Edward A. Mortimer Jr. (March 22, 1922 – July 20, 2002) was an American pediatrician, epidemiologist, and public health educator, known for his contributions to infectious disease research, vaccine advocacy, and public health policy. Over a career spanning five decades, he held faculty positions at several medical institutions and identified and addressed pediatric health risks.

Early life, education, and military service

Born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Mortimer graduated from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

in 1943, and subsequently received a

Bachelor of Medicine A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...

from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

in 1946, and a

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

from the same institution in 1947. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

in the late 1940s before beginning his clinical medical training at St. Luke's Hospital in Chicago and the

Boston Children's Hospital Boston Children's Hospital (formerly known as Children's Hospital Boston until 2013) is the main pediatric training and research hospital of Harvard Medical School, Harvard University. It is a nationally ranked, freestanding acute care children ...

. He later served as a teaching fellow in pediatrics at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Career

In 1952, Mortimer joined the faculty of the

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 ...

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

, having been recruited by Frederick C. Robbins to help build the pediatrics department. Mortimer remained at Case Western for 14 years before becoming the founding chairman of the pediatrics department at the

University of New Mexico School of Medicine The University of New Mexico School of Medicine (UNM School of Medicine) is a division of the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center (UNM HSC) located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The UNM School of Medicine is home to a variety of degree-g ...

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

in 1966. During his tenure at UNM, he advocated for

fluoridation Water fluoridation is the controlled addition of fluoride to public water supplies to reduce tooth decay. Fluoridated water maintains fluoride levels effective for cavity prevention, achieved naturally or through supplementation. In the mou ...

of public water supplies, which drew both support and criticism. Mortimer returned to Case Western Reserve in 1975 to chair the department of epidemiology and community health. He held that position until his retirement in 1992, and remained active in research for nearly a decade afterward. In the 1960s, he was one of the first physicians to trace the spread of hospital-acquired

Staphylococcus ''Staphylococcus'', from Ancient Greek σταφυλή (''staphulḗ''), meaning "bunch of grapes", and (''kókkos''), meaning "kernel" or " Kermes", is a genus of Gram-positive bacteria in the family Staphylococcaceae from the order Bacillale ...

infections to the unclean hands of medical personnel. He also helped develop treatments for pediatric ear infections and led a school-based throat culture program aimed at detecting and preventing rheumatic fever. In the 1980s, Mortimer chaired an

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 that helped establish the link between the administration of

aspirin Aspirin () is the genericized trademark for acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to reduce pain, fever, and inflammation, and as an antithrombotic. Specific inflammatory conditions that aspirin is ...

to children and

Reye syndrome Reye syndrome is a rapidly worsening brain disease. Symptoms of Reye syndrome may include vomiting, personality changes, confusion, seizures, and loss of consciousness. While liver toxicity typically occurs in the syndrome, jaundice usually ...

. He advocated for mandatory warning labels on children's aspirin, which was resisted by pharmaceutical manufacturers. He also spoke out in favor of the diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP) vaccine during public debates over its safety. In 1988, he collaborated with Stanley Plotkin, inventor of the rubella vaccine, in publishing the first edition of '' Plotkin's Vaccines''. In 1993, a symposium and dinner were held in Cleveland to honor his 46 years of service in medicine, education, and public policy.

Personal life and death

On December 22, 1944, Mortimer married Joan Rothwell of

Great Neck, New York Great Neck is a region contained within Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York (state), New York, on Long Island, which covers a peninsula on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore and includes nine incorporated villages, among th ...

,New York Girl Is Bride of Edward A. Mortimer Jr.
, ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' (December 23, 1944), p. 9. with whom he had three children. He died at his home in Cleveland at the age of 80, from complications related to

amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, Terminal illness, terminal neurodegenerative disease, neurodegenerative disorder that results i ...

(ALS).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mortimer, Edward A., Jr. 1922 births 2002 deaths People from Chicago Dartmouth College alumni Northwestern University alumni United States Navy personnel Case Western Reserve University faculty University of New Mexico faculty American pediatricians