Harold Amos (September 7, 1918
– February 26, 2003
) was an African American
microbiologist
A microbiologist (from Ancient Greek, Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of Microorganism, microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, f ...
and professor. He taught 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 ...
for nearly fifty years and was the first African-American department chair of the school.
Early life
Amos was born in
Pennsauken,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
to Howard R. Amos Sr., a Philadelphia postman, and Iola Johnson.
Iola Johnson was adopted and educated by a Philadelphia Quaker family. Due to the close relationship between Iola and the Quaker family, the Amos family received a lot of books, including a biography of
Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurization, the latter of which was named afte ...
.
Excelling as a student, Amos graduated in 1936 at the top of his class from Camden High School in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
.
He attended
Springfield College
Springfield College is a private college in Springfield, Massachusetts. It confers undergraduate and graduate degrees.
It is known as the birthplace of basketball because the sport was invented there in 1891 by Canadian-American instructor J ...
in
on a full academic scholarship. In 1941 he graduated summa cum laude with a degree in biology(major) and chemistry(minor).
He was drafted the following year, and after returning home from WWII in 1946, Amos began his graduate studies at Harvard University. He was the first African American to earn a doctoral degree from the Division of Medical Sciences, Harvard Medical School, in 1952.
Military service
Amos was drafted into the US Army in 1942, serving in the Quartermaster's Corps in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
as a warrant officer.
During his time in the Army, he travelled along the coast of France where he eventually started speaking very fluently in the language while becoming an expert on the foods and wines.
Eventually he was discharged in February 1946, where he began to start his next career in the program of Biological Science at Harvard University.
Career
In September 1947, Springfield College hired him as a biology professor. Dr. Amos was the college’s first African American faculty member.
Amos was awarded a M.A. in 1947 and a Ph.D. in 1952 from Harvard Medical School.
He was a graduate student with Howard J. Mueller. Harold thesis was on the infectivity of Herpes virus. After graduating, he was awarded a
Fulbright scholarship
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...
that took him to the
Pasteur Institute
The Pasteur Institute (french: Institut Pasteur) is a French non-profit private foundation dedicated to the study of biology, micro-organisms, diseases, and vaccines. It is named after Louis Pasteur, who invented pasteurization and vaccines f ...
for two years. Amos joined the Harvard Medical School faculty in 1954, working as a teacher. He was the chairman of the bacteriology department from 1968 to 1971 and again from 1975 to 1978. In 1975, he was named the Maude and Lillian Presley professor of microbiology and molecular genetics. He was a presidential advisor to
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
,
a Fellow of 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 ...
(1974),
the
Institute of Medicine
The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, E ...
and the
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 ...
. In 1988 Amos received professor emeritus status. Amos was awarded 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 ...
'
Public Welfare Medal The Public Welfare Medal is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "in recognition of distinguished contributions in the application of science to the public welfare." It is the most prestigious honor conferred by the academy. First awar ...
in 1995
and the
Harvard Centennial Medal The Harvard Centennial Medal is an honor given by the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences to recipients of graduate degrees from the School for their "contributions to society."
The Medal was established in 1989 on the 100th anniversary o ...
in 2000. He directed the Minority Medical Faculty Development Program (MMFDP) of the
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is an American philanthropic organization. It is the largest one focused solely on health. Based in Princeton, New Jersey, the foundation focuses on access to health care, public health, health equity, ...
after his retirement from Harvard. A diversity award at Harvard Medical School is named after Amos.
He inspired hundreds of minorities to become medical doctors.
He was well known as an inviting and welcoming mentor to both students and junior faculty members.
Awards
* Howard University’s Dr. Charles R. Drew World Medical Prize in 1989
* National Academy of Sciences' Public Welfare Medal in 1995
* Harvard Centennial Medal in 2000
* Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
* Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Publications
Harold Amos research was mostly recognized on the work about his bacterial metabolism, nutrition, animal cell culture, virology, and the effects of hormones.
During his time at Harvard University he began working on a thesis on virology that was affecting herpes virus that was experimented on chick's chorioallantoic membrane which led to his big break from Fulbright Fellowship that supported his work on mutation of the E. coli bacteria which led to Amos's research focused on using cells in culture to understand how molecules get into cells and how entry is regulated during cell starvation or in plentiful conditions. Amos published over seventy scientific papers.
As part of the department of chair for Bacteriology and Immunology one his famous studies was research over the animal cells that was focused on the RNA metabolism that broke down the enzyme inductions and their functions that were later published in his book called ''Harvard Gazette'' that focused on the glucose starvation, hexose metabolism and transport.
Harold Amos Medical Faculty Program
"The mission of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is to improve the health and health care of all Americans. Since its inception, the Foundation has supported efforts to improve the number and quality of minority health care professionals. Recognizing that there was an existing pool of talented minority medical residents who had the potential to become medical school faculty members, and that a critical requirement for success was for those potential academicians to forge links with appropriate mentors who have exemplary track records in producing outstanding medical faculty, the Foundation developed the Minority Medical Faculty Development Program in 1983 (renamed the Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program, or AMFDP, in 2004 in honor of its first director)."
The ideas of this program believed that his role to the University of Harvard was to help push the narrative of many minority students that weren't able to gain support to pursue a medical career as a physician. By the facility and board directors supporting Harold in this regime it has shown an increase of many minority students that have exceeded the numbers of non minority faculty. In regards of the program Harold Amos believed with this program it would allow students to gain the opportunities like himself while passing on his knowledge to other students in the program. As for today his program has changed nearly over 124 participants in the years of 2003- 2008 that were (76 scholars and 48 non scholars) that were able to gain leadership qualities plus grants that were covering at least 3/4 of the semester while there in the program.
In regards of program the most known alumni was man named Dr. James Gavin III quoted " It has been an immeasurable honor to play a part in realizing the Harold Amos program’s goal of building and developing a cadre of brilliant young physicians and dentists who go on to make significant contributions to the field of academic medicine. Our scholars and alumni make up one of the richest endowments of human capital with which I have ever been affiliated. Being part of that for three decades has helped fulfill my commitment to develop programs that create sustainable, positive change."
By the help of this program Dr. Gavin believed that this committee helped him establish a great relationship between him and the facility that was able to advocate the workforce for many minorities that were capable to be a part of the growing medical regime.
References
External links
Tribute at the Harvard Medical SchoolHarold Amos papers, 1949-2003. HMS c476. Harvard Medical Library, Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Boston, Mass.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amos, Harold
1918 births
2003 deaths
20th-century American scientists
United States Army personnel of World War II
African-American biologists
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Harvard Medical School alumni
Members of the National Academy of Medicine
People from Pennsauken Township, New Jersey
Springfield College (Massachusetts) alumni
20th-century African-American scientists
21st-century African-American people
Fulbright alumni