Jacqueline Noonan
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Jacqueline Anne Noonan (October 28, 1928 – July 23, 2020) was an American
pediatric Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their youth ...
cardiologist Cardiology () is the study of the heart. Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery di ...
best known for her characterization of a genetic disorder now called
Noonan syndrome Noonan syndrome (NS) is a genetic disorder that may present with mildly unusual facial features, short height, congenital heart disease, bleeding problems, and skeletal malformations. Facial features include widely spaced eyes, light-colored ...
. She was also the original describer of
hypoplastic left heart syndrome Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) is a rare congenital heart defect in which the left side of the heart is severely underdeveloped and incapable of supporting the systemic circulation. It is estimated to account for 2-3% of all congenital hea ...
.


Biography

Noonan was born October 28, 1928, in
Burlington, Vermont Burlington, officially the City of Burlington, is the List of municipalities in Vermont, most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the county seat, seat of Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County. It is located south of the Can ...
, United States the daughter of Francis and Eugenia Noonan. She had three sisters, Beverly, Joan, and Joyce. She studied
chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
at
Albertus Magnus College Albertus Magnus College is a private Catholic university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1925 by the Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs (now Dominican Sisters of Peace). Its campus is in the Prospect Hill ...
, medicine at the
University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...
, and became certified in her field in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
in 1956. She subsequently began work at the
University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...
. As their first pediatric cardiologist, she noticed that children with a rare type of heart defect called
pulmonary valve stenosis Pulmonary valve stenosis (PVS) is a heart valve disorder. Blood going from the heart to the lungs goes through the pulmonary valve, whose purpose is to prevent blood from flowing back to the heart. In pulmonary valve stenosis this opening is too ...
often had a characteristic physical appearance with short stature, webbed neck, wide-spaced eyes, and low-set ears. She presented her first paper on the subject in 1963, and after several more papers and recognition, the condition was officially named Noonan syndrome in 1971. Dr. Noonan moved on to the fledgling
University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...
medical school in 1961, where she served for over forty years. An endowed chair in pediatric research has been established in her name, and while she semi-retired as of 2007, she was still working at age 85 as of February 2014. She died on July 23, 2020, at the age of 91 with services being held at Cathedral of Christ the King in Lexington, Kentucky on July 27.


Recognition

Aside from the rare distinction of having a medical condition named after her, Noonan has received numerous other honors, including the 1971 Helen B. Frazer Award, the 1985 Harpers Bazaar's Best Women Doctors in America, and later The Best Doctors in America award. She received the A. Bradley Soule Award from the
University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...
College of Medicine for dedication to the college as an alumna and mentor to medical students.


References

1928 births 2020 deaths Albertus Magnus College alumni American pediatric cardiologists University of Kentucky faculty People from Burlington, Vermont Women in Kentucky 20th-century American women academics 20th-century American women physicians 20th-century American academics 20th-century American physicians {{US-physician-stub