Carl William Gottschalk (April 28, 1922 – October 15, 1997) was the Kenan Professor and Distinguished Research Professor of Medicine at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

. Gottschalk made important discoveries about the function of the

kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood ...

s, and helped set government policies that provided

dialysis Dialysis may refer to: *Dialysis (chemistry), a process of separating molecules in solution **Electrodialysis, used to transport salt ions from one solution to another through an ion-exchange membrane under the influence of an applied electric pote ...

to patients with

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

Biography

Born in

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

in 1922,Carl W. Gottschalk Biography
from the UNC Library. he graduated

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

from

Roanoke College Roanoke College is a private liberal arts college in Salem, Virginia. It has approximately 2,000 students who represent approximately 40 states and 30 countries. The college offers 35 majors, 57 minors and concentrations, and pre-professional pr ...

in 1942,. and attended a wartime medical school program at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

. In 1945, Gottschalk was for six years a research fellow at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

and an intern at

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 ...

. He then joined the

cardiology Cardiology () is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart d ...

fellow and instructor in the School of

Medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

; he remained at UNC until his retirement in 1992. He died on October 15, 1997.. Gottschalk's older brother,

Walter Gottschalk Walter Helbig Gottschalk (November 3, 1918 – February 15, 2004) was an American mathematician, one of the founders of topological dynamics. Biography Gottschalk was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, on November 3, 1918, and moved to Salem, Virginia a ...

, was a professor of mathematics at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

and

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

Research and publications

Throughout his career, Gottschalk published extensively about the kidney and about the history of kidney research. He is particularly known for his work using micropuncture techniques to study the kidney's ability to concentrate urine, and for the theory of

countercurrent multiplication A countercurrent mechanism system is a mechanism that expends energy to create a concentration gradient. It is found widely in nature and especially in mammalian organs. For example, it can refer to the process that is underlying the process of ...

explaining this ability.

Health policy

In 1967, Gottschalk chaired a U.S. government committee that recommended government support for kidney transplants and artificial kidney machines for patients with kidney failure. His efforts led to Medicare funding of

for these patients, now provided to hundreds of thousands of patients. He also chaired another committee in 1987 concerned with medical ethics..

Awards and honors

Gottschalk was named Kenan Professor of

and

Physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

by UNC in 1969. He was elected to the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

in 1970 and 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 ...

in 1975, and was from 1976 to 1977 the president of the

American Society of Nephrology Founded in 1966, the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) is the world's largest professional society devoted to the study of kidney disease. Composed of over 20,000 physicians and scientists, ASN promotes expert patient care, advances medical r ...

. He was also awarded an honorary doctorate by Roanoke College in 1966, the Homer W. Smith Award of the American Society of Nephrology in 1970, and the David M. Hume Award of the

National Kidney Foundation The National Kidney Foundation, Inc. (NKF) is a voluntary health organization in the United States, headquartered in New York City, with over 30 local offices across the country. Its mission is to prevent kidney and urinary tract diseases, impr ...

in 1976. On his retirement in 1992, he was named Distinguished Research Professor of Medicine and Physiology; in the same year Roanoke College named him one of 150 Sesquicentennial Distinguished Alumni.. After his death, annual lectures in his name were founded both by UNC and by the

American Physiological Society The American Physiological Society is a non-profit professional society for physiologists. It has nearly 10,000 members, most of whom hold doctoral degrees in medicine, physiology or other health professions. Its mission is to support research and ...

References

External links