Judith Goslin Hall (born July 3, 1939) is a pediatrician, clinical geneticist and dysmorphologist who is a dual citizen of the United States and Canada.

Early life and education

The daughter of a minister, Judith Goslin Hall was born on July 3, 1939, in

Boston, Massachusetts 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 ...

. She graduated from Garfield High School in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

and then attended

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

in Wellesley, Mass. from which she earned her

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in 1961. She went to medical school in Seattle at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

, from which she received an MD, from which she received an MD degree in 1966. She was also awarded an MS degree in Genetics from the

. She did her Pediatric training at

Johns Hopkins Hospital Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1889, Johns Hopkins Hospital and its school of medicine are considered to be the foundin ...

, and did her fellowships in

Medical Genetics Medical genetics is the branch of medicine that involves the diagnosis and management of hereditary disorders. Medical genetics differs from human genetics in that human genetics is a field of scientific research that may or may not apply to me ...

and Pediatric Endocrinology.

Career

In 1972, she returned to the University of Washington School of Medicine and was given a joint appointment in the Departments of Pediatrics and Medicine as, successively, assistant, associate and full professor. She also gained additional depth of knowledge concerning congenital malformations by working in Seattle with the pioneer dysmorphologist, David W. Smith (1926–1981). In 1981, Hall was named professor of medical genetics at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

degree in 1966. and the Director of the Genetics Services for

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. From 1990 to 2000, she was also Professor and head of the Department of Paediatrics at the University of British Columbia and BC Children's Hospital. In 1988 she received a Killam Senior Fellowship for a sabbatical year at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, UK. During 2001, she was a Distinguished Fellow at Christ's College,

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, UK. In 2005, she became an Emerita Professor at the

, engaged in Associations of Professors Emeriti (later the UBC Emeritus College), and served as the president in 2011–2012.

Research contributions

Hall's research has been far-ranging in the areas of congenital malformations including neural tube defects, the genetics of

short stature Short stature refers to a height of a human which is below typical. Whether a person is considered short depends on the context. Because of the lack of preciseness, there is often disagreement about the degree of shortness that should be called ...

, the mechanisms of disease such as mosaicism and imprinting, the natural history of genetic disorders, the genetics of connective tissue disorders such as

arthrogryposis Arthrogryposis (AMC) describes congenital joint contracture in two or more areas of the body. It derives its name from Greek, literally meaning 'curving of joints' (', 'joint'; ', late Latin form of late Greek ', 'hooking'). Children born with one ...

, and monozygotic (identical)

twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two ...

s. She has contributed to the knowledge of a number of syndromes. Her name is associated with the Hall type of pseudoachondroplasia (a severe form of dwarfism with short limbs), Sheldon-Hall syndrome, and the Hall-Pallister syndrome ( hamartoma in the

hypothalamus The hypothalamus (: hypothalami; ) is a small part of the vertebrate brain that contains a number of nucleus (neuroanatomy), nuclei with a variety of functions. One of the most important functions is to link the nervous system to the endocrin ...

tract, hypopituitarism, imperforate anus and

polydactyly Polydactyly is a birth defect that results in extra fingers or toes. The hands are more commonly involved than the feet. Extra fingers may be painful, affect self-esteem, or result in clumsiness. It is associated with at least 39 genetic mut ...

). Contributed to resource planning, career development, and continuing contributions of older academics. She described several forms of arthrogryposis and helped to define over 450 types.

Awards

Hall has received a number of honors, including alumni awards from Garfield High School,

, the

University of Washington School of Medicine The University of Washington School of Medicine is the medical school of the University of Washington, a public research university in Seattle, Washington. According to ''U.S. News & World Report''s 2022 Best Graduate School rankings, University ...

, and the

. In 1998, she was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

as "a leader and world authority in both genetics and pediatrics" and having "contributed to the development of resources and services essential to coping with genetic illnesses" In 2011, she became a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...

. In 2015, Hall was inducted into the

Canadian Medical Hall of Fame __NOTOC__ The Canadian Medical Hall of Fame is a Canadian charitable organization, founded in 1994, that honours Canadians who have contributed to the understanding of disease and improving the health of people. It has an exhibit hall in London, ...

and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. Hall is quoted as saying, with regard to her recognition, that

References

External links

Autobiography at Canadian Medical Association Journal

UToronto Press Canadian Who's Who 2019
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Judith Goslin 1939 births Living people American expatriate academics in Canada American geneticists Canadian geneticists Canadian women biologists Officers of the Order of Canada Canadian pediatricians Women pediatricians University of Washington School of Medicine alumni Academic staff of the University of British Columbia Wellesley College alumni Scientists from Boston American women biologists American women academics 20th-century Canadian biologists 20th-century Canadian women scientists 21st-century Canadian biologists 21st-century Canadian women scientists Canadian women geneticists Medical geneticists