Michael Field (1933 – 2014) was an American gastroenterologist celebrated for his work on

diarrhea Diarrhea (American English), also spelled diarrhoea or diarrhœa (British English), is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements in a day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration d ...

Biography

Born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and raised in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

until the age of 5, Field and his family fled Germany the day before

Kristallnacht ( ) or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from the Hitler Youth and German civilia ...

and relocated to

Pueblo, Colorado Pueblo ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat of and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality in Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The ...

. He obtained his medical doctorate from

Boston University Medical School The Boston University School of Medicine (formally the Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine) is the medical school of Boston University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1848. Originally known as th ...

in 1959, after first completing a degree in English literature at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, and conducted postdoctoral research at

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...

before joining the faculty as associate professor of medicine. Field returned to the University of Chicago as professor in 1977, and in 1984 was appointed chief of gastroenterology and professor of medicine at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

where he remained until his retirement in 2001.

Works

Field's research in the 1960s and 1970s provided insights into the cellular mechanisms of intestinal ion transport that changed the prevailing concepts of intestinal function and diarrhea. These advances led to the development

Oral Rehydration Therapy Oral rehydration therapy (ORT) also officially known as Oral Rehydration Solution is a type of fluid replacement used to prevent and treat dehydration, especially due to diarrhea. It involves drinking water with modest amounts of sugar and salt ...

(ORT) for cholera and other diarrheal diseases. ORT has proven to be a major breakthrough in child health, with an important role in reducing the number of deaths in children under the age of five.

Awards

In 1984 Field was awarded the King Faisal International Prize in Medicine for research on diarrhea together with John S. Fordtran and William Greenough. He also received the Distinguished Achievement Award and the Distinguished Mentor Award of the

American Gastroenterological Association The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) is a medical association of gastroenterologists. Approximately 16,000 scientists and physicians are members of the organization. Overview The American Gastroenterological Association is a prof ...

, and the Life Time Achievement Award from

Janssen Pharmaceuticals Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine (formerly Janssen Pharmaceuticals) is a Belgian pharmaceutical company headquartered in Beerse, Belgium, and wholly owned by Johnson & Johnson. It was founded in 1953 by Paul Janssen. In 1961, Janssen Ph ...

References

Biography articles needing translation from German Wikipedia 1933 births 2014 deaths {{US-scientist-stub