Jeremiah Stamler (October 27, 1919 – January 26, 2022) was an American scientist specializing in preventive cardiology and the study of the influence of various risk factors on

coronary heart disease Coronary artery disease (CAD), also called coronary heart disease (CHD), or ischemic heart disease (IHD), is a type of cardiovascular disease, heart disease involving Ischemia, the reduction of blood flow to the cardiac muscle due to a build-up ...

and other cardiovascular diseases, and the role of salt and other nutrients in the

etiology Etiology (; alternatively spelled aetiology or ætiology) is the study of causation or origination. The word is derived from the Greek word ''()'', meaning "giving a reason for" (). More completely, etiology is the study of the causes, origins ...

hypertension Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a Chronic condition, long-term Disease, medical condition in which the blood pressure in the artery, arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms i ...

and coronary heart disease. Stamler is credited with introducing the term "risk factors" into the field of cardiology. In 1988, he was awarded the

Donald Reid Medal The Donald Reid Medal is awarded triennially by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in recognition of distinguished contributions to epidemiology. Institution The medal was instituted in 1979 in memory of Professor Donald Reid (1914 ...

given by the

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public university, public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a constituent college, member institution of the University of London that specialises in public hea ...

for his contributions to

epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and Risk factor (epidemiology), determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population, and application of this knowledge to prevent dise ...

. He was professor emeritus of

preventive medicine Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, is the application of healthcare measures to prevent diseases.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental health a ...

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 ...

Chicago, Illinois 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 ...

. After his retirement from active teaching, he continued his research with his wife Rose until her death in 1998; in his later years he divided his time between

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, Chicago, and

Pioppi Pioppi is an Italian hamlet (''frazione'') in the municipality of Pollica (Province of Salerno), in Cilento, Campania region. Its name means 'poplars' in the Italian language. History The area of the village was a dependency of the Benedictine ...

Southern Italy Southern Italy (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern Regions of Italy, regions. The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or cultu ...

.Jeremiah Stamler, MD (b.1919)
profile in

'', ''School of Public Health'',

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

Early life and education

Stamler was born on October 27, 1919, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, the son of George Stamler (a dentist) and Rose Baras Stamler (a former schoolteacher). Both of his parents were

Russian Jews The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest po ...

, immigrants from Russia. He was raised in

West Orange, New Jersey West Orange is a suburban Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 48,843, an increase of 2,636 (+5.7%) from t ...

, where the family moved when he was six months old. He attended

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in New York as an undergraduate, and Long Island College Hospital Medical School (now

SUNY Downstate Medical Center SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University is a public medical school and hospital in Brooklyn, New York. It is the southernmost member of the State University of New York (SUNY) system and the only academic medical center for health education, ...

). Upon graduation, he was inducted into the Army, serving until 1946, when he was honorably discharged with the rank of captain.

Career

Stamler moved to Chicago in 1947, taking a job in cardiovascular research under Louis N. Katz. There he performed laboratory research on interactions of diet, hormones, blood pressure and lipids in experimental models of vascular disease, producing a classic monograph in 1958: ''Experimental

Atherosclerosis Atherosclerosis is a pattern of the disease arteriosclerosis, characterized by development of abnormalities called lesions in walls of arteries. This is a chronic inflammatory disease involving many different cell types and is driven by eleva ...

''. He moved to the Chicago Board of Health in 1958, where he set up the first Heart Disease Control Program (later the Chronic Disease Control Division). In 1972 he was appointed chair of the newly formed Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine at the

Feinberg School of Medicine The Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, formerly Northwestern Medical School from 1906 to 2002, is the medical school of Northwestern University and is located in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. Founded in ...

."Jeremiah Stamler M.D."
webpage from Northwestern University Department of Preventive Medicine (Viewed 2 February 2012) During the 1970s and 1980s his group took part in observational

epidemiologic Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population, and application of this knowledge to prevent diseases. It is a cornerstone o ...

studies and in multi-center

clinical trials Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human subject research, human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel v ...

of interventions to prevent

. Later he collaborated on international studies of salt, protein, and other nutrients and risk of

. As Emeritus Professor, the "father of preventive cardiology" remained active.

Honors and awards

American Heart Association Award for Outstanding Efforts in Heart Research, 1964; AHA Award of Merit, 1967; AHA Service Award, 1980–81; AHA Research Achievement Award, 1981; AHA Distinguished Achievement Award, 1987; and the AHA's prestigious Gold Heart Award in 1992. The AHA also honored Dr. Stamler in 1990 when the Executive Committee of the Council in Epidemiology established the Jeremiah Stamler, MD New Investigator Award. Other significant honors include a Gold Heart Award from the Chicago Affiliate of the American Heart Association; the Donald Reid Medal from the Joint Committee of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Royal College of Physicians; the National Cholesterol Award at the First National Cholesterol Conference; the James D. Bruce Memorial Award for Distinguished Contributions in Preventive Medicine from the American College of Physicians.

HUAC case

In 1965, Stamler, a longtime supporter of the civil rights movement for

African-Americans 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. ...

, was subpoenaed to testify before the

House Committee on Un-American Activities The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloyalty an ...

(popularly known as

HUAC The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloyalty an ...

). In response, he filed a suit (joined by co-worker Yolanda Hall, who had also been subpoenaed) seeking to have the committee's Congressional mandate declared unconstitutional, as it would tend to exert a "chilling effect" on the exercise of civil liberties. After the suit was rejected by U. S. District Court judge Julius Hoffman, Dr. Stamler filed an appeal; when the committee hearing began and his turn to testify came up, he cited the pending appeal of his suit and, refusing to testify until the suit had been finally adjudicated, walked out of the hearing. As a result, in 1966 he was cited for contempt of Congress and in 1967 he was indicted on that charge. In 1973, the government agreed to drop the indictment; in turn, Dr. Stamler agreed to drop his civil suit against the committee.

, which had been renamed the House Committee on Internal Security in 1969, was abolished by the House of Representatives in 1975. According to John C. Tucker, "many people believe the ''Stamler'' case and a statistical survey prepared for it by

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 ...

law professor

Hans Zeisel Hans Zeisel (September 1, 1905 – March 7, 1992) was an Austrian-American sociologist and legal scholar who taught at the University of Chicago Law School from 1953 to 1974. He was best known for using quantitative social science techniques ...

was the primary reason HUAC was finally disbanded by Congress".John C. Tucker, ''Trial and Error. The Education of a Courtroom Lawyer'',

Carroll & Graf Publishers Carroll & Graf Publishers was an American publishing company based in New York City, New York that published a wide range of fiction and non-fiction by both new and established authors, as well as reprinted previously hard-to-find works. It ...

, 2009 (p. 138)

Personal life

Stamler married Rose Steinberg (1922–1998), a sociologist, in 1942; they worked together on cardiovascular research until her death in 1998. They had one son, Paul J. Stamler (b. 1950). In 2004 Stamler married Gloria Brim Beckerman, a childhood friend, the widow of the scholar Bernard Beckerman. Gloria died in April 2021. He

turned 100 A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100. Because life expectancies at birth worldwide are well below 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. The United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living centenarian ...

in October 2019, and died on January 26, 2022, at his home in

Sag Harbor, New York Sag Harbor is an Administrative divisions of New York#Village, incorporated village in Suffolk County, New York, United States, in the Administrative divisions of New York#Town, towns of Southampton, New York, Southampton and East Hampton (town) ...

. He was 102 years old.

References

External links

*''Stamler v. Willis'', (per curiam)
"Jeremiah Stamler M.D."
webpage from Northwestern University Department of Preventive Medicine (Viewed 2 February 2012). {{DEFAULTSORT:Stamler, Jeremiah 1919 births 2022 deaths American cardiologists Columbia College (New York) alumni Donald Reid Medalists American men centenarians Military personnel from New York City Physicians from New York City Russian Jews American people of Russian-Jewish descent SUNY Downstate Medical Center alumni United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War II Jewish centenarians