Aaron Bunsen Lerner (September 21, 1920 – February 3, 2007), also known in scientific articles as Aaron B. Lerner, was an American physician, researcher and professor.

Life and career

Born in 1920 in Minneapolis, Lerner received his medical degree and a PhD in chemistry from the University of Minnesota in 1945. After teaching at the universities of Michigan and Oregon, he joined the Yale University School of Medicine as an associate professor of medicine in 1955. The following year he became director of the dermatology section within the Department of Internal Medicine, and when the Department of Dermatology was established in 1971 he was appointed its first chair. When Professor Lerner retired in 1991, he was named a Professor Emeritus of Dermatology. He was in 1973 elected to membership in the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

(Medical physiology and metabolism). Dr. Lerner is perhaps best known for leading the team of researchers who isolated and named, in 1958, the hormone

melatonin Melatonin is a natural product found in plants and animals. It is primarily known in animals as a hormone released by the pineal gland in the brain at night, and has long been associated with control of the sleep–wake cycle. In vertebrates ...

. He was an expert in the metabolic basis of

inherited diseases A genetic disorder is a health problem caused by one or more abnormalities in the genome. It can be caused by a mutation in a single gene (monogenic) or multiple genes (polygenic) or by a chromosomal abnormality. Although polygenic disorders ...

, particularly vitiligo for which he, in the 1980s, developed a skin transplantation therapy. Lerner also isolated the compound melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH). Dr. Lerner was married to Marguerite Rush Lerner, M.D., an author of children's books and a book about admission to medical school (''Medical School: The Interview and the Applicant''). Their sons Ethan A. Lerner, M.D., Ph.D. and Michael R. Lerner, M.D., Ph.D. are both dermatologists and successful entrepreneurs. Ethan Lerner is associate professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School and the

Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the third oldest general hospital in the United Stat ...

. Michael Lerner is in practice in San Diego, California.Health.usnews.com About Michael Lerner
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References

External links

Aaron Lerner Papers (MS 1896).
Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lerner, Aaron B American dermatologists 1920 births 2007 deaths University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering alumni Yale School of Medicine faculty Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences American medical researchers University of Minnesota Medical School alumni Members of the National Academy of Medicine