Mark Frederick Boyd
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Mark Frederick Boyd (1889–1968) was an American physician and writer. He taught and performed research in public health. He went to work for the Rockefeller Foundation in 1921, and thereafter specialized in the study of malaria. He also wrote about the history of Florida.


Education and early career

Boyd received a Doctor of Medicine degree from the
State University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 coll ...
in 1911, and a
Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...
degree from there in 1913. He worked as a
public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...
officer in Iowa, an instructor in
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 ...
and
bacteriology Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them. This subdivision of microbiology involves the identification, classificat ...
and later as an associate professor of
preventive medicine Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, consists of measures taken for the purposes of disease prevention.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental hea ...
at the State University of Iowa. He was a teaching fellow in
hygiene Hygiene is a series of practices performed to preserve health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases." Personal hygiene refer ...
at
Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...
and an associate professor of bacteriology and hygiene at the
University of Nevada The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12 ...
. He was the first head of the Department of Bacteriology and Preventive Medicine at the
University of Texas Medical Branch The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) is a public academic health science center in Galveston, Texas. It is part of the University of Texas System. UTMB includes the oldest medical school in Texas, and has about 11,000 employees. In Febr ...
. He was a member of the Nevada State Board of Health, epidemiologist for the Iowa State Board of Health, and served two years as a reserve officer in the
United States Public Health Service The United States Public Health Service (USPHS or PHS) is a collection of agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services concerned with public health, containing nine out of the department's twelve operating divisions. The Assistant ...
, in charge of the service's
plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...
laboratory in Galveston, Texas, which was established to fight the 1920 epidemic of bubonic plague in that city. Boyd became a staff member of the
International Health Board The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Car ...
of the Rockefeller Foundation in 1921, remaining with that institution until his retirement in 1947. He directed the International Health Board study of the epidemiology of malaria in the state of
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
, Brazil from 1922 to 1925. Returning to the United States, he served as director of the Rockefeller Foundations's malaria field study stations in Leesburg, Georgia and Edenton, North Carolina. He was director of the foundation's malaria field study station in Jamaica in 1928. Returning again to the United States, he served as director of the Division of Malaria Control of the Mississippi State Board of Health.


Later career

The Rockefeller Foundation sent Boyd to
Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the populatio ...
in 1931 to establish a research laboratory at the
Florida State College for Women Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...
, where he had full faculty privileges. He then began studying the use of
malariotherapy The malaria therapy (or malaria inoculation, and sometimes malariotherapy) is a medical procedure of treating diseases using artificial injection of malaria parasites. It is a type of pyrotherapy (or pyretotherapy) by which high fever is induced ...
at the
Florida State Hospital Florida State Hospital (FSH) is a hospital and psychiatric hospital in Chattahoochee, Florida. Established in 1876, it was Florida's only state mental institution until 1947. It currently has a capacity of 1,042 patients. The hospital's current A ...
. Malariotherapy, a type of
pyrotherapy Pyrotherapy (artificial fever) is a method of treatment by raising the body temperature or sustaining an elevated body temperature using a fever. In general, the body temperature was maintained at 41 °C (105 °F). Many diseases were t ...
, was an attempt to treat syphilis by introducing malaria parasites into syphilis patients. The fevers induced by malaria killed the bacteria (''
Treponema pallidum ''Treponema pallidum'', formerly known as ''Spirochaeta pallida'', is a spirochaete bacterium with various subspecies that cause the diseases syphilis, bejel (also known as endemic syphilis), and yaws. It is transmitted only among humans. It is ...
'') that causes syphilis. The treatment was widely studied and employed in the first half of the 20th century. While the study of malariotherapy was usually focused on the syphilis infections, Boyd concentrated his studies on malaria. Boyd was an advisor and consultant on malaria to the
Tennessee Valley Authority The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolin ...
, the Pan American Sanitary Bureau, the League of Nations, and the United States Army. He attended international conferences as a delegate for the United States, and served on national boards related to tropical diseases. He was president of the American Society of Tropical Medicine in 1938, and president of the American Academy of Tropical Medicine in 1945. He was secretary of the National Malaria Society for 15 years and was elected president in 1946. He was editor of the
American Journal of Tropical Medicine The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) is an Arlington, Virginia-based non-profit organization of scientists, clinicians, students and program professionals whose longstanding mission is to promote global health through the ...
in 1947. In 1950, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree by Florida State University. Boyd also studied and wrote about the history of Florida, in particular about Spanish Florida and Native American groups. He was president of the
Florida Historical Society The Florida Historical Society is an organization that promotes the study of the history of Florida. Incorporated in 1856, the Society collects, preserves and publishes materials relating to the history of Florida and its denizens. After being re ...
from 1946 until 1949.


Works

Boyd published several books in medicine and history, including: *(1925) ''Preventive Medicine'' *(1926) ''Studies of the Epidemiology of Malaria in the Coastal Lowlands of Brazil, Made Before and After the Execution of Control Measures'' *(1930) ''An Introduction to Malariology'' *(1939) ''Conferencias Sobre Malaria Ofrecidas En El Instituto Finlay'' (in Spanish) *(1949) ''Malariology: A Comprehensive Survey of All Aspects of this Group of Diseases from a Global Standpoint'' (editor, two volumes) *(1951) ''Here They Once Stood: The Tragic End of the Apalachee Missions'' (with Hale G. Smith and John W. Griffin) *(1951) ''Historic Sites in and around the Jim Woodruff Reservoir Area, Florida-Georgia'' He also published approximately 140 articles on health and medical topics, and more than 20 articles in history journals.


Notes


References

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External links

:;Depositories of papers * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boyd, Mark Frederick Public health researchers Malariologists Historians of Florida 1889 births 1968 deaths