Lauren Vedder Ackerman (March 12, 1905 – July 27, 1993) was an American
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
pathologist
Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in th ...
, who championed the subspecialty of
surgical pathology
Surgical pathology is the most significant and time-consuming area of practice for most anatomical pathologists. Surgical pathology involves gross and microscopic examination of surgical specimens, as well as biopsies submitted by surgeons and ...
in the mid-20th century.
Early life
Ackerman was born in March 1905 in
Auburn, New York
Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States. Located at the north end of Owasco Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in Central New York, the city had a population of 26,866 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city of Cayuga County, ...
, to Bertha (née Vedder) and John Ackerman. Both of his parents were college graduates. His father was a civil and mechanical engineer, who later became city manager of
Watertown, New York
Watertown is a city in, and the county seat of, Jefferson County, New York, United States. It is approximately south of the Thousand Islands, along the Black River about east of where it flows into Lake Ontario. The city is bordered by the ...
. Despite growing up in a learned family environment, Lauren was an indifferent student with mediocre grades. After high school graduation in 1923 Ackerman began his college studies at
St. Lawrence University (
Canton, New York
Canton is an incorporated Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in St. Lawrence County, New York, St. Lawrence County, New York (state), New York. The population was 11,638 at the time of the 2020 census. The town contains two Administr ...
), later transferring to, and graduating from,
Hamilton College
Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, following ...
(
Clinton, New York) in 1927 with a B.S. degree in engineering. He worked for the next year in that profession, but then decided to pursue a medical career.
Education
Lauren was accepted to the
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees.
The University of Roc ...
School of Medicine (
Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...
), then a new facility. Its faculty provided virtually individual attention to the students, a practice that Ackerman was to adopt himself in the future. After obtaining his M.D. in 1932, he served as an intern and resident in
internal medicine at the
University of California-San Francisco
The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life science. It cond ...
(UCSF) under the chairmanship of William Kerr. A year's sabbatical from training was necessary because Ackerman had contracted
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
as a medical student. As a patient in a local sanitarium, he helped to pass the time by assisting at
autopsies
An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any d ...
performed on less fortunate cohorts.
After completion of his medicine residency, Lauren pursued specialty training in pathology. He returned to the University of Rochester, where he worked under the direction of
George Whipple
George Hoyt Whipple (August 28, 1878 – February 1, 1976) was an American physician, pathologist, biomedical researcher, and medical school educator and administrator. Whipple shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1934 with George ...
. After a year, Ackerman moved to
Boston, Massachusetts as a resident working principally at the Pondville State Cancer Hospital. He completed his studies there in 1938, and married Elizabeth Fitts the same year.
Career
With no available pathology positions in the offing, Ackerman accepted a position as assistant professor of medicine back at UCSF in 1939. There he was responsible for performing autopsies on patients who had died of pulmonary diseases. In 1940, a job in pathology was offered to Ackerman at the Ellis Fischel Cancer Hospital (EFCH) in
Columbia, Missouri
Columbia is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is the county seat of Boone County and home to the University of Missouri. Founded in 1821, it is the principal city of the five-county Columbia metropolitan area. It is Missouri's fourth ...
, a state-run center for indigent patients with malignancies. Because of his background in clinical medicine, he also had duties in
electrocardiography
Electrocardiography is the process of producing an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG), a recording of the heart's electrical activity. It is an electrogram of the heart which is a graph of voltage versus time of the electrical activity of the hear ...
and
radiotherapy
Radiation therapy or radiotherapy, often abbreviated RT, RTx, or XRT, is a therapy using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer treatment to control or kill malignant cells and normally delivered by a linear accelerator. Radia ...
. After several years of experience there, Ackerman authored his first book, ''Cancer: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prognosis'', with Juan Del Regato, a radiotherapist. A progressively closer professional relationship grew with surgeons at nearby
Barnes Hospital and
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...
, several of whom also had appointments at EFCH. In 1948, Ackerman was offered a position at Barnes Hospital as the chief surgical pathologist and associate professor of surgery, under the chairmanship of
Evarts Ambrose Graham
Evarts Ambrose Graham (1883–1957) was an American academic, physician, and surgeon.
Early years and military service
Born in Chicago, Illinois to a surgeon, Dr. David Wilson Graham, and Ida Ansbach Barned Graham, Evarts attended college at Prin ...
(it was then a common practice for surgical pathologists to be part of surgery faculties).
Ackerman accrued experience in diagnostic surgical pathology over the succeeding several years. In the early 1950s, he decided to apply that knowledge to the formulation of a textbook, which was and published in 1953 with the title ''Surgical Pathology''. Although other texts on the topic did exist—notably one by Dr.
William Boyd—Ackerman's monograph focused on differential diagnosis and the clinical significance of morphologic findings. Accordingly, it rapidly drew attention and acclaim from other practicing pathologists.
Ackerman wrote peer-reviewed publications about surgical pathological subjects throughout the early and mid-1950s. As a consequence, he received and accepted many invitations to present seminars around the world. During those travels, Ackerman was introduced to the best young pathologists that many countries had to offer, and several such individuals were invited to St. Louis to further their training with him. American physicians wishing to become surgical pathologists were also increasingly drawn to Barnes Hospital. A steady stream of Ackerman-trained surgical pathology fellows emerged during the next 20 years, many of whom went on to become renowned practitioners and educators. The Ackerman "method" involved thorough morphologic analysis, correlation of pathologic findings with detailed clinical information, and active consultation with attending physicians to assure optimal patient care.
After a 25-year tenure, Ackerman retired as a professor at the
Washington University School of Medicine
Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM) is the medical school of Washington University in St. Louis in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1891, the School of Medicine has 1,260 students, 604 of which are pursuing a medical degree with or ...
in 1973.
Post-retirement
Ackerman moved back to New York state with his wife, and took an adjunct faculty position at the
State University of New York at Stony Brook
Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system's ...
(SUNY-SB). He continued to lecture actively at an international level, but he assigned editorship of his surgical pathology textbook to
Juan Rosai, who continued to oversee ''Rosai & Ackerman's Surgical Pathology'' through its 10th edition.
Recognition
Ackerman received the
Janeway Medal of the
American Radium Society
The American Radium Society is a medical association devoted to the study and treatment of cancer. It was founded in 1916.
The Society's original mission was to further "the scientific study of radium in relation to its physical properties and the ...
; the Fred W. Stewart Award from
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital. MSKCC is one of 52 National Cancer Institute– ...
of New York City; the Gold-Headed Cane Award from the American Association of Pathologists; the Distinguished Service Award from
Washington University
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...
; the Prix de Paris Award from the
Institute Gustave-Roussy in Villejuif, France; and the City of Paris Award from
Paris, France
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
.
Personal life
Ackerman was a skilled pool player; an avid fisherman and golfer; a lover of art, literature, and classical music; and a connoisseur of fine food and wine. He had three daughters and a son and 13 grandchildren. His first wife, Elizabeth, died of complications of plasmacytic
myeloma
Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone pain, anemi ...
in 1981. Late in life, Ackerman married Carol Blum, a professor of
French and
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
at SUNY-SB.
Death
In mid-1993, Ackerman developed abdominal complaints and was found to have peritoneal
carcinomatosis
Carcinosis, or carcinomatosis, is disseminated cancer, forms of metastasis, whether used generally or in specific patterns of spread.
Usage
Carcinomatosis is often restricted to tumors of epithelial origin, adenocarcinomas, while sarcomatosis desc ...
from a colonic cancer. He died on July 27 of that year.
[''Ibid''.]
See also
*
Juan Rosai
*
Pathology
Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...
*
List of pathologists
A list of people notable in the field of pathology.
A
* John Abercrombie, Scottish physician, neuropathologist and philosopher.
* Maude Abbott (1869–1940), Canadian pathologist, one of the earliest women graduated in medicine, expert in co ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ackerman, Lauren
20th-century American physicians
20th-century American women physicians
American pathologists
Washington University in St. Louis faculty
1905 births
1993 deaths
Physicians from New York (state)
University of Rochester alumni
20th-century American male writers