John Bienenstock (October 6, 1936 – July 25, 2022) was a Hungarian-born Canadian doctor. He is considered one of the fathers of
mucosal immunology.
[
Born in ]Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
,[ of Jewish parents, he escaped to ]England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
in 1939 with his parents. He was educated at St Paul's School in London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and studied medicine at Kings London and Westminster Hospital medical school graduating with his MBBS degree in 1960. Bienenstock came to the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
to pursue research projects at Harvard University but left for Canada during the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
rather than be drafted as an army doctor. He joined McMaster University in 1968.[ He served as dean of Health Sciences, as vice-president of the Faculty of Health Sciences and as chair for the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine at McMaster.][ More recently, he became head of the Brain-Body Institute at ]St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton
St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton is a 777-bed academic health science centre in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada that is affiliated with the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine of McMaster University as well as Mohawk College. It is part of the St. J ...
.[
Bienenstock introduced the concept of a common mucosal immune system. He also studied the interactions between the nervous and ]immune system
The immune system is a network of biological processes that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to parasitic worms, as well as cancer cells and objects such as wood splinte ...
s.[
Bienenstock was a member of the Royal College of Physicians (UK). Bienenstock was named a fellow of the ]Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...
in 1992 and was named to the Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the ...
in 2002. Bienenstock was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame __NOTOC__
The Canadian Medical Hall of Fame is a Canadian charitable organization, founded in 1994, that honours Canadians who have contributed to the understanding of disease and improving the health of people. It has an exhibit hall in London, O ...
in 2011.
References
1936 births
2022 deaths
People educated at St Paul's School, London
Alumni of King's College London
Canadian immunologists
Canadian people of Hungarian-Jewish descent
Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada
Members of the Order of Canada
Scientists from Budapest
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