Chester Wilson Emmons (August 21, 1900August 5, 1985) was an American scientist, who researched
fungi that cause diseases. He was the first
mycologist
Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungus, fungi, including their genetics, genetic and biochemistry, biochemical properties, their Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and ethnomycology, their use to humans, including as a so ...
at the
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...
(NIH), where for 31 years he served as head of its Medical Mycology Section.
After studying botany at
Penn College and the host-parasite relationship of ''
Ampelomyces quisqualis
''Ampelomyces quisqualis'' is an anamorphic fungus that is a hyperparasite of powdery mildews. This parasitism reduces growth and may eventually kill the mildew. These mycoparasites can live up to 21 days on mildew-free host plant surfaces, att ...
'' at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, he transferred to the
School of Tropical Medicine in Puerto Rico, where he confirmed that ''
Actinomyces bovis'' is present in the mouths of healthy people. In 1934, back at Columbia, he proposed that some fungi should be defined according to their structure, not the effects of the resulting
fungal infection
Fungal infection, also known as mycosis, is disease caused by fungi. Different types are traditionally divided according to the part of the body affected; superficial, subcutaneous, and systemic. Superficial fungal infections include common ti ...
. He was the first to recognise
coccidioidomycosis
Coccidioidomycosis (, ), commonly known as cocci, Valley fever, as well as California fever, desert rheumatism, or San Joaquin Valley fever, is a mammalian fungal disease caused by ''Coccidioides immitis'' or ''Coccidioides posadasii''. Coccidio ...
in
desert rodents, and he established that soil is a natural reservoir for ''
Histoplasma capsulatum
''Histoplasma capsulatum'' is a species of dimorphic fungus. Its sexual form is called ''Ajellomyces capsulatus''. It can cause pulmonary and disseminated histoplasmosis.
''H. capsulatum'' is "distributed worldwide, except in Antarctica, but m ...
'', which flourishes when the soil is supplemented by bird, chicken and bat droppings. He proved an association between ''
Cryptococcus neoformans
''Cryptococcus neoformans'' is an encapsulated yeast belonging to the class Tremellomycetes and an obligate aerobe that can live in both plants and animals. Its teleomorph is a filamentous fungus, formerly referred to ''Filobasidiella neoformans' ...
'' and pigeon nesting sites, after being the first to isolate the fungus from its natural habitat. Emmons provided early evidence for the effectiveness of
amphotericin B
Amphotericin B is an antifungal medication used for serious fungal infections and leishmaniasis. The fungal infections it is used to treat include mucormycosis, aspergillosis, blastomycosis, candidiasis, coccidioidomycosis, and cryptococcosis. Fo ...
in treating of
systemic fungal infections. His modified agar medium for fungal culture is sometimes referred to as Sabouraud agar, Emmons. In 1942, Emmons defined a new species ''Haplosporangium parvum'', later reclassified into a separate genus and renamed ''
Emmonsia
''Chrysosporium'' is a genus of hyaline hyphomycetes fungi in the family Onygenaceae.
''Chrysosporium'' colonies are moderately fast-growing, flat, white to tan to beige in color; they often have a powdery or granular surface texture. Hyaline, ...
''.
In 1960, as president of the Mycological Society of America (MSA), he made
the study of fungi the focus of his presidential address, in an effort to raise the profile of medical mycology. Emmons also taught medical students at
George Washington University
, mottoeng = "God is Our Trust"
, established =
, type = Private federally chartered research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.8 billion (2022)
, preside ...
, and later taught medical mycology to physicians at the NIH's clinical centre. He contributed as an editor to several journals including the ''
American Journal of Epidemiology
The American Journal of Epidemiology (''AJE'') is a peer-reviewed journal for empirical research findings, opinion pieces, and methodological developments in the field of epidemiological research. The current editor-in-chief is Dr. Enrique Schist ...
'', ''
Antibiotics and Chemotherapy
''Antibiotics and Chemotherapy'' was a peer-reviewed medical journal covering antimicrobial and cancer chemotherapy published by Karger Publishers
Karger Publishers (also: Karger Medical and Scientific Publishers, S. Karger AG) is an academi ...
'', ''
Mycopathologia and Mycologia Applicata'', ''
Journal of Bacteriology
The ''Journal of Bacteriology'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed scientific journal established in 1916. It is published by the American Society for Microbiology and the editor in chief is George A. O'Toole (Dartmouth College). The journal is delayed ...
'', ''
Mycologia
''Mycologia'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes papers on all aspects of the fungi, including lichens. It first appeared as a bimonthly journal in January 1909, published by the New York Botanical Garden under the editorship of W ...
'', and ''
Clinical 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 practice ...
''. Shortly before his death, he had disclosed that he felt his biggest contribution was demonstrating that fungal infections were common and widespread, and that their
causal organisms were everywhere.
Early life and education
Chester Wilson Emmons was born on August 21, 1900, in
What Cheer
What Cheer (pronounced 'WOT-cheer') is a city in Keokuk County, Iowa, United States. It is a former coal town, and from the 1870s to the early 1900s was one of the major coal-producing centers of Iowa. Its greatest recorded population was 3,246, ...
, Iowa, to Wilson Thomas and Amy Penrose Emmons, was the eldest of their five children, and belonged to the
Religious Society of Friends
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...
.
He attended the Friends schools in Iowa and Ohio, where he also taught for some time.
[ When at home, he assisted at the family farm.][
He graduated from Penn College in Oskaloosa, Iowa, in 1926.][ The following June, under ]George Willard Martin
George Willard Martin (October 27, 1886 – September 11, 1971) was an American mycologist. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. He received a bachelor of literature degree in 1912, and a Master of Science degree in 1915, both from Rutgers Universit ...
, he completed his master's degree in botany
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
, titled "Thelephoraceae of Iowa".
Training
Emmons left Iowa and moved to New York where he earned a Roberts fellowship at Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
under the supervision of professor Robert A. Harper, and studied the host-parasite relationship of ''Ampelomyces quisqualis
''Ampelomyces quisqualis'' is an anamorphic fungus that is a hyperparasite of powdery mildews. This parasitism reduces growth and may eventually kill the mildew. These mycoparasites can live up to 21 days on mildew-free host plant surfaces, att ...
'', then known as ''Cicinnobolus desai''.[ At Columbia, he trained with Rhoda W. Benham and in 1929 was appointed her assistant in mycology.][
]
Career
After completing his Ph.D. he took up a post at the School of Tropical Medicine in Puerto Rico, where he would continue research on fungi that cause disease in humans.[ In Puerto Rico, he confirmed Frederick T. Lord's conclusions of 1910, that '' Actinomyces bovis'' is present in the mouths of healthy people.][
In 1934, back at Columbia,][ he published his first medical papers in which he proposed that the genera of common fungal causes of infections of the ]skin
Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation.
Other cuticle, animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have diffe ...
; ''Microsporum
''Microsporum'' is a genus of fungi that causes tinea capitis, tinea corporis, ringworm, and other dermatophytoses (fungal infections of the skin). ''Microsporum'' forms both macroconidia (large asexual reproductive structures) and microconidia ...
'', ''Trichophyton
''Trichophyton'' is a genus of fungi, which includes the parasitic varieties that cause tinea, including athlete's foot, ringworm, jock itch, and similar infections of the nail, beard, skin and scalp. Trichophyton fungi are molds characterized ...
'' and ''Epidermophyton
''Epidermophyton'' is a genus of fungus causing superficial and cutaneous mycoses, including ''E. floccosum'', and causes tinea corporis (ringworm), tinea cruris (jock itch), tinea pedis
Dermatophytosis, also known as ringworm, is a fung ...
'' should be redefined according to the structure
A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...
of the fungi, not the varying clinical features of the disease. In 1936, Emmons became the first medical mycologist appointed by the US government, after the National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...
(NIH), then in Washington DC
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, was given permission to finance the post.[ Here he set out to look for the natural reservoirs of disease causing fungi.][ For 31 years he served as head of the NIH's Medical Mycology Section.][
In 1942, Emmons and ]Ashburn __NOTOC__
Ashburn may refer to:
Places Canada
*Ashburn, Ontario
United States
*Ashburn, Georgia
*Ashburn, Chicago, Illinois, a community area
**Ashburn (Metra), a Metra station serving the area
* Ashburn, Missouri
* Ashburn, Virginia, an unincorpo ...
discovered unusually large particles in the lungs of mice and ground squirrels in Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
. They initially felt them to belong to the genera
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...
''Coccidioides
''Coccidioides'' is a genus of dimorphic ascomycetes in the family Onygenaceae. Member species are the cause of coccidioidomycosis, also known as San Joaquin Valley fever, an infectious fungal disease largely confined to the Western Hemisphere ...
'', but following culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...
they defined it as a new species ''Haplosporangium parvum'',[ a fungus that caused adiaspiromycosis, a lung disease in wild animals, but rare in people.][ When its spores were inhaled, they increased in size from 2–4 μm to 40–500 μm in diameter.][ It was reclassified into a separate genus in 1958 and renamed '']Emmonsia
''Chrysosporium'' is a genus of hyaline hyphomycetes fungi in the family Onygenaceae.
''Chrysosporium'' colonies are moderately fast-growing, flat, white to tan to beige in color; they often have a powdery or granular surface texture. Hyaline, ...
'' for Emmons.[ He was the first to recognise ]coccidioidomycosis
Coccidioidomycosis (, ), commonly known as cocci, Valley fever, as well as California fever, desert rheumatism, or San Joaquin Valley fever, is a mammalian fungal disease caused by ''Coccidioides immitis'' or ''Coccidioides posadasii''. Coccidio ...
in desert rodents, and establishing that soil is a natural reservoir for ''Histoplasma capsulatum
''Histoplasma capsulatum'' is a species of dimorphic fungus. Its sexual form is called ''Ajellomyces capsulatus''. It can cause pulmonary and disseminated histoplasmosis.
''H. capsulatum'' is "distributed worldwide, except in Antarctica, but m ...
'', which flourishes when the soil is supplemented by bird, chicken and bat droppings. He also proved an association between ''Cryptococcus neoformans
''Cryptococcus neoformans'' is an encapsulated yeast belonging to the class Tremellomycetes and an obligate aerobe that can live in both plants and animals. Its teleomorph is a filamentous fungus, formerly referred to ''Filobasidiella neoformans' ...
'' and pigeon nesting sites, after being the first to isolate the fungus from its natural habitat.[ He provided early evidence for the effectiveness of ]amphotericin B
Amphotericin B is an antifungal medication used for serious fungal infections and leishmaniasis. The fungal infections it is used to treat include mucormycosis, aspergillosis, blastomycosis, candidiasis, coccidioidomycosis, and cryptococcosis. Fo ...
in treating of systemic fungal infections.[ In 1977, he modified ]Raymond Sabouraud
Raymond Jacques Adrien Sabouraud (24 November 1864 – 4 February 1938) was a French physician born in Nantes. He specialized in dermatology and mycology, and was also an accomplished painter and sculptor.
He studied medicine in Nantes and Par ...
’s agar
Agar ( or ), or agar-agar, is a jelly-like substance consisting of polysaccharides obtained from the cell walls of some species of red algae, primarily from ogonori (''Gracilaria'') and "tengusa" (''Gelidiaceae''). As found in nature, agar is ...
to produce a more pH neutral substance with a lower glucose concentration, to allow a better culture medium for fungi that cause disease in humans.
For 20 years from 1942, he taught medical students at George Washington University
, mottoeng = "God is Our Trust"
, established =
, type = Private federally chartered research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.8 billion (2022)
, preside ...
.[ From 1953, he taught medical mycology to physicians at the NIH's new clinical centre.][ He authored over 150 research papers , and co-authored a book on medical mycology, which went to at least three editions.][
]
Awards and honours
Between 1954 and 1960 he was vice president of the International Society for Human and Animal Mycology, and was a recipient of its Lucille K. George Medal.[ In 1960, he was president of the Mycological Society of America (MSA).][ In an effort to raise the profile of medical mycology, he presented a paper titled "The Jekyll-Hydes of mycology", making medical mycology the focus of his presidential address to the MSA at Stillwater, Oklahoma.] In 1982, he received the MSA's distinguished mycologist award.[
The ]American Academy of Microbiology
The American Society for Microbiology (ASM), originally the Society of American Bacteriologists, is a professional organization for scientists who study viruses, bacteria, fungi, algae, and protozoa as well as other aspects of microbiology. It wa ...
, American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...
, and the New York Academy of Sciences
The New York Academy of Sciences (originally the Lyceum of Natural History) was founded in January 1817 as the Lyceum of Natural History. It is the fourth oldest scientific society in the United States. An independent, nonprofit organization wit ...
all elected him a fellow.[ The Association Mexicana Microbiologia made him an honorary member and the World Health Organization Expert Advisory Panel on Parasitic Diseases enrolled his expertise from 1960 to 1975.][
]
Other roles
He also held posts at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Vanderbilt Clinic in New York, and the Georgetown University School of Medicine
Georgetown University School of Medicine, a medical school opened in 1851, is one of Georgetown University's five graduate schools. It is located on Reservoir Road in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC, adjacent to the University's ...
.[ He contributed as an editor to several journals including the ''Abstracts of Mycology'', '']American Journal of Epidemiology
The American Journal of Epidemiology (''AJE'') is a peer-reviewed journal for empirical research findings, opinion pieces, and methodological developments in the field of epidemiological research. The current editor-in-chief is Dr. Enrique Schist ...
'', ''Antibiotics and Chemotherapy'', ''Mycopathologia and Mycologia Applicata'', ''Journal of Bacteriology'', ''Mycologia'', and ''Clinical Medicine''.[
]
Personal and family
In 1929, while working on his Ph.D., he met and married Florence Hall. They had five children: Helen, Richard, Donald, Elizabeth and Nancy.[
]
Later life
After retiring in 1966, Emmons and his wife first made a three-month stay in Peru, where they volunteered at a jungle hospital.[ They then returned to Arizona, where he took up the appointment of visiting professor at ]Arizona State University
Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...
. In Arizona, he joined a rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
club, where he learnt to cut and polish stones.[ In 1978 due deteriorating health, the couple moved to North Carolina.][
]
Death and legacy
Emmons died on August 5, 1985.[ Two years earlier he had disclosed to mycologist Michael W. McGinnis, that he felt his biggest contribution was demonstrating that fungal infections were common and widespread, and that their causal organisms were everywhere.][
His modified agar medium for fungal culture is sometimes referred to as Sabouraud agar, Emmons.][ The fungal genus '']Emmonsia
''Chrysosporium'' is a genus of hyaline hyphomycetes fungi in the family Onygenaceae.
''Chrysosporium'' colonies are moderately fast-growing, flat, white to tan to beige in color; they often have a powdery or granular surface texture. Hyaline, ...
'' is named for him.
Selected publications
Articles
* (Co-authored with L. L. Ashburn)
*
*
*
*
Books
* (Co-authored with Chapman H. Binford and John P. Utz)
References
External links
Chester W. Emmons at PubMed
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emmons, Chester Wilson
1900 births
1985 deaths
American mycologists
American science writers
People from Ohio
William Penn University alumni
National Institutes of Health faculty
Columbia University faculty