Louis Weinstein (February 26, 1908 – March 16, 2000) was an American

infectious diseases An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...

physician,

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 educator. He was a pioneer in the modern field of infectious disease treatment, having started his career before antibiotics and vaccines became widely available. Over his career he taught at the three medical schools in Boston:

Boston University School of Medicine The Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, formerly the Boston University School of Medicine, is one of the graduate schools of Boston University. Founded in 1848, the medical school was the first institution in the world ...

, Tufts University School of Medicine, and Harvard Medical School, making him one of the few doctors to do so. During his lifetime, he wrote or co-wrote more than 400 articles published in professional journals.

Biography

Weinstein was born in 1908 in

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the List of cities by population in New England, fifth-most populous ...

. He received a masters and doctorate in

microbiology Microbiology () is the scientific study of microorganisms, those being unicellular (single cell), multicellular (cell colony), or acellular (lacking cells). Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virology, bacteriology, prot ...

at Yale University, financing his studies by working as a jazz violinist. He graduated from

in 1943, and was appointed chief of infectious disease at the university in 1947. He worked for twelve years at Haynes Memorial Hospital in Boston, where he treated thousands of patients with various infectious diseases. In 1957, he transferred to Tufts Medical Center as chief of infectious diseases for adult medicine and pediatrics, and remained there until moving to

Brigham and Women's Hospital Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is the second largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the largest hospital in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Along with Massachusetts Gener ...

in 1975. He concurrently served as a visiting professor in infectious diseases to Harvard Medical School from 1975 to 1993. Weinstein, who began working in the pre-antibiotic era, encouraged physicians to prescribe antibiotics such as

penicillin Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from ''Penicillium'' moulds, principally '' P. chrysogenum'' and '' P. rubens''. Most penicillins in clinical use are synthesised by P. chrysogenum using ...

and helped to develop guidelines for antibiotic therapy. By the end of the 1940s, he became one of the first physicians to also warn against the overuse of antibiotics and the dangers of

antibiotic resistance Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when microbes evolve mechanisms that protect them from the effects of antimicrobials. All classes of microbes can evolve resistance. Fungi evolve antifungal resistance. Viruses evolve antiviral resistance. ...

. Fellow Boston infectious diseases physician Morton N. Swartz described Weinstein as "a bridge between the eras before and after the introduction of antibiotics". He played a significant role in the New England polio epidemics of 1949 and 1955; when obstetricians refused to see polio-infected pregnant women because they feared viral transmission, Weinstein delivered the babies. He traveled across New England to make house calls, and on one occasion was summoned to Paris to treat Aristotle Onassis for pneumonia. He chaired a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee on the

legionnaire's disease Legionnaires' disease is a form of atypical pneumonia caused by any species of ''Legionella'' bacteria, quite often '' Legionella pneumophila''. Signs and symptoms include cough, shortness of breath, high fever, muscle pains, and headaches. Naus ...

outbreak in Philadelphia in 1976.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weinstein, Louis 1908 births 2000 deaths American microbiologists American infectious disease physicians Harvard Medical School faculty Tufts University School of Medicine faculty Boston University School of Medicine faculty People from Bridgeport, Connecticut Yale School of Medicine alumni Boston University School of Medicine alumni Physicians from Massachusetts 20th-century American physicians American medical researchers 20th-century American biologists Physician-scientists Scientists from Connecticut Scientists from Massachusetts Physicians from Connecticut