Justus F. Lehmann MD (May 5, 1921 – April 28, 2006) was a German-American

physiatrist Physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R), also known as physiatry, and outside the United States as physical and rehabilitation medicine (PRM), is a branch of medicine that aims to enhance and restore functional ability and quality of life ...

. He was the founding chairperson of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at

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 ...

. Lehmann headed the department from 1957 to 1986.

Early years

Dr. Lehmann was born in

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

, Germany. He studied medicine at

Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Goethe University Frankfurt () is a public research university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealthy and active liberal citizenry of Frankfurt ...

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

and at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

Medical Training

Dr. Lehmann was initially trained in

internal medicine Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of ...

but became interested in physical modalities such as

diathermy Diathermy is electrically induced heat or the use of high-frequency electromagnetic currents as a form of physical therapy and in surgical procedures. The earliest observations on the reactions of the human organism to high-frequency electromagn ...

. This led him to study

biophysics Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations ...

at the

Max Planck Institute for Biophysics The Max Planck Institute of Biophysics () is located in Frankfurt, Germany. It was founded as the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Biophysics in 1937, and moved into a new building in 2003. It is an institute of the Max Planck Society. Since March 2 ...

. In 1951 he moved to the United States to further pursue a study

and

physical medicine and rehabilitation Physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R), also known as physiatry, and outside the United States as physical and rehabilitation medicine (PRM), is a branch of medicine that aims to enhance and restore functional ability and quality of life ...

(PM&R) at the

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 ...

, under the tutelage of Frank H. Krusen, MD.

University of Washington

After two years as assistant professor and associate director of PM&R at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

, he was recruited to 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 ...

in 1957 to be professor and the founding chair of the Department of PM&R there. Under his direction the University of Washington PM&R Department has consistently been ranked among the top departments in the United States.

Legacy

Dr. Lehmann was a prominent leader in

, both nationally and internationally. During his distinguished career, Dr. Lehmann was the recipient of American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine's Gold Key Award in 1971, the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation's Frank H. Krusen Award in 1983, and the Association of Academic Physiatrists’ Distinguished Member Award in 1993.

References

1921 births 2006 deaths Physicians from Königsberg Emigrants from West Germany to the United States German rehabilitation physicians {{US-med-bio-stub