Roger H. Unger (March 7, 1924 – August 22, 2020) was an American

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

known for his studies of the physiology of

pancreatic islets The pancreatic islets or islets of Langerhans are the regions of the pancreas that contain its endocrine (hormone-producing) cells, discovered in 1869 by German pathological anatomist Paul Langerhans. The pancreatic islets constitute 1–2% o ...

. In particular the elucidation of the roles of

insulin Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the insulin (''INS)'' gene. It is the main Anabolism, anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabol ...

and

glucagon Glucagon is a peptide hormone, produced by alpha cells of the pancreas. It raises the concentration of glucose and fatty acids in the bloodstream and is considered to be the main catabolic hormone of the body. It is also used as a Glucagon (medic ...

in the regulation of normal blood glucose homeostasis and in the pathogenesis of

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

, and the establishment of glucagon as a hormone. He was the Touchstone/West Distinguished Chair in Diabetes Research at

University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UT Southwestern or UTSW) is a public academic health science center in Dallas, Texas. With approximately 23,000 employees, more than 3,000 full-time faculty, and nearly 4 million outpatient ...

Early life and education

Unger was born March 7, 1924, to parents who were a physician/hematologist and a stay-at-home mother respectively. He grew up in New York City, attending the

Horace Mann School Horace Mann School (also known as Horace Mann or HM) is an American private, independent college-preparatory school in the Bronx, founded in 1887. Horace Mann is a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League, educating students from the New Yo ...

until the age of 15, then the

Taft School The Taft School is a private coeducational school located in Watertown, Connecticut, United States. It enrolls approximately 600 students in grades 9–12. Overview History The school was founded in 1890 as Mr. Taft's School (renamed t ...

for the rest of his secondary education. Unger completed his undergraduate studies at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, then his medical degree 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 ...

Medical and research career

Following medical school, Unger worked at New York's

Bellevue Hospital Bellevue Hospital (officially NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and formerly known as Bellevue Hospital Center) is a hospital in New York City and the oldest public hospital in the United States. One of the largest hospitals in the United States ...

. In 1951, he joined the

US Public Health Service The United States Public Health Service (USPHS or PHS) is a collection of agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services which manages public health, containing nine out of the department's twelve operating divisions. The assistant se ...

, where he directed a diabetes detection drive. In 1956, Unger began his research career by joining the faculty of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and the Dallas VA Medical Center. He turned his attention first to

, then a protein of unknown function known to be secreted by

pancreatic islet The pancreatic islets or islets of Langerhans are the regions of the pancreas that contain its endocrine (hormone-producing) cells, discovered in 1869 by German pathological anatomist Paul Langerhans. The pancreatic islets constitute 1–2% o ...

s. With the help of

Solomon Berson Solomon Aaron Berson (April 22, 1918 – April 11, 1972) was an American physician and scientist whose discoveries, mostly together with Rosalyn Yalow, caused major advances in clinical biochemistry.Rall JE. ''Solomon A. Berson''. In "Biographic ...

's lab, Unger's group developed a

radioimmunoassay A radioimmunoassay (RIA) is an immunoassay that uses radioactive tracer, radiolabeled molecules in a stepwise formation of immune complexes. A RIA is a very sensitive in vitro assay technique used to measure concentrations of substances, usually m ...

for measuring glucagon levels, which they published in 1959. Over the subsequent decades, Unger's group continued to delve into glucagon's role in controlling blood sugar, as well as how glucagon secretion is regulated. He is known for advocating the "bihormonal hypothesis", that blood sugar is regulated by the opposing actions of

and glucagon, and that the disease

is caused both by lack of insulin, and unopposed glucagon. In 1986 Unger, Daniel Foster, and J. Denis McGarry founded the Touchstone Diabetes Center at UT Southwestern, which Unger directed from 1987 until 2007. Roger Unger's research accomplishments were recognized by several honors in his lifetime. He was appointed to the

US National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, 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 Natio ...

in 1986, and the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

in 1994.

References

1924 births 2020 deaths American diabetologists Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons alumni University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center faculty Yale University alumni {{US-physician-stub