Charles Henry "Rammel" Rammelkamp Jr. (May 24, 1911 – December 5, 1981) was an American scientist and physician. Rammelkamp Jr. discovered that

streptococcus ''Streptococcus'' is a genus of gram-positive spherical bacteria that belongs to the family Streptococcaceae, within the order Lactobacillales (lactic acid bacteria), in the phylum Bacillota. Cell division in streptococci occurs along a sing ...

can cause

rheumatic fever Rheumatic fever (RF) is an inflammation#Disorders, inflammatory disease that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain. The disease typically develops two to four weeks after a Streptococcal pharyngitis, streptococcal throat infection. Si ...

and

nephritic syndrome Nephritic syndrome is a syndrome comprising medical sign, signs of nephritis, which is kidney disease involving inflammation. It often occurs in the Glomerulus (kidney), glomerulus, where it is called glomerulonephritis. Glomerulonephritis is ch ...

, for which, he received the

Lasker Award In 1945 Albert Lasker and Mary Woodard Lasker created the Lasker Awards. Every year since then the award has been given to the living person considered to have made the greatest contribution to medical science or who has demonstrated public ser ...

. He was a longtime professor at

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine (CWRU SOM, CaseMed) is the medical school of Case Western Reserve University, a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. It is the largest biomedical research center in Ohio, and is primar ...

Early life and education

Rammelkamp Jr. was born in

Jacksonville, Illinois Jacksonville is a city and the county seat of Morgan County, Illinois, United States. The population was 17,616 at the 2020 census, down from 19,446 in 2010. It is home to Illinois College, Illinois School for the Deaf, and the Illinois Sc ...

on May 24, 1911. He had a sister and two brothers. His father, Charles H. Rammelkamp was an academic administrator. Rammelkamp Jr. earned a Bachelor of Arts at

Illinois College Illinois College is a private liberal arts college in Jacksonville, Illinois. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church (USA). It was the second college founded in Illinois but the first to grant a degree (in ...

in 1933. He completed a doctor of medicine from

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

in 1937. Rammelkamp Jr. was an intern in medicine at Barnes Hospital in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

from 1937 to 1938. He completed an internship in surgery at Billings Memorial Hospital from 1938 to 1939.

Career

In 1939, Rammelkamp Jr. was an assistant in medicine at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

. From 1939 to 1940, he was a research fellow in medicine at the Thorndike Memorial Laboratory under

Chester Keefer Chester Scott Keefer (1897–1972) was an American physician. He served as "penicillin czar" during World War II, responsible for managing distribution and allocation of the then-new drug for civilian uses in the United States, and was dean of the ...

. He was an instructor of medicine at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

from 1940 to 1946. Rammelkamp Jr. served as a member of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

commission on

acute respiratory distress syndrome Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a type of respiratory failure characterized by rapid onset of widespread inflammation in the lungs. Symptoms include shortness of breath (dyspnea), rapid breathing (tachypnea), and bluish skin co ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1946, Rammelkamp Jr. became an assistant professor of medicine and preventative medicine at

. He was promoted to associate professor of preventative medicine (1947 to 1960) and later professor of medicine 1950 to 1960. He was professor of preventative medicine from 1960 to 1980. In 1952, Rammelkamp Jr. and John Holmes Dingle discovered that

can cause

and

. Rammelkamp Jr. received a

for his research.

Personal life

Rammelkamp Jr. was known as Rammel by friends and acquaintances. He was married to Helen Chisholm and had three children. Rammelkamp Jr. died in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

on December 5, 1981.

References

External links

Frederick C. Robbins, "Charles H. Rammelkamp, Jr.", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (1994)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rammelkam Jr., Charles H. 1911 births 1981 deaths People from Jacksonville, Illinois Illinois College alumni Pritzker School of Medicine alumni Case Western Reserve University faculty 20th-century American physicians Scientists from Illinois Physicians from Illinois Physician-scientists American medical researchers Washington University School of Medicine faculty Boston University School of Medicine faculty