Dorland Jones Davis (July 2, 1911 – April 11, 1990) was an American physician, commissioned officer in the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS). He was the director of the

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID, ) is one of the 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). NIAID's ...

from 1964 to 1975. Davis was born in Chicago, Illinois, on July 2, 1911. He received a B.S. degree from the University of Illinois in 1933, an M.D. degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1937, and a DrPH degree from Johns Hopkins in 1940.

Early life and education

Davis was born in Chicago, Illinois, on July 2, 1911. His father was a professor of pathology at the University of Illinois school of medicine. Davis attended the International School, Geneva, Switzerland, 1927–1928. He received a B.S. degree from the University of Illinois in 1933, an M.D. degree from the Johns Hopkins University in 1937, and a DrPH. degree from Johns Hopkins in 1940.

Career

Davis completed his medical internship at the Baltimore City Hospital before enrolling in the

Johns Hopkins School of Public Health The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is the public health graduate school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. As the second independent, degree-granting institution for research in epi ...

for his DrPH ( Doctor of Public Health) doctorate. After taking the competitive exam to enter the

Public Health Service In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

(PHS), he was one of 20 applicants out of 120, to be offered a commission in the PHS. His first assignment was the Division of Infectious Diseases of the National Institute of Health (NIH), where he studied

Chagas disease Chagas disease, also known as American trypanosomiasis, is a tropical parasitic disease caused by ''Trypanosoma cruzi''. It is spread mostly by insects in the subfamily ''Triatominae'', known as "kissing bugs". The symptoms change over the cou ...

, an infection by the parasite trypanosome cruzi then prevalent in Central and South America. Davis developed an antigen-based diagnostic test for the disease. He became a commissioned officer in the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) in 1939 and was assigned to the Division of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Health. In 1943, he served State Department in North Africa as a member of a medical team investigating endemic diseases, particularly malaria and typhus. Davis advanced through grades of PHS to assistant surgical general. Davis returned to the Division of Infectious Diseases and in 1954, was appointed chief of the Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Microbiological Institute. In 1956, he was named associate director in charge of research for the institute, now called the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. In 1962, Davis became director of intramural research, and in 1964, NIAID Director. Awarded Public Health Service Meritorious Service Medal in 1967. Awarded in 1971 the

Public Health Service Distinguished Service Medal The Public Health Service Distinguished Service Medal is an honor award presented to members of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and to members of any Uniformed Services of the United States whose accomplishments or achie ...

. In the 1960s, cellular immunology was offering scientists new ways to study various disorders. Davis established the first allergic disease centers at universities and medical centers around the United States to help translate basic research findings into new treatments. Nationwide research centers to study sexually transmitted diseases and influenza also were established. During this time, the Institute took over management of two international research programs: the U.S.-Japan Cooperative Medical Science Program and the International Centers for Medical Research and Training. Davis left NIAID in 1975 when he retired from PHS as assistant surgeon general.

Personal life

He died from cancer April 11, 1990 at

Bethesda Naval Hospital The Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC), formerly known as the National Naval Medical Center and colloquially referred to as the Bethesda Naval Hospital, Walter Reed, or Navy Med, is a United States' tri-service military medi ...

near Washington DC.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Dorland J. 1911 births 1990 deaths 20th-century American physicians American medical researchers American public health doctors Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health alumni Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health National Institutes of Health people United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officers Recipients of the Public Health Service Distinguished Service Medal American immunologists Physicians from Chicago