Irving M. London (July 24, 1918 – May 23, 2018) was a

hematologist Hematology ( spelled haematology in British English) is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of the cause, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to blood. It involves treating diseases that affect the production ...

and

geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic process ...

. He was an associate professor of medicine at

Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons The Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (officially known as Columbia University Roy and Diana Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons) is the medical school of Columbia University, located at the Columbia University Irvin ...

when he was selected to be the founding chair of the department of medicine at the

Albert Einstein College of Medicine The Albert Einstein College of Medicine is a Private university, private medical school in New York City. Founded in 1953, Einstein is an independent degree-granting institution within the Montefiore Einstein Health System. Einstein hosts Doc ...

in 1955. He was recruited to become the founding director of the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology in 1970. Dr. London was the first professor to hold dual roles at both Harvard and MIT. London graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

and

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...

. London died on May 23, 2018, at age 99.

Family and early life

London was born in

Malden, Massachusetts Malden is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 66,263 people. History Malden is a hilly woodland area no ...

on 24 July 1918. His parents identified as Russian Jewish. His mother may have been named Rose London (1892-1944), and a sister named Marion. In his childhood years, London had

polio Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

. He completed his primary and secondary education at Malden Public Schools in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. While in college, London worked at a library on a salary funded by the

National Youth Administration The National Youth Administration (NYA) was a New Deal agency sponsored by Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt during his presidency. It focused on providing work and education for Americans between the ages of 16 and 25. ...

as part of the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

era. London married Huguette Piedzicki. They met in Paris and maintained a long-distance relationship until marriage. They had two Children, Robb and David, and many extended family members.

Career

London graduated from

in 1939 ''summa cum laude''. He was on a student committee at Harvard that gave 14 refugee students the opportunity to leave

Nazi-occupied Europe German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...

to study in Boston. London also earned a second undergraduate degree from

Hebrew College Hebrew College is a private college of Jewish studies in Newton Centre, Massachusetts. Founded in 1921, the college conducts Jewish scholarship in a pluralistic, trans-denominational academic environment. Its president is Rabbi Sharon Cohen ...

in Roxbury at the same time. London delivered the graduating address at Harvard, the content of which was inspired by his thesis "The Jeffersonian Tradition in American Nationalism". London gave serious thought to attending law school after graduation, but ultimately chose to enroll in medical school. After completing an MD from HMS in 1943, Dr. London accepted an internship at

Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) is the academic medical center of Columbia University and the largest campus of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. The center's academic wing consists of Columbia's colleges and schools of Physician ...

in New York. 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 ...

he served as a US Army captain in the Medical Corps where he conducted research on the use of

chloroquine Chloroquine is an antiparasitic medication that treats malaria. It works by increasing the levels of heme in the blood, a substance toxic to the malarial parasite. This kills the parasite and stops the infection from spreading. Certain types ...

as an

antimalarial medication Antimalarial medications or simply antimalarials are a type of antiparasitic chemical agent, often natural product, naturally derived, that can be used to treat or to prevent malaria, in the latter case, most often aiming at two susceptible target ...

. After the war, he was assigned to

Bikini Atoll Bikini Atoll ( or ; Marshallese language, Marshallese: , , ), known as Eschscholtz Atoll between the 19th century and 1946, is a coral reef in the Marshall Islands consisting of 23 islands surrounding a central lagoon. The atoll is at the no ...

in the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 c ...

of the South

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

to serve a physician at the atomic bomb testing. London returned to New York City after the war to continue residency training. Upon completion, he joined the department of biochemistry at

Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons The Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (officially known as Columbia University Roy and Diana Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons) is the medical school of Columbia University, located at the Columbia University Irving ...

and was promoted to faculty, teaching and tenure. His research focused on the lifespan of

red blood cell Red blood cells (RBCs), referred to as erythrocytes (, with -''cyte'' translated as 'cell' in modern usage) in academia and medical publishing, also known as red cells, erythroid cells, and rarely haematids, are the most common type of blood cel ...

s in normal and pathological conditions. In 1954, he was selected to be the founding chair of the department of medicine at the

, and was director of medical services at Bronx Municipal Hospital until 1970. In 1968, London was invited as a consultant to planning for the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

and

joint program. In 1970 he accepted a position a director of the new Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology, and around 1972 he was also a physician at

Peter Bent Brigham Hospital Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH or The Brigham) is a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the largest hospital in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Along with Massachusetts General Hospital, it is one of the two ...

. London served as director of the program until 1985 while simultaneously a professor of medicine at HMS and a professor of biology at MIT.

Awards and achievements

London is best known for groundbreaking explanation for the molecular regulation (gene transcription and translation) of

hemoglobin Hemoglobin (haemoglobin, Hb or Hgb) is a protein containing iron that facilitates the transportation of oxygen in red blood cells. Almost all vertebrates contain hemoglobin, with the sole exception of the fish family Channichthyidae. Hemoglobin ...

synthesis. London and colleagues demonstrated that hemoglobin is the endogenous source of

bilirubin Bilirubin (BR) (adopted from German, originally bili—bile—plus ruber—red—from Latin) is a red-orange compound that occurs in the normcomponent of the straw-yellow color in urine. Another breakdown product, stercobilin, causes the brown ...

, an important event in the fields of

jaundice Jaundice, also known as icterus, is a yellowish or, less frequently, greenish pigmentation of the skin and sclera due to high bilirubin levels. Jaundice in adults is typically a sign indicating the presence of underlying diseases involving ...

and

heme oxygenase Heme oxygenase, or haem oxygenase, (HMOX, commonly abbreviated as HO) is an enzyme that catalyzes the degradation of heme to produce biliverdin, ferrous iron, and carbon monoxide. There are many heme degrading enzymes in nature. In general, on ...

research. * Welch Fellowship in Internal Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences 1949-1952 * Theobald Smith Award in Medical Sciences of the American Association for the Advancement of Science 1953 * Commonwealth Fund Fellowship at Institut Pasteur 1962-1963 * election to American Academy of Arts and Sciences 1963 * charter member in the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences in 1970 * elected member National Academy of Science 1971 * board of directors for Biosciences Advisory Committee for

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technologies corporation headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Its common stock is a c ...

1982-2003 * establishment of The Irving M. London Society (HST) at Harvard Medical School * The Dr. Irving M. London Teaching Award, initiated in 1986

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:London, Irving 1918 births 2018 deaths Albert Einstein College of Medicine faculty American hematologists American geneticists American people of Russian-Jewish descent Columbia University faculty Harvard Medical School alumni Harvard University alumni People from Malden, Massachusetts Members of the National Academy of Medicine