Louis Sanford Goodman (August 27, 1906 – November 19, 2000) was an American pharmacologist. He is best known for his collaborations with
Alfred Gilman, Sr., with whom he authored the popular textbook ''
The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics
''Goodman & Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics'', commonly referred to as the Blue Bible or Goodman & Gilman, is a textbook of pharmacology originally authored by Louis S. Goodman and Alfred Gilman. First published in 1941, th ...
'' in 1941 and pioneered the first chemotherapy trials using
nitrogen mustard
Nitrogen mustards (NMs) are cytotoxic organic compounds with the bis(2-chloroethyl)amino ((ClC2H4)2NR) functional group. Although originally produced as chemical warfare agents, they were the first chemotherapeutic agents for treatment of canc ...
.
Life and career
Goodman was born in
Portland, Oregon
Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
in 1906 and received his B.A. from
Reed College
Reed College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland, Portland, Oregon, E ...
in 1928 and an M.D. from the
University of Oregon Medical School
Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) is a
public research university focusing primarily on health sciences with a main campus, including two hospitals, in Portland, Oregon. The institution was founded in 1887 as the University of Oregon Medi ...
in 1932.
After interning 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 ...
, he joined the
Yale School of Medicine
The Yale School of Medicine is the medical school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded in 1810 as the Medical Institution of Yale College and formally opened in 1813. It is the sixth-oldest m ...
faculty, where he met Alfred Gilman. They began teaching pharmacology courses together and began to develop a textbook, which was published as ''The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics'' in 1941.
While at Yale, Goodman and Gilman were assigned a government contract in
nitrogen mustard
Nitrogen mustards (NMs) are cytotoxic organic compounds with the bis(2-chloroethyl)amino ((ClC2H4)2NR) functional group. Although originally produced as chemical warfare agents, they were the first chemotherapeutic agents for treatment of canc ...
research in 1942.
With knowledge that the compound depleted white blood cells, the pharmacologists experimented with intravenous injections on a terminally ill
lymphosarcoma
Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). The name typically refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlarged lymph node ...
patient in
Gustaf Lindskog's care. Though the tumor regenerated and killed the patient, the drug's success in briefly eliminating the tumor is considered a historic accomplishment in chemotherapy treatment, and the compound is still used as a chemotherapeutic agent.
Goodman was appointed an assistant professor at the
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...
in 1937, and became its chair of pharmacology and physiology in 1943.
Then, in 1944, he moved to Salt Lake City to found a department of pharmacology at the
University of Utah
The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...
College of Medicine.
There, Goodman demonstrated that the paralysis induced by
curare
Curare ( or ; or ) is a common name for various alkaloid arrow poisons originating from plant extracts. Used as a paralyzing agent by indigenous peoples in Central and South America for hunting and for therapeutic purposes, curare only ...
was temporary, which he did by injecting a colleague with the relaxant.
Goodman retired in 1971 and remained in Salt Lake City for the remainder of his life, continuing to teach at the College of Medicine.
He died on November 19, 2000, at the age of 94.
Personal life
Goodman married Helen Ricen in 1934, and they had two daughters, Carolyn and Debora. He is survived by his grandchildren, Jonathan, Rebecca, Miriam and Jacob and great-grandson Leo Goodman Liggins.
Awards and honors
Goodman was elected to the
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 ...
in 1965.
References
External links
The Louis S. Goodman audio-visual collection 1968–1980at the
University of Utah
The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodman, Louis
American pharmacologists
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
1906 births
2000 deaths
Scientists from Portland, Oregon
Reed College alumni
University of Oregon alumni
Yale School of Medicine faculty
University of Vermont faculty
University of Utah faculty
20th-century American chemists