Leon Dmochowski (1 July 1909 – 26 August 1981, born Leontii-Liudomyr Dmochowski) was a Ukrainian-American researcher and professor of

viral The word ''Viral'' means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents). It may also refer to: Viral behavior, or virality Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example: * Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spre ...

oncology Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's Etymology, etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγ ...

. A pioneer in the use of

electron microscopy An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of electrons as a source of illumination. It uses electron optics that are analogous to the glass lenses of an optical light microscope to control the electron beam, for instance focusing i ...

, he was the first to establish the viral nature of cancerous tumors.

Biography

Leon Domochowski was born Leontii-Liudomyr Dmochowski in 1909 into a

Greek Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Ea ...

priestly family, in the city of

Ternopil Ternopil, known until 1944 mostly as Tarnopol, is a city in western Ukraine, located on the banks of the Seret River. Ternopil is one of the major cities of Western Ukraine and the historical regions of Galicia and Podolia. The populatio ...

, (Ukraine; at that time Austrian crown land of Galicia). In 1927 he graduated from the Ukrainian Gymnasium for boys in

Przemyśl Przemyśl () is a city in southeastern Poland with 56,466 inhabitants, as of December 2023. Data for territorial unit 1862000. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. It was previously the capital of Prz ...

. Between 1928 and 1933 he studied at the Faculty of Medicine at

Lviv University The Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (named after Ivan Franko, ) is a state-sponsored university in Lviv, Ukraine. Since 1940 the university is named after Ukrainian poet Ivan Franko. The university is the oldest institution of highe ...

, where he gained a bachelor's degree. He moved to Warsaw, Poland, and between 1934 and 1935 he worked as a general practitioner at the Lviv University clinic. From 1935 to 1938, he was a research assistant in the cancer laboratory of the Polish State Institute of Hygiene, Department of Bacteriology and experimental Medicine in Professor Ludwik Hirszfeld's laboratory. In 1937 he received a

Doctorate of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of physician. This ge ...

from the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public university, public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well ...

. After obtaining a one-year traveling fellowship, Dmochowski moved to London in 1938, working at the

Institute of Cancer Research The Institute of Cancer Research (the ICR) is a public research institute and a member institution of the University of London in London, United Kingdom, specialising in oncology. It was founded in 1909 as a research department of the Royal Ma ...

. During this period he published a number of scientific papers on cancer studies in various medical journals. In 1946 he moved to

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, where he worked as a researcher and lecturer in the Department of Experimental Pathology and Cancer Research at the School of Medicine,

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

. In 1949 he received a second Doctorate of Medicine from the University of Leeds. In 1951 he moved to the United States, engaging in research in the field of

immunology Immunology is a branch of biology and medicine that covers the study of Immune system, immune systems in all Organism, organisms. Immunology charts, measures, and contextualizes the Physiology, physiological functioning of the immune system in ...

, tumor serology,

virology Virology is the Scientific method, scientific study of biological viruses. It is a subfield of microbiology that focuses on their detection, structure, classification and evolution, their methods of infection and exploitation of host (biology), ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. In 1953 he was one of the first to discover the viral origin of malignant tumors. From 1954, he was the head of the Department of Virology and Electron Microscopy at the

MD Anderson Cancer Center The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (colloquially MD Anderson Cancer Center) is a comprehensive cancer center and autonomous university of the University of Texas System in Houston, Texas. It is the largest cancer center in the wo ...

, University of Texas, Houston. There, he led a team of experts in major research projects on the link between viruses and cancer. Between 1953 and 1954 Dmochowski was a visiting associate professor of microbiology at the

Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons The Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (officially known as Columbia University Roy and Diana Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons) is the medical school of Columbia University, located at the Columbia University Irvin ...

in New York. From 1949 to 1955 he was an adviser to the

United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA, pronounced ) was an international relief agency founded in November 1943 on the joint initiative of the United States, United Kingdom, USSR, and the Republic of China. Its purpose ...

(UNRRA) In 1971 Dmochowski and his colleagues grew quantities of virus from cells taken from a cancer patient, which at the time, was considered a significant development in the cancer-viruses inquiry. Dmochowski was author and co-author of more than 450 scientific papers in the field of

serology Serology is the scientific study of Serum (blood), serum and other body fluids. In practice, the term usually refers to the medical diagnosis, diagnostic identification of Antibody, antibodies in the serum. Such antibodies are typically formed in r ...

, virology and their relationship with experimental and clinical oncology. A pioneer in the use of electron microscopy in viral oncology, he was the first to discover viruses in leukemia and malignant tumors of the breast of mice. Subsequent experiments have shown the presence of such viruses in humans. He expressed original views and applied methods to study the relationship between viruses and cancer. He authored sections in the books: ''Advances in Cancer Research'' (1953), ''Cancer'' (1957), ''Diseases of Poultry'' (1959; 1969), and ''The Book of Health'' (1963). Most oncology virologists in the world were students of Dr. Dmohovsky or professionally formed under his influence; Japanese scientists of the time almost all improved their knowledge under his leadership. Consultant to the US Cancer Institute and academic and research institutions, honorary member of American and international organizations. He has been honored with numerous awards and honorary academic degrees. Longtime member of the Ukrainian Medical Society of North America and the

Shevchenko Scientific Society The Shevchenko Scientific Society (), founded in 1873, is a Ukrainian scientific society devoted to the promotion of scholarly research and publication. Unlike the government-funded National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the society is a pu ...

. He died in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, while on vacation, and is buried in Memorial Oaks Cemetery, in Houston — his home town.

Notes

References

* Melnychuk B. 'Дмоховський Леонтій-Людомир', {{DEFAULTSORT:Dmochowski, Leon Cancer researchers American virologists University of Lviv alumni Ukrainian immunologists American immunologists Columbia University faculty Members of the Shevchenko Scientific Society American people of Ukrainian descent University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center faculty 1909 births 1981 deaths