Morris Ziff (November 19, 1913 – August 22, 2005) was a physician, educator and researcher specializing in arthritic and rheumatic disorders, possibly best known for helping discover the

rheumatoid factor Rheumatoid factor (RF) is the autoantibody that was first found in rheumatoid arthritis. It is defined as an antibody against the Fc portion of IgG and different RFs can recognize different parts of the IgG-Fc. RF and IgG join to form immune co ...

. Ziff was born in Brooklyn, New York and educated at New York University, where he was lab partners with

Severo Ochoa Severo Ochoa de Albornoz (; 24 September 1905 – 1 November 1993) was a Spanish physician and biochemist, and winner of the 1959 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine together with Arthur Kornberg for their discovery of "the mechanisms in the ...

, a Nobel Prize winner. He earned a doctorate in chemistry in addition to a medical degree. His work at

University of Texas Southwestern Medical School The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UT Southwestern or UTSW) is a Public university, public Academic health science centre, academic health science center in Dallas, Texas. With approximately 23,000 employees, more than 3,000 ...

beginning in 1958 led to his establishment of the school's

rheumatology Rheumatology () is a branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis and management of disorders whose common feature is inflammation in the bones, muscles, joints, and internal organs. Rheumatology covers more than 100 different complex diseases, c ...

unit, which would become one of the most renowned units in the United States. During his lifetime, Ziff was awarded the Heberden Medal, the Carol Nachman Prize in Rheumatology, and the Distinguished Service Award from the Arthritis Foundation. He was one of the first holders of an Arthritis Foundation Fellowship, awarded the First Gold Medal of the American College of Rheumatology, the Heberden Medal, and the Carol Nachman Prize in Rheumatology. In 1981, he was named an

Ashbel Smith Ashbel Smith (August 13, 1805 – January 21, 1886) was a slave owner, pioneer physician, diplomat, and official of the Republic of Texas, Confederate officer and first President of the Board of Regents of the University of Texas. Smith helped ...

professor, and retired as Chairman of Rheumatology, but continued to privately research and practice until 1999. At the time of his death by cardiac arrest, he was professor emeritus and held the Morris Ziff Professorship in Rheumatology.

References

1913 births 2005 deaths New York University Graduate School of Arts and Science alumni University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center faculty {{US-med-bio-stub