Ernest Edward Tyzzer (August 30, 1875 – January 23, 1965) was an American physician,

pathologist Pathology is the study of the causal, causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when us ...

and parasitologist. He was involved in cancer research but is particularly noted for his work in

parasitology Parasitology is the study of parasites, their hosts, and the relationship between them. As a biological discipline, the scope of parasitology is not determined by the organism or environment in question but by their way of life. This means it fo ...

, describing numerous new species of avian parasites in a career spanning 40 years. Tyzzer attended

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

from 1893–7, funding his studies on the proceeds of trapping animals such as fox and mink. Before attending medical school, he obtained master's degree on

flounder Flounders are a group of flatfish species. They are demersal fish, found at the bottom of oceans around the world; some species will also enter estuaries. Taxonomy The name "flounder" is used for several only distantly related species, thou ...

(a type of

flatfish A flatfish is a member of the Ray-finned fish, ray-finned demersal fish order (biology), order Pleuronectiformes, also called the Heterosomata, sometimes classified as a suborder of Perciformes. In many species, both eyes lie on one side of the ...

), partly undertaken at

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI, acronym pronounced ) is a private, nonprofit research and higher education facility dedicated to the study of marine science and engineering. Established in 1930 in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, it i ...

. He began at

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...

in 1898. In 1905, while an assistant in Pathology at Harvard, he studied the histology of the skin lesions in varicella, being the first to recognize

inclusion bodies Inclusion bodies are aggregates of specific types of protein found in neurons, a number of tissue cells including red blood cells, bacteria, viruses, and plants. Inclusion bodies of aggregations of multiple proteins are also found in muscle cells ...

in varicella. In 1907, Tyzzer was a founder member of the

American Association for Cancer Research The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world's oldest and largest professional association related to cancer research. Based in Philadelphia, the AACR focuses on all aspects of cancer research, including basic, clinical, and t ...

, serving as its president from 1912–1913. In 1913, when he was an assistant professor and director of cancer research 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 ...

, he and two other scientists (Richard P. Strong and

C. T. Brues Charles Thomas Brues (June 20, 1879, Wheeling, West Virginia – July 22, 1955, Crescent City, Florida) was an American entomologist. Biography Brues studied at the University of Texas at Austin and at Columbia University. He was appointed ...

) studied tropical diseases in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

and

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

. Tyzzer was appointed head of the Department of Comparative Pathology at Harvard in 1916, remaining in that post until his retirement in 1942.

Personal life

Tyzzer was born in

Wakefield, Massachusetts Wakefield is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, incorporated in 1812 and located about north-northwest of Downtown Boston. Wakefield's population was 27,090 at the 2020 census. Wakefield offers ...

, the youngest of five children. He was married and had two sons.

References

1875 births 1965 deaths American parasitologists Harvard Medical School alumni Brown University alumni Presidents of the American Society of Parasitologists {{US-physician-stub