Heinrich Willi (4 March 1900 – 16 February 1971) was a Swiss

pediatrician Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

who specialised in

neonatology Neonatology is a subspecialty of pediatrics that consists of the medical care of newborn infants, especially the ill or premature newborn. It is a hospital-based specialty, and is usually practised in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). The ...

and co-discovered

Prader–Willi syndrome Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) is a genetic disorder caused by a loss of function of specific genes on chromosome 15. In newborns, symptoms include weak muscles, poor feeding, and slow development. Beginning in childhood, those affected become c ...

with

Andrea Prader Andrea is a given name which is common worldwide for both males and females, cognate to Andreas, Andrej and Andrew. Origin of the name The name derives from the Greek word ἀνήρ (''anēr''), genitive ἀνδρός (''andrós''), that ref ...

Biography

Heinrich Willi was born in 1900 in

Chur , neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Churwalden, Tschiertschen-Praden, Domat/Ems, Felsberg, Malix, Trimmis, Untervaz, Pfäfers , twintowns = Bad Homburg (Germany), Cabourg (France), Mayrhofen (Austria), Mondorf-les-Bains (Luxembourg), ...

. He received his medical qualification from the

University of Zurich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...

in 1925 before becoming a resident at the Institute of Pathology Anatomy in Zurich and the

Winterthur , neighboring_municipalities = Brütten, Dinhard, Elsau, Hettlingen, Illnau-Effretikon, Kyburg, Lindau, Neftenbach, Oberembrach, Pfungen, Rickenbach, Schlatt, Seuzach, Wiesendangen, Zell , twintowns = Hall in Tirol (Austria), La ...

Hospital. He began training in

pediatrics Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until th ...

in 1928 at the Zurich Children's Hospital, under the director

Guido Fanconi Guido Fanconi () (1 January 1892 – 10 October 1979) was a Swiss pediatrician. He was born in Poschiavo, a small village in the Canton of Grisons. Fanconi is regarded as one of the founders of modern pediatrics. He received his secondary sch ...

, and was appointed assistant medical director in 1930. He completed a doctoral thesis in 1936 on

childhood leukemia Childhood leukemia is leukemia that occurs in a child and is a type of childhood cancer. Childhood leukemia is the most common childhood cancer, accounting for 29% of cancers in children aged 0–14 in 2018. There are multiple forms of leukemia t ...

and in 1937 he became the director of

in what is now the

University Hospital of Zürich The University Hospital of Zürich (german: Universitätsspital Zürich, USZ) is one of five university hospitals in Switzerland. The first hospital in Zürich, from which the current hospital derives, is recorded as having existed as early as ...

, remaining in the position until his retirement in 1970. He served as president of the Swiss Society of Paediatrics from 1959 to 1962 and was nominated for membership of the

Academy of Sciences Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (german: Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina – Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften), short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded ...

. Willi died suddenly on 16 February 1971 in Zurich, at the age of 70.

Research

Willi gave his name to

, a genetic disorder of childhood obesity and intellectual disability that was first described by Willi,

and Alex Labhart in 1956. Although they presented their findings at international conferences and in a Swiss medical journal, their report did not stimulate much medical interest until the 1960s, when their observations were noted in France, the United Kingdom and the United States. Willi's other research interests included the effects of

gestational diabetes Gestational diabetes is a condition in which a woman without diabetes develops high blood sugar levels during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes generally results in few symptoms; however, it increases the risk of pre-eclampsia, depression, and of ...

on the newborn, the hematological effects of

ascariasis Ascariasis is a disease caused by the parasitic roundworm ''Ascaris lumbricoides''. Infections have no symptoms in more than 85% of cases, especially if the number of worms is small. Symptoms increase with the number of worms present and may in ...

infection, and the definitions of different childhood leukemias. He was among the first to recognise the potential for

bone marrow aspiration Bone marrow examination refers to the pathologic analysis of samples of bone marrow obtained by bone marrow biopsy (often called trephine biopsy) and bone marrow aspiration. Bone marrow examination is used in the diagnosis of a number of condition ...

to be used as a technique for diagnosing hematological diseases.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willi, Heinrich 1900 births 1971 deaths Swiss pediatricians People from Chur Scientists from Zürich University of Zurich alumni Swiss medical researchers Members of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina