Robert H. "Heppy" Heptinstall (20 July 1920 – 5 January 2021) was an English

pathologist Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

specialising in

renal pathology Renal pathology is a subspecialty of anatomic pathology that deals with the diagnosis and characterization of medical diseases (non-tumor) of the kidneys. In the academic setting, renal pathologists work closely with nephrologists and transplan ...

. He was the chair of the department of pathology 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 ...

for 19 years.

Career

Heptinstall was born in Great Britain and earned his medical degree from Charing Cross Hospital Medical School in London. He served in the British Army during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as part of

Force 136 Force 136 was a far eastern branch of the British World War II intelligence organisation, the Special Operations Executive (SOE). Originally set up in 1941 as the India Mission with the cover name of GSI(k), it absorbed what was left of SOE's O ...

, parachuting into Japanese-occupied Thailand to care for freed prisoners of war. After the war, he did postgraduate study under

Alexander Fleming Sir Alexander Fleming (6 August 1881 – 11 March 1955) was a Scottish physician and microbiologist, best known for discovering the world's first broadly effective antibiotic substance, which he named penicillin. His discovery in 1928 of wha ...

. He moved to the United States in 1954 to serve a fellowship at

. From 1960 to 1962 Heptinstall was a visiting professor of pathology at

Washington University School of Medicine Washington University School of Medicine (WashU Medicine) is the medical school of Washington University in St. Louis, located in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1891, the School of Medicine shares a ca ...

. In 1962, he moved to Hopkins as a professor. He was appointed acting director of the pathology department in 1966. In 1969 he was named the Baxley professor of pathology, pathologist in chief, and director of the department, titles he held until 1988. He continued at Hopkins as a professor of pathology until 1991 and as a distinguished service professor emeritus until 2014. His research and publishing on the subject of renal disease helped to establish the link between hypertension, kidney disease, and

atherosclerosis Atherosclerosis is a pattern of the disease arteriosclerosis, characterized by development of abnormalities called lesions in walls of arteries. This is a chronic inflammatory disease involving many different cell types and is driven by eleva ...

. His book ''Pathology of the Kidney,'' first published in 1966, is now in its seventh edition and is known as ''Heptinstall's Pathology of the Kidney''. It is described as "the singular textbook on renal pathology" and "the Bible of renal pathology".Kokoroski P, Koh CV: "Book Review: Heptinstall’s Pathology of the Kidney, vols 1 and 2"
JAMA. 2007;297(18):2031-2035

Offices held

Offices held included: * President of

American Society of Nephrology Founded in 1966, the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) is the world's largest professional society devoted to the study of kidney disease. Composed of over 20,000 physicians and scientists, ASN promotes expert patient care, advances medical r ...

, 1972–1973 * President of the Renal Pathology Society, 1980–1983 * Vice president of the

International Society of Nephrology The International Society of Nephrology (ISN) is an organization concerned with kidney health, founded in 1960. In 1992 the society formed a task force to provide emergency kidney dialysis services in areas struck by disasters (usually earthquak ...

, 1981–1984.

Recognition

Recognition during his lifetime included: * Gold medal from the Danish Surgical Society * David M. Hume Memorial Award from the

National Kidney Foundation The National Kidney Foundation, Inc. (NKF) is a voluntary nonprofit health organization in the United States, headquartered in New York City. Its mission is to prevent kidney and urinary tract diseases, improve the health and well-being of indiv ...

* Jean Hamburger Award from the

* In 2011, the Renal Pathology Society renamed its lifetime achievement award as the Robert H. Heptinstall Lifetime Achievement Award. * In 2020 to honor his hundredth birthday, Hopkins established a Robert H. Heptinstall Fellowship.

Personal

He died on 5 January 2021, a few months after his hundredth birthday.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heptinstall, Robert British pathologists Johns Hopkins Hospital physicians Alumni of Charing Cross Medical School British Army personnel of World War II 1920 births 2021 deaths English men centenarians English expatriates in the United States Washington University School of Medicine faculty Johns Hopkins University faculty