James Edward Bowman Jr. (February 5, 1923 – September 28, 2011) was an American
physician
A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...
and specialist in
pathology
Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...
,
hematology
Hematology (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, 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 bloo ...
, and
genetics
Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinians, Augustinian ...
.
He was a professor of pathology and genetics at the
Pritzker School of Medicine
The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine is the M.D.-granting unit under the Biological Sciences Division of the University of Chicago. It is located on the university's main campus in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago and mat ...
at the
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 ...
. He published more than ninety works across the fields of human genetics; population genetics; and ethical, legal and public policy issues in human genetics. He received many awards, including the Chicago African American History Makers Award and recognition from the
Hastings Center
The Hastings Center for Bioethics is an independent, nonpartisan bioethics research institute in Garrison, New York.
Its mission is to address ethical issues in health care, science, and technology. Through its projects and publications and its pu ...
and Stanford’s
Kaiser Family Foundation
KFF, which was formerly known as The Kaiser Family Foundation or The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, is an American non-profit organization, non-profit organization, headquartered in San Francisco, San Francisco, California. It prefers KFF, w ...
, and
Howard University
Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...
.
Early life and education
James Edward Bowman was born on February 5, 1923, in Washington, D.C., the eldest of five children
of Dorothy Bowman (née Peterson), a homemaker, and James Edward Bowman Sr., a dentist.
[ His parents were African-American. He attended Dunbar High School before earning his undergraduate and medical degrees from ]Howard University
Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...
in 1943 and 1946. He did internships at Freedmen's Hospital
Howard University Hospital, previously known as Freedmen's Hospital, is a major hospital located in Washington, D.C., built on the site of Griffith Stadium, a former professional baseball stadium that served as the home field of the Washington ...
in Washington, D.C. and at Provident Hospital in Chicago. His residency in pathology was at St. Luke's Hospital in Chicago where he was the first African American resident, and was certified by the American Board of Pathology in pathologic anatomy (1951) and clinical pathology (1952).
Career
Following residency, Bowman served as chair of pathology at Provident Hospital in Chicago. He was drafted again and spent 1953 to 1955 as chief of pathology for the Medical Nutrition Laboratory at Fitzsimons Army Hospital in Aurora, Colorado. After leaving the military he moved overseas. "My wife and I decided that we were not going to go back to anything that smacked of segregation," he recalled. He became chair of pathology at Nemazee Hospital in Shiraz
Shiraz (; ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the popu ...
, Iran. "We were recently married, so we took a chance," he said. "It changed our lives completely." Their daughter, Valerie, was born in Iran.
In Iran, Bowman saw many diseases for the first time. "I saw smallpox, brucellosis, rabies, all sorts of things," he said. One of the most common diseases among certain ethnic groups in Iran was glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency favism, an Inborn error of metabolism
Inborn errors of metabolism form a large class of genetic diseases involving congenital disorders of enzyme activities. The majority are due to defects of single genes that code for enzymes that facilitate conversion of various substances (substrat ...
metabolic disease
A metabolic disorder is a disorder that negatively alters the body's processing and distribution of macronutrients, such as proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Metabolic disorders can happen when abnormal chemical reactions in the body alter the ...
caused by an enzyme deficiency in red blood cells. The mutation, which is the most common human enzyme defect, renders those who have it unable to break down a toxin found in fava beans. This led to a series of important discoveries about the genetics of inherited blood diseases and the populations they affect, especially in the Middle East, Africa and America. It enabled him to travel all over the world collecting blood samples for DNA testing. It also led to frequent contacts and collaborations with 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 ...
researchers, who had first described the enzyme deficiency (glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, or G6PD) and its connection with 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 ...
s.[
Bowman joined the faculty of the University of Chicago in 1962 as assistant professor of medicine and pathology and director of the hospital's blood bank. He was promoted to full professor and director of laboratories in 1971. From 1973 to 1984, he directed the university's Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center, funded by the National Institutes of Health. He was a member of the national advisory group that urged the Nixon administration to initiate the inception of the Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center, which served as a model of patient-centered disease management and research. He also served as assistant dean of students for minority affairs for the Pritzker School of Medicine from 1986 to 1990.][
In 1972, Bowman stated that mandatory sickle cell screening laws were "more harmful than beneficial." These laws could "revive many of the past misadventures and racism of eugenics movements," he argued at the time, adding that adult screening programs create "inaccurate, misleading, politically motivated propaganda which has left mothers frantic." In 1973, he was named to two federal review committees designed to oversee sickle cell screening and education and to evaluate laboratory diagnostic techniques.][
He was the first tenured ]African-American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
professor in the University of Chicago's Biological Sciences Division. Upon his death, the University of Chicago established the Bowman Society as an advising group to support minority scholars pursuing careers in the biomedical sciences and to organize a regular lecture series. In 2020, the University appointed the first distinguished professorship in his honor, the James E. Bowman Jr. Professor in the Biological Sciences in the Department of Medicine.
Personal life
Bowman was married to educator Barbara Bowman and they had one daughter, Valerie Bowman Jarrett, who was a Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
.
Bowman died of cancer on September 28, 2011, at the University of Chicago Medical Center, at the age of 88.
Selected publications
Bowman published numerous articles and books, including:
Books
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Journal articles
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See also
* List of African American inventors and scientists
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowman, James E.
1923 births
2011 deaths
American geneticists
Howard University alumni
Physicians from Chicago
University of Chicago faculty
20th-century African-American physicians
20th-century American physicians
American pathologists
Fellows of the Hastings Center
Dunbar High School (Washington, D.C.) alumni
American expatriates in Iran
21st-century African-American physicians
21st-century American physicians