical section and medical advisor to the director of the Manhattan Project, with Friedell as his deputy. Warren's office was initially located in New York City but moved to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, soon after. Warren's initial task was to staff hospitals at Oak Ridge, Richland, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico. Civilian workers paid $2.50 per month (single) or $5.00 per month (family) for medical insurance. [16]

Warren's section was responsible for medical research, and also for the MED's health and safety programs. This presented an enormous challenge, because workers were handling a variety of toxic chemicals, using hazardous liquids and gases under high pressures, working with high voltages used in novel ways, and performing experiments involving explosives, not to mention the largely unknown dangers presented by radioactivity and handling fissile materials.[17] Yet in December 1945, the National Safety Council presented the Manhattan Project with the Award of Honor for Distinguished Service to Safety in recognition of its safety record. Between January 1943 and June 1945, there were 62 fatalities and 3,879 disabling injuries, which was about 62 percent below that of private industry.[18]

Warren was personally responsible for the safety aspects of the

US Navy Captain George Lyons take over so Warren could get some rest. Fortunately, no problems arose with the test.[19]

Aerial view of the mushroom cloud.
Aerial view of the Able mushroom cloud rising from the lagoon with Bikini Island visible in the background. The cloud carried the radioactive contaminants into the stratosphere.

The

Thomas F. Farrell that also included Brigadier General James B. Newman Jr and Japanese Rear Admiral Masao Tsuzuki, who acted as a translator. They remained in Hiroshima until 14 September and then surveyed Nagasaki from 19 September to 8 October. They were impressed by both the damage done by the atomic bombs and the extensive Japanese preparations for an American invasion.[20]

The detonation of the two atomic bombs in Japan "raised as many military and medicomilitary questions as they answered".[21] A series of nuclear tests was planned, codenamed Operation Crossroads. Some 42,000 personnel were deployed to Bikini Atoll as part of Admiral William H. P. Blandy's Joint Task Force 1 to conduct the test. Their health and safety was Lyons's responsibility, but the specialised job of radiological safety was handled by the Manhattan Project. Warren, as Chief of the Radiological Safety Section (RADSAFE), planned and implemented measures to assess, limit and control the impact of radiation. Teams were given special training at Oak Ridge in the operation of instrumentation to measure radioactivity, and the interpretation of their readings.[22] Training was also conducted aboard USS Haven en route to Bikini Atoll, where it arrived on 12 June 1946. In all, some 3,500 personnel were assigned to RADSAFE.[23] Warren was appalled by the effects of radioactive contamination on the environment. "The deadly range of radioactive products from the atomic bomb has been clearly demonstrated under controlled conditions..." he wrote, "the only defense against atomic bombs still lies outside the scope of science. It is the prevention of atomic war."[24]

Warren left the Army on 6 November 1946. He temporarily became the Chief of the Medical Section of the

Army Distinguished Service Medal[3] and the Legion of Merit.[2]

University of California

Toward the end of World War II, a group of physicians proposed that the University of California should establish a medical school in Southern California. One of them was the

urologist Elmer Belt, whose patients included the Governor of California, Earl Warren. The University of California Board of Regents voted to establish a medical school as part of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) on October 19, 1945. In 1946 the California State Legislature unanimously voted $7 million to establish the new school, and Earl Warren signed it into law.[26]

In 1947, Warren was appointed the

UCLA Medical Center opened in 1955.[26]

Under Warren's leadership, the school grew steadily, adding schools of dentistry, nursing, and public health. Against some influential opposition, Warren established his medical school on the UCLA campus rather than in another part of the city. He strove to integrate not only the structures but the faculty with other departments of the university. He fostered the development of a major biomedical library as both a tangible and intellectual link between the life sciences and the health sciences.[2]

Warren became vice chancellor for health services in 1962. From 1963 to 1965 he served as special assistant to President

professor emeritus, a position he held until his death in 1981.[3] His first wife Viola died in 1963 and on July 18, 1970, he married Gertrude Turner Hubberty.[2] In 1971, Warren was awarded the Enrico Fermi Award
. His citation read:

For the imaginative, prescient, and vigorous efforts which made possible the early development of atomic energy so as to assure the protection of man and the environment, and for the establishment of a biomedical research program which has resulted in many substantial applications of ionizing radiation to diagnosis and treatment of disease and to the general welfare.[29]

He died on July 26, 1981, in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles. He was survived by his wife and three children.[2] His papers are in the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections.[3]

The Stafford L. Warren Medal is named in his honor and is awarded to the top graduating medical student from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA each year.

Notes

  1. ^ Greene, Benjamin (2006). Eisenhower, Science Advice, and the Nuclear Test-Ban Debate, 1945–1963. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. page 10-11
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "University of California: In Memoriam, 1985". University of California. Retrieved March 12, 2011.
  3. ^ a b c d "Finding Aid for the Stafford Leak Warren papers, 1917-1980 bulk 1943-1980". University of California. Retrieved March 12, 2011.
  4. ^ "History of the University of Rochester Medical Center". University of Rochester. Archived from the original on 28 December 2009. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
  5. ^
    PMC 1642869
    .
  6. PMID 16694316
    .
  7. doi:10.1001/jama.1937.02780440020006
    .
  8. PMID 19869855
    .
  9. ^ Warren, S.L. (1930). "A Roentgenologic Study of the Breast". The American Journal of Roentgenology and Radium Therapy. 24: 113–124.
  10. ^
    PMID 14172056
    .
  11. ^ a b c Gold 2005, p. 3
  12. ^ "History of Cancer Detection 1851-1995". Emory University. Retrieved March 12, 2011.
  13. ^ "Mammography - Mammography Saves Lives". American College of Radiology. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
  14. ^ Warren 1966, pp. 848–849
  15. ^ Nichols 1987, p. 122
  16. ^ a b Nichols 1987, p. 123
  17. ^ Jones 1985, p. 410
  18. ^ Jones 1985, p. 430
  19. ^ Groves 1962, pp. 298–299
  20. ^ Warren 1966, pp. 886–889
  21. ^ Warren 1966, p. 901
  22. ^ Groves 1962, pp. 384–385
  23. ^ Warren 1966, pp. 902–905
  24. ^ Warren, Stafford L. (August 11, 1947). "Conclusions: Tests Proved Irresistible Spread of Radioactivity". Life. Vol. 23, no. 16. New York. p. 88. Retrieved 2009-12-05.
  25. ^ Warren 1966, p. 915
  26. ^ a b c d "About the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA". University of California, Los Angeles. Archived from the original on March 10, 2011. Retrieved March 12, 2011.
  27. ^ Warren 1966, pp. 834–836
  28. ^ "William P. Longmire, Jr". williamlongmire.org. Archived from the original on May 9, 2010. Retrieved March 12, 2011.
  29. US Department of Energy. Archived from the original
    on July 21, 2011. Retrieved March 12, 2011.

Bibliography
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stafford_L._Warren&oldid=1196345451"