Henry David Janowitz (1915-2008) was professor emeritus of

gastroenterology Gastroenterology (from the Greek gastḗr- “belly”, -énteron “intestine”, and -logía "study of") is the branch of medicine focused on the digestive system and its disorders. The digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract ...

at the

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS or Mount Sinai), formerly the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, is a private medical school in New York City. It is the academic teaching arm of the Mount Sinai Health System, which manages eight ...

. He is known for his contributions into

inflammatory bowel disease Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of inflammation, inflammatory conditions of the colon (anatomy), colon and small intestine, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis being the principal types. Crohn's disease affects the small intestine a ...

s and being a leader in the

Crohn's disease Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any segment of the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea (which may be bloody if inflammation is severe), fever, abdominal distension ...

and ulcerative colitis research.

Early life and education

Janowitz was born in a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

household to Rose and Sam Janowitz on March 13, 1915, in

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Morris Janowitz was his younger brother. After graduating from Eastside High School at the age of 16, Janowitz entered Columbia College from which he graduated with honors and a membership into

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

. His major there was

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

but his undergraduate was history of philosophy. Because he was uncertain whether to pursue

medicine 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 pract ...

or philosophy, he sought an advice from his mentor and professor, Dr.

Irwin Edman Irwin Edman (November 28, 1896 – September 4, 1954) was an American philosopher and professor of philosophy. Biography Irwin Edman was born in New York City to Jewish parents. He grew up in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, ...

. Edman suggested to him to become a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

, and so he did. After graduating from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1939 with

Alpha Omega Alpha Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society () is an honor society in the field of medicine. Alpha Omega Alpha currently has active Chapters in 132 LCME- accredited medical schools in the United States and Lebanon. It annually elects over 4,000 new ...

honor, Janowitz did a two-year fellowship in clinical pathology.

War

In 1942 he joined the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

as a medic 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 ...

and until 1946 served as such at its Medical Corps. While serving at an Arkansas-based Army hospital, Janowitz became acquainted with Thomas Urmy, a gastroenterologist from Boston. After learning

preceptor A preceptor (from Latin, "''praecepto''") is a teacher responsible for upholding a ''precept'', meaning a certain law or tradition. Buddhist monastic orders Senior Buddhist monks can become the preceptors for newly ordained monks. In the Buddhi ...

ship in

from this man, the next three years became very fruitful for Janowitz, who during those years served as gastroenterologist in France and Germany, and was eventually sent home with a rank of a major.

Career

Early career

Following the war, he resumed his studying, earning a master's degree in

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. In 1947, at the age of 32, Janowitz became a CUCPS resident. Between 1948 and 1950 he worked towards master's degree in

Andrew Conway Ivy Andrew Conway Ivy (February 25, 1893 – February 7, 1978) was an American physician. He was appointed by the American Medical Association as its representative at the 1946 Nuremberg Medical Trial for Nazi doctors, but later fell into disrepute for ...

's Department of Clinical Science at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

. There, under mentorship of professor Morton I. Grossman, he laid out foundations in gastrointestinal physiology and became known as Dr. Grossman's oldest living student. Since

gastrin Gastrin is a peptide hormone that stimulates secretion of gastric acid (HCl) by the parietal cells of the stomach and aids in gastric motility. It is released by G cells in the pyloric antrum of the stomach, duodenum, and the pancreas. Gastrin ...

and cholecystokinin were already discovered by that time, Dr. Janowitz focused his study onto physiology of gastric organs and

autonomic nervous system The autonomic nervous system (ANS), formerly referred to as the vegetative nervous system, is a division of the peripheral nervous system that supplies viscera, internal organs, smooth muscle and glands. The autonomic nervous system is a control ...

. Upon completion of his thesis in 1950, Janowitz returned to the Gastrointestinal Physiology Laboratory as full time researcher. While at the lab, he worked under Franklin Hollander, who at that time was a renowned gastroenterologist after publishing his investigations into gastrointestinal electrolyte

metabolism Metabolism (, from el, μεταβολή ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cell ...

Later career

Janowitz became a private practitioner in 1952 and worked closely with

Burrill Bernard Crohn Burrill Bernard Crohn (June 13, 1884 – July 29, 1983) was an American gastroenterologist who made the first major advance to identify the disease that now bears his name. Although the description of Crohn's disease is by far his most famous ac ...

at Mount Sinai Hospital in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. While there, he also worked with David Dreiling and contributed to the study of peptic ulcer and

s. In 1958, Janowitz was asked to create a Division of Gastroenterology at the Mount Sinai Hospital. While leading that group, he trained over 100 residents and fellows among which were Bernard Wolf and Richard Marshak.

Editorial work

Prof. Janowitz served on many editorial boards, including ''Journal of Chronic Diseases'' (now known as '' Journal of Clinical Epidemiology''), the '' American Journal of Physiology'' and was a contributor to ''Gastroenterology Clinics''. He also was known for the resurrection of the ''American Journal of Digestive Diseases'' which existed from 1956 to 1966. He was a member of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons and served as Committee chairman with the American Gastroenterological Association and on the National Scientific Advisory Board of the National Foundation for Ileitis and Colitis.

Death and legacy

Janowitz died on August 19, 2008 and was survived by his wife, Adeline R. Tintner, and two children Anne and Mary Janowitz.

Honors

*Member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (1956)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Janowitz, Henry 1915 births 2008 deaths American gastroenterologists Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons alumni Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai faculty Eastside High School (Paterson, New Jersey) alumni People from Paterson, New Jersey Members of the American Society for Clinical Investigation Jewish American scientists 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews