Caroline Breese Hall (April 2, 1939 – December 10, 2012) was an American pediatrician who was a pediatrics professor at the

University of Rochester Medical Center The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), now known as UR Medicine, is located in Rochester, New York, is a medical complex on the main campus of the University of Rochester and comprises the university's primary medical education, resea ...

and studied pediatric diseases caused by

respiratory syncytial virus Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), also called human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) and human orthopneumovirus, is a virus that causes infections of the respiratory tract. It is a negative-sense, single-stranded RNA virus. Its name is derive ...

and

human herpesvirus 6 Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) is the common collective name for human herpesvirus 6A (HHV-6A) and human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B). These closely related viruses are two of the nine known herpesviruses that have humans as their primary host. HHV-6 ...

Biography

Early life and education

Caroline Breese Hall, a native of

Brighton, Monroe County, New York Brighton is a town and census-designated place in Monroe County, New York, United States. The population was 37,137 at the 2020 census. History The town of Brighton, located on the southeastern border of the city of Rochester, is located on th ...

, was born on April 2, 1939. Her father, Burtis Burr Breese, was a pediatrician who was a professor at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, and the ''Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society'' described him as "a pioneer in office-based clinical research and the development of the office throat culture for streptococci". After obtaining a BA in chemistry at

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

, she studied at her father's employer, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, where she obtained a medical degree in 1964.

Academic career

After obtaining her degrees, Hall moved to Yale University, where she completed a few fellowships and a residency. In 1971, Hall became part of the

(URMC) faculty, before becoming Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine there in 1986. An author of hundreds of scholarly articles, Hall specialized in studying pediatric diseases caused by

and

, and ''Women In Academia Report'' described her as an expert in the area. The ''Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society'' described Hall as a "major contributor to the discipline of pediatric infectious diseases, as teacher, mentor, researcher, and counselor". In 1978, Hall and her father wrote a book called ''Beta Hemolytic Streptococcal Diseases''. Hall was one of the inaugural editorial board members of the academic journal '' Contemporary Pediatrics'', remaining there until her death. Hall was the fifth president of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. Hall served on the

Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is a National Immunization Technical Advisory Group, committee within the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that provides advice and guidance on effective control ...

and was the chair of the

American Academy of Pediatrics The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is the largest professional association of pediatricians in the United States. It is headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, and maintains an office in Washington, D.C. The AAP has published hundreds of poli ...

' Committee on Infectious Diseases. In 1979, Hall became a Fellow of the

and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. Hall was the

Infectious Diseases Society of America The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) is a medical association representing physicians, scientists, and other health care professionals who specialize in infectious diseases. It was founded in 1963 and is based in Arlington, Virginia. ...

's 1993 John F. Enders Lecturer. In 1995, Hall became the first winner of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society Foundation's Distinguished Service Award. Hall won the Pan American Society of Virology's 1997 Ed Nowakowski Senior Memorial Clinical Virology Award. In 2002, Hall was elected to the

National Academy of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), known as the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineerin ...

. Hall won the 2006

' Section on Infectious Diseases Award for Lifetime Contribution in Infectious Diseases Education. Hall won the 2008 Robert M. Chanock Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Personal life, death, and legacy

Hall and her husband William J. Hall, the Paul H. Fine Professor of Medicine at the URMC, had three children including URMC cardiology professor Burr W. Hall. Hall died at her home on December 10, 2012; she was 73. In April 2014, the URMC held a

festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

symposium in Hall's honor.

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Caroline Breese 1939 births 2012 deaths American pediatricians American women pediatricians American virologists American women virologists 20th-century American physicians 20th-century American women physicians 21st-century American physicians 21st-century American women physicians People from Brighton, Monroe County, New York Scientists from New York (state) Wellesley College alumni University of Rochester alumni University of Rochester faculty Members of the National Academy of Medicine Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh