John Leonora (January 30, 1928 – February 17, 2006) was an endocrinologist and faculty member at Loma Linda University. His research focused on the role of hypothalamic "factors" for indirectly controlling the metabolism of such avascular tissues as dental enamel, dentin, and the Islands of Langerhans (pancreas).

Biography

John Leonora, son of Joseph Leonora and Carmela Folise Leonora, was born in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, soon after his parents arrived as immigrants from

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. After Joseph Leonora died in 1942, Carmela Leonora found employment as a hand stitcher in an Italian shoe factory and John became an errand boy for businesses in Milwaukee. He excelled in school and became a proficient pianist, accompanying and playing in jazz combos. He was an active member of the Italian club at Lincoln High School. He received a one-year scholarship at the

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscon ...

. Upon receiving his B.S. degree at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

, Leonora took an interim position as a laboratory assistant in chemistry and obtained teaching credentials at what is now

Andrews University Andrews University is a private Seventh-day Adventist university in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Founded in 1874 as Battle Creek College, it was the first higher education facility started by Seventh-day Adventists and is the flagship universi ...

Berrien Springs, Michigan Berrien Springs is a village in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,800 at the time of the 2010 census. The village is located within Oronoko Charter Township. History Berrien Springs, like Berrien County, is na ...

. There he met Johanna Mae Zwemer, who was working toward a secretarial degree. They married in 1952. Leonora had returned to Madison and the University of Wisconsin. There he and his wife lived while he completed his Ph.D., obtained a federal fellowship, and embarked on his career as an endocrinologist. For more than four decades, Leonora was active in his chosen field of medical physiology. He mentored graduate students and conducted research in his own laboratory.

Academic recognition

* 1976: Walter E. Macpherson Society, Research Award * 1980: Walter E. Macpherson Society, Basic Science Teacher Award * 1980:

Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is a highly prestigious, non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a small group of graduate students in 1886 ...

Research Merit Award * 1988: Walter E. Macpherson Society Basic Science Teacher Award * 1988: Sigma Xi Research Merit Award * 2005:

Omicron Kappa Upsilon Omicron Kappa Upsilon () is a national honorary society serving the field of dentistry. History The Society originated with the 1914 graduating class of the dental school at Northwestern University in Chicago. The idea for the fraternity came fro ...

Award by the Chi Chi Chapter, Loma Linda University.

Biography

Academic recognition

References

Further reading