Roger H. Unger (March 7, 1924 – August 22, 2020) 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 ...

known for his studies of the physiology of

pancreatic islets The pancreatic islets or islets of Langerhans are the regions of the pancreas that contain its endocrine (hormone-producing) cells, discovered in 1869 by German pathological anatomist Paul Langerhans. The pancreatic islets constitute 1–2% of ...

. In particular the elucidation of the roles of

insulin Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the ''INS'' gene. It is considered to be the main anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabolism o ...

and

glucagon Glucagon is a peptide hormone, produced by alpha cells of the pancreas. It raises concentration of glucose and fatty acids in the bloodstream, and is considered to be the main catabolic hormone of the body. It is also used as a Glucagon (medicati ...

in the regulation of normal blood glucose homeostasis and in the pathogenesis of

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

, and the establishment of glucagon as a hormone. He was the Touchstone/West Distinguished Chair in Diabetes Research at

University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UT Southwestern or UTSW) is a public academic health science center in Dallas, Texas. With approximately 18,800 employees, more than 2,900 full-time faculty, and nearly 4 million outpatient vi ...

Early life and education

Unger was born March 7, 1924, to parents who were a physician/hematologist and a stay-at-home mother respectively. He grew up in New York City, attending the Horace Mann School until the age of 15, then the

Taft School The Taft School is a private, coeducational school located in Watertown, Connecticut, United States. It teaches students in 9th through 12th grades and post-graduates. About three-quarters of Taft's roughly 600 students live on the school's ...

for the rest of his secondary education. Unger completed his undergraduate studies at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, then his medical degree at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Medical and research career

Following medical school, Unger worked at New York's Bellevue Hospital. In 1951, he joined the

US 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 S ...

, where he directed a diabetes detection drive. In 1956, Unger began his research career by joining the faculty of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and the

Dallas VA Medical Center Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County wit ...

. He turned his attention first to

, then a protein of unknown function known to be secreted by

pancreatic islet The pancreatic islets or islets of Langerhans are the regions of the pancreas that contain its endocrine (hormone-producing) cells, discovered in 1869 by German pathological anatomist Paul Langerhans. The pancreatic islets constitute 1–2% of t ...

s. With the help of Solomon Berson's lab, Unger's group developed a radioimmunoassay for measuring glucagon levels, which they published in 1959. Over the subsequent decades, Unger's group continued to delve into glucagon's role in controlling blood sugar, as well as how glucagon secretion is regulated. He is known for advocating the "bihormonal hypothesis", that blood sugar is regulated by the opposing actions of

and glucagon, and that the disease

is caused both by lack of insulin, and unopposed glucagon. In 1986 Unger, Daniel Foster, and J. Denis McGarry founded the Touchstone Diabetes Center at UT Southwestern, which Unger directed from 1987 until 2007. Roger Unger's research accomplishments were recognized by several honors in his lifetime. He was appointed to the US National Academy of Sciences in 1986, and the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

in 1994.

References

1924 births 2020 deaths American diabetologists Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons alumni University of Texas faculty Yale University alumni {{US-physician-stub