Robert S. Desowitz (January 2, 1926 – March 24, 2008) was a researcher of

tropical medicine Tropical medicine is an interdisciplinary branch of medicine that deals with health issues that occur uniquely, are more widespread, or are more difficult to control in tropical and subtropical regions. Physicians in this field diagnose and tr ...

parasites Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The en ...

, and

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

, and an author.

Life and career

Desowitz was born in New York, where he attended Niagara Falls High School. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

from 1944 to 1946. He received a bachelor's degree from the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...

in 1948. He earned a double doctorate in

parasitology Parasitology is the study of parasites, their host (biology), hosts, and the relationship between them. As a List of biology disciplines, biological discipline, the scope of parasitology is not determined by the organism or environment in questio ...

and medical biology from the University of London in 1951. From 1951 to 1960, he worked for West African Institute for

Trypanosomiasis Trypanosomiasis or trypanosomosis is the name of several diseases in vertebrates caused by parasitic protozoan trypanosomes of the genus ''Trypanosoma''. In humans this includes African trypanosomiasis and Chagas disease. A number of other disea ...

Research in Vom, Nigeria. In 1960, he joined the University of Malaya in Singapore as Professor of Parasitology, where he worked until 1965. He then worked as Chief of the

Southeast Asia Treaty Organization The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) was an international organization for collective defense in Southeast Asia created by the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty signed in September 1954 in Manila, Philippines. The formal insti ...

Laboratory's Department of Parasitology in Bangkok from 1965 to 1968. While working there, he spent time doing research in Papua New Guinea. Desowitz worked from 1968 to 1995 as a professor in public health, tropical medicine, and microbiology at the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa The University of Hawaii at Mānoa is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Hawaiʻi system and houses the main offic ...

. During his tenure there, he spent time researching malaria in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. Upon retirement as

professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

from the University of Hawaii, Desowitz worked as adjunct professor of epidemiology at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

's School of Public Health. He died March 24, 2008, in

Pinehurst, North Carolina Pinehurst, officially The Village of Pinehurst, is a village in Moore County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 17,581, up from 13,124 in 2010 United States census, 2010. "Pinehur ...

Bibliography

* ''New Guinea Tape Worms and Jewish Grandmothers'', 1987 * ''The Thorn in the Starfish'', 1988 * ''The Malaria Capers'', 1991 * ''Tropical Diseases: From 50, 000 BC to 2500 AD'', 1997 * ''Who Gave Pinta to the Santa Maria: Torrid Diseases in a Temperate World'', 1997 * ''Federal Body Snatchers and the New Guinea Virus: Tales of Parasites, People and Politics'', 2004

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Desowitz, Robert S. 1926 births 2008 deaths Alumni of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Academic staff of the National University of Singapore University at Buffalo alumni University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa faculty 20th-century American biologists United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army soldiers