Joseph Edward Rall (February 3, 1920 – February 28, 2008) was an American

endocrinologist Endocrinology (from ''endocrine'' + '' -ology'') is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the integration of developmental events ...

and research director at the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

. He was an expert on the

thyroid gland The thyroid, or thyroid gland, is an endocrine gland in vertebrates. In humans, it is a butterfly-shaped gland located in the neck below the Adam's apple. It consists of two connected lobes. The lower two thirds of the lobes are connected by ...

, particularly its proteins and its relationship with

radioactive iodine There are 40 known isotopes of iodine (53I) from 108I to 147I; all undergo radioactive decay except 127I, which is stable. Iodine is thus a monoisotopic element. Its longest-lived radioactive isotope, 129I, has a half-life of 16.14 million year ...

Early life and education

Rall was born in 1920 in

Naperville, Illinois Naperville ( ) is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is a southwestern suburb of Chicago located west of the city on the DuPage River. As of the 2020 United State ...

. He obtained a B.A. from

North Central College North Central College is a private college in Naperville, Illinois. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and has 73 undergraduate majors of study, 17 minors, 25 graduate programs, and 4 certificate programs offered by four undergradu ...

in 1941 before enrolling at

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 ...

. At Northwestern, he served as a teaching assistant and a research fellow in

pharmacology Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur betwee ...

while completing his studies; he received a Master's degree in 1944 and an M.D. in 1945. His residency and fellowship at

Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic () is a Nonprofit organization, private American Academic health science centre, academic Medical centers in the United States, medical center focused on integrated health care, healthcare, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science ...

Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in Olmsted County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. It is located along rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a popul ...

, which began in 1945, was interrupted by two years of military service in Germany with the

Medical Corps A medical corps is generally a military branch or staff corps, officer corps responsible for medical care for serving military personnel. Such officers are typically military physicians. List of medical corps The following organizations are exam ...

following the Second World War. He eventually completed his fellowship at Mayo Clinic in 1950. He developed an interest in

endocrinology Endocrinology (from ''endocrine system, endocrine'' + ''wikt:-logy#Suffix, -ology'') is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the ...

, the

thyroid The thyroid, or thyroid gland, is an endocrine gland in vertebrates. In humans, it is a butterfly-shaped gland located in the neck below the Adam's apple. It consists of two connected lobes. The lower two thirds of the lobes are connected by ...

and

at Mayo, and in 1952 he was awarded a PhD by the

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 ...

for research on the metabolism of

thyroxine Thyroxine, also known as T4, is a hormone produced by the thyroid gland. It is the primary form of thyroid hormone found in the blood and acts as a prohormone of the more active thyroid hormone, triiodothyronine (T3). Thyroxine and its acti ...

Career

In 1950, Rall relocated to

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 ...

to work at

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in Manhattan in New York City. MSKCC is one of 72 National Cancer Institute– designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers. Its main campus is ...

alongside Rulon Rawson, who was investigating the use of radioactive iodine in the treatment of

thyroid cancer Thyroid cancer is cancer that develops from the tissues of the thyroid gland. It is a disease in which cells grow abnormally and have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms can include swelling or a lump in the neck, ...

. In New York, he was an assistant professor at Cornell University Medical College and began research into radiation-induced thyroid cancer as a result of

hydrogen bomb A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H-bomb) is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation nuclear bombs, a more compact size, a lo ...

testing 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 ...

. He also begun a lifelong collaboration with Jacob Robbins, with whom he studied thyroid proteins including

thyroglobulin Thyroglobulin (Tg) is a 660 kDa, dimeric glycoprotein produced by the follicular cells of the thyroid and used entirely within the thyroid gland. Tg is secreted and accumulated at hundreds of grams per litre in the extracellular compartment ...

, and established the "free thyroxine hypothesis", which holds that thyroxine is only active when not bound to protein. Rall was recruited by the

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...

, to run a new laboratory, the Clinical Endocrinology Branch (CEB), at the National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases. The branch initially focused on thyroid physiology and diseases, but later expanded to encompass

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

as well as disorders of

growth hormone Growth hormone (GH) or somatotropin, also known as human growth hormone (hGH or HGH) in its human form, is a peptide hormone that stimulates growth, cell reproduction, and cell regeneration in humans and other animals. It is thus important in ...

and the gonads. Under Rall, the CEB hosted many visiting international scientists and had a longstanding association with the laboratory run by

Nino Salvatore Gaetano "Nino" Salvatore (28 July 1932 – 25 June 1997) was an Italian endocrinologist known for his extensive research on the thyroid gland. He spent the majority of his career in Naples' Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Stazione Zoologica and the ...

in Italy. In 1962, Rall was appointed Director of Intramural Research of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. He served as Deputy Director for Intramural Research for NIH in 1983 until his retirement in 1990. Rall was elected to the U.S.

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

, the French Société de biologie and the Belgian Royal Academy of Medicine, and received honorary degrees from the

University of Naples The University of Naples Federico II (; , ) is a public university, public research university in Naples, Campania, Italy. Established in 1224 and named after its founder, Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II, it is the oldest public, s ...

(Italy) and

Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...

(Czech Republic). He was president of the American Thyroid Association (ATA) in 1964 and received distinguished service awards from the ATA and the

Endocrine Society The Endocrine Society is a professional, international medical organization in the field of endocrinology and metabolism, founded in 1916 as The Association for the Study of Internal Secretions. The official name of the organization was changed t ...

Death

Rall died on February 28, 2008, aged 88.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rall, Joseph Edward 1920 births 2008 deaths American endocrinologists American medical researchers National Institutes of Health faculty Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences People from Naperville, Illinois North Central College alumni Feinberg School of Medicine alumni University of Minnesota alumni American expatriates in Germany