Gerald D. Aurbach (March 24, 1927 – November 4, 1991) was an American

medical scientist 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 ...

noted for his studies of

parathyroid disease Many conditions are associated with disorders of the function of the parathyroid gland. Some disorders may be purely anatomical resulting in an enlarged gland which will raise concern. Such benign disorders, such as parathyroid cyst, are not discus ...

bone metabolism Bone remodeling (or bone metabolism) is a lifelong process where mature bone tissue is removed from the skeleton (a process called ''bone resorption'') and new bone tissue is formed (a process called ''ossification'' or ''new bone formation''). T ...

and

calcium homeostasis Calcium metabolism is the movement and regulation of calcium ions (Ca2+) ''in'' (via the gut) and ''out'' (via the gut and kidneys) of the body, and ''between'' body compartments: the blood plasma, the extracellular and intracellular fluids, and ...

.National Academy of Science;Biographical Memoirs: V. 90 (2009) GERALD DONALD AURBACH;BY IRA PASTAN
/ref>
/ref> Aurbach was the first researcher to produce a

hormone A hormone (from the Greek participle , "setting in motion") is a class of signaling molecules in multicellular organisms that are sent to distant organs by complex biological processes to regulate physiology and behavior. Hormones are required ...

produced by

parathyroid glands Parathyroid glands are small endocrine glands in the neck of humans and other tetrapods. Humans usually have four parathyroid glands, located on the back of the thyroid gland in variable locations. The parathyroid gland produces and secretes pa ...

. Aurbach began studying PTH as a medical student in the lab of Dr. William Parson. He continued this research as a fellow as

Tufts University School of Medicine The Tufts University School of Medicine is the medical school of Tufts University, a Private university, private research university in Massachusetts. It was established in 1893 and is located on the university's health sciences campus in downto ...

in the lab of Ted Astwood. Here, he was the first to isolate PTH using phenol extraction, and in 1959 he published a landmark paper on this discovery. In 1959, he joined the lab of William Jakoby 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 ...

, and two years later he established his own lab in the Metabolic Diseases Branch. He became chief of the branch in 1973, and remained at the institute for the remainder of his career. He determined that parathyroid hormone acts through cyclic AMP, and demonstrated that

pseudohypoparathyroidism Pseudohypoparathyroidism is a condition associated primarily with resistance to the parathyroid hormone. Those with the condition have a low serum calcium and high phosphate, but the parathyroid hormone level (PTH) is appropriately high (due to th ...

is a disorder of the parathyroid hormone receptor complex. He also characterized several hereditary diseases related to hyperparathyroidism. In 1973, he was named director of the

metabolic disease A metabolic disorder is a disorder that negatively alters the body's processing and distribution of macronutrients, such as proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Metabolic disorders can happen when abnormal chemical reactions in the body alter the ...

s branch of the

, and was elected to 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 1986. Aurbach was killed in 1991 while visiting the University of Virginia in an apparent

homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...

by a stone thrown from a car.

Notable awards and distinctions

* 1960: the John Horsely Memorial Award from 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 ...

* 1968: the Andre Lichiwitz Prize from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

* 1981: the William F. Neuman Award of the

American Society for Bone and Mineral Research The American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) is a professional, scientific and medical society established in 1977 to promote excellence in bone and mineral research and to facilitate the translation of that research into clinical pr ...

* 1983: the

Gairdner Foundation International Award The Canada Gairdner International Award is given annually by the Gairdner Foundation at a special dinner to five individuals for outstanding discoveries or contributions to medical science. Receipt of the Gairdner is traditionally considered a p ...

* 1986: elected to the

* 1985: the Edwin B. Astwood Award from the

Endocrine Society The Endocrine Society is a professional, international medical organization in the field of endocrinology and metabolism, founded in 1916 as The Association for the Study of Internal Secretions. The official name of the organization was changed ...

* 1988: 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 ...

Memorials

Both the

and the

have established memorial lectures in his name. The

University of Virginia School of Medicine The University of Virginia School of Medicine (UVA SoM) is the graduate medical school of the University of Virginia. The school's facilities are on the University of Virginia grounds adjacent to Academical Village in Charlottesville, Virginia. ...

established the Gerald D. Aurbach Professorship in

Endocrinology Endocrinology (from '' endocrine'' + '' -ology'') is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the integration of developmental event ...

, and in 2002, dedicated a new medical research building in his name.

References

External links

Ira Pastan, "Gerald Donald Aurbach", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (2007)
1927 births 1991 deaths University of Virginia alumni Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Scientists from Cleveland University of Virginia School of Medicine alumni American medical researchers {{US-scientist-stub