Wladimir Wertelecki

Wladimir Wertelecki is a board certified pediatrician, clinical geneticist and cytogeneticist. In 1974, he established one of the first free-standing Departments of Medical Genetics at the new South Alabama University College of Medicine in Mobile, Alabama, U.S.A. Following his retirement as chairman and emeritus Professor of Medical Genetics, Pediatrics, and Pathology, he continued his investigations into the prevention of developmental anomalies as a Project Scientist at the Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego. Since 1996, his research has focused mainly o
alcohol
and the impact of ionizing radiation on congenital anomalies. He is the author over 135 scientific reports.

He established a regional network of clinics across southern Alabama and West Florida, and in 1978 he organized the Southern Genetic Group. This group expanded into the South-Eastern Regional Genetics Grou

to enhance regional genetic services. Components of this network provided templates for the population-based surveillance system implemented later in Chornobyl-impacted regions in Ukraine. Wertelecki also helped local MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians, Native-Americans gain Federal Recognition in Alabama.

In 1992, he made a presentation to the US Senate regarding the reproductive risks posed by Chornobyl radiation. In 1999, following an initial sponsorship by USAID, he established th
OMNI-Net program
a not-for-profit network, to investigate the reproductive risks posed by exposure to alcohol and ionizing radiation from Chornobyl. Wertelecki is the International Cooordinator of th
OMNI-Net programs
OMNI-Net conducts population-based birth defects surveillance, is a full member of EUROCAT an
ICBDSR
trains clinicians and provides medical assistance. Wertelecki is the editor of several internet sites related to OMNI-Ne

https://ceo.medword.net

http://utis.in.ua/] Wertelecki also is the author of articles, related to history and overviews of Human Teratology and other subject

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Medical and Postgraduate Education and Clinical Training

Wertelecki began his medical education in 1955 at the School of Medicine of the University of Buenos Aires. As a medical student, he took additional courses to qualify as a teaching assistant in Human Anatomy (1957) and in physiology (1958).

These extracurricular courses proved to be formative. In anatomy, he observed an instance of anatomic atavism (" maneus muscle") which stimulated his interest in anatomical variants, anomalies, and evolution. His interest in physiology enabled him to join a research team headed by Dr. Virgilio G. Foglia, and coordinated by Dr. Bernardo Houssay, a Nobel Prize winner regarding diabetes mellitus impact on reproduction. As a student of clinical medicine, Wertelecki was granted a university scholarship and became an assistant to Dr. Niceto S. Loizaga, an expert in semiology and zoonosis (skills to recognize signs as signals of syndromes and diagnoses) (1958–1961). Next, Wertelecki completed a rotating internship at Deaconess Hospital, Saint Louis (1962-1963) and became a pediatric resident (1963–1965) at the Department of Pediatrics, St. Louis Children's Hospital and Washington University headed by Dr. Alexis F. Hartmann, one of the first to use insulin to treat diabetic children. Wertelecki's sought further training in Clinical Genetics as a fellow at the Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School (1965–1968). His tasks included participation in the Phenylketonuria Treatment Clinic and the development of computer-aided programs to gather family reproductive histories.

Initial Investigations of Clinical Patterns

During 1968–1970, Wertelecki studied Clinical Epidemiology while serving as a Senior Surgeon (Commander) of the US Public Health Corp at the Epidemiology Branch of the National Cancer Institute and consultant in Medical Genetics at the Naval National Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. In 1973, access to computerized medical records permitted a large epidemiologic analysis of epileptic women elevated risks to deliver children with facial clefts attributed to anti-epileptic therapies later confirmed to include such agent as “Dilantin” (phenytoin), described as fetal hydantoin syndrome in 1975. Anti-epileptic medications often reduced available folates to developing embryos was suspect of being teratogenic. Fifteen years later (1988) mandatory folic acid fortification of cereal/grain products was introduced to reduce prevalence if spina bifida. Analyses of birthweight and dermatoglyphic patterns of fingers and palms of leukemic children revealed statistically significant contrast indicative of prenatal factors, subsequently amply confirmed. The mentors and associates of these investigations included Mr. Nathan Mantel, Dr. Robert W. Miller, Dr. C.C. Plato, and Dr. Josef Warkany. Their collective contribution accepted notion of the association of congenital anomalies and factors with pediatric neoplasias. This association is evident following in utero exposures to ionizing radiation. Wertelecki often relied on his expertise in clinical semiology to report early clinical observations. The first clinical scientific report by Wertelecki as a junior resident of pediatrics concerned the recognition of cantharidin-related nephritis in children linked with blister beetles. As a research fellow of Medical Genetics and instructor of Pediatrics Wertelecki reported  stigmatic signs for the recognition of rare and novel syndrome of a partial monosomy (deletion) of a segment of chromosome 18. At the time such deletions were considered lethal. He also reported results of early treatments of phenylketonuria. Recognition of triploidy was synthesized by Wertelecki, his students and colleagues. Another early synthesis of perhaps the first human observations of a disorder known in cattle its molecular characteristics was named dermatosparaxis, a collagen disorder. Studies of population isolates led to identifications of novel gene mutations and their clinical manifestations. Investigations of neurofibromatosis led to molecular analyses and characterization of NF-1, NF-2, Schwannomatoses and the Merlin protein.

Academic Teaching and Research

As a professor and, eventually, chairman of a novel Department of Medical Genetics, Wertelecki recruited as visiting professors Drs J. Warkany, founder of a Teratology Society, and Dr. H. Zellweger, a pioneer of Pediatric Neurology. They contributed to the full range of programs sponsored by the Department. The Department was the prime organizer of th
Southeastern Regional Genetics Group
dedicated to coordinating regional resources and clinical services along with initiatives to promote computer-driven data collection of genetic services. His department became an accredited site for training physicians in Clinical Genetics and Clinical Cytogenetics. In addition to U.S. graduates, international trainees included those from Japan, Argentina, Brazil, Sri Lanka, China, India, among others.

Following the 1986 Chornobyl disaster Wertelecki organized a workshop during the 1991 International Congress of Human Genetics with a focus upon the potential teratogenic impacts of Chornobyl radionuclides on human embryos. In 1992, Wertelecki was invited to address a U.S. Senate Committee regarding Chornobyl and child health. In 1996, he received a grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to organize a Symposium during the Human Genetics International Congress of 1996 on the subject of Chornobyl radiation impacts on child development. The participating International experts, including those from Belarus and Ukraine, defined areas of concern and potential investigations. Wertelecki sought further advice from John William Gofman (Professor Emeritus of Molecular and Cell Biology at University of California at Berkeley), Daniel Carleton Gajdusek (Pediatrician winner of the Nobel Prize for the discovery of the human prion disease), Jennifer L Howse (President of the March of Dimes Foundation)
Mike Katz
(vice-president for Science, March of Dimes Foundation), an
Godfrey Oakley
Director of the Division of Birth Defects of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), among others.

Chornobyl - Ukraine

In 1999, a plan to establish a population based monitoring of birth defects upholding international standards in several regions of Ukraine was submitted and approved by the Ukrainian Ministry of Health, Wertelecki accepted to be the director of the project now referred to a
OMNI-Net Ukraine Programs
In 2000, with initial support from the USAID, population surveillance of birth defects monitoring was initiated. In 2002, OMNI-Net data documented a high frequency of spina bifida, which persists to the present. Since then, OMNI-Net member
advocate
for the introduction of mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid to reduce spina bifida and related disorders by at least 50%.

In 2006, OMNI-Net qualified for full membership of the European birth defects monitoring network ( EUROCAT) and became a participant in th
Collaborative Initiative of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Consortium
(CIFASD). The results indicate that pregnant women residing in Polissia region of Rivne province which were polluted by Chornobyl radionuclides had statistically significantly higher incorporated Cs-137 radionuclides compared to those residing in not-Polissia concurrently with population-based rates of developmental anomalies also statistically significantly higher in Polissia than in not-Polissia. This cause-effect association is considered by OMNI-Net partners lead by Wertelecki to be proven. However, they consider prudent that it must be promptly confirmed to be followed by Public Health policies to reduce to zero in-utero exposures to Chornobyl radionuclides and other sources of ionizing radiation.

During 2008 OMNI-Net joined th
CIFASD
network and Wertelecki accepted to be the International Coordinator of implementations in Ukraine under the direction of Dr
Christina Chambers
Project Director, Department of Pediatrics, UCSD. The aim of the implementations is to define prenatal exposures to alcohol in large cohort and controls of exposed embryos and postnatal developmental parameters. The program is ongoing.

Honors and Awards

Amond others:
* 1988 SERGG South-Eastern Regional Genetics Group (Recognition).
* 1989 Humanitarian Award, Mobile Association for Retarded Citizens.
* 1992 Foreign Corresponding Member of Academy of Medicine, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
* 1998 Honorary Professor, Kharkov State University, School of Medicine.
* 1998 Distinguished Service Award, American Dermatoglyphics Association.
* 1999 Franklin Smith Award for Distinguished Service, State of Alabama.
* 2003 Foreign Member of the National Academy of Sciences, Ukraine.
* 2003 Doctor Honoris Causa, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Ukraine.
* 2010 Doctor Honoris Causa, Lviv Medical University, Ukraine.
* 2016 Distinguished Service Award by the University of South Alabama Medical Alumni Association.

Organizations

Among others, past and current:
* American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics
* American Society of Pediatrics and Pediatric Research (Emeritus)
* American Academy of Pediatrics
* The Teratology Society
* Academia Nacional de Medicina (Argentina)
* National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
* American Public Health Association

Selected Scientific Publications

(among others, for complete bibliography please see PubMed )

Selected Early Publications

* Foglia, V.G., Fernandez-Collazo, E.L., Wesley, O.R., Wertelecki, W., Granillo, R.: Trastornos de la Reproduccion de La Rata Macho Diabetica. ''Rev. Soc. Argent. Biol''. 37:127 (1961).
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* Wertelecki, W., Lawton, T.J.: A Computer Program for Gathering Family History. Eighth IBM Medical Symposium, p. 165 (1967).
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Selected Scientific Publications post Chornobyl

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Books, chapters and other publications (partial list)

# Wertelecki, W., Lawton, T., Gerald, P.S.: Computer-Based Patient Interviewing. In: Computer-Assisted Instruction in the Health Professions. Eds., Stolurow, L.M., Peterson, T.I., Cunningham, A.C., Entelek, Inc., Newburyport, MA (1970).
# Wertelecki, W., Peterson, R.D.A.: Primary Immunodeficiency Syndromes. In: Surgical Immunology. Ed., Munster, A.M., Grune Publishers, New York, NY (1976).
# Wertelecki, W.: Regional Rural Genetics Program: Educational Considerations. In: The Management of Genetic Disorders. Eds., Bartsocas, C.S., Papadatos, C., Alan R. Liss Publishers, New York, NY (1979).
# Wertelecki, W., Plato, C., Editors: Dermatoglyphics – 50 Years Later. (Birth Defects Original Article Series Vol. XV, No. 6). Alan R. Liss Publishers, New York, NY (1979).
# Wertelecki, W.: Tetraploidy. In: Handbook of Clinical Neurology, Neurogenetic Directory. Ed., Myrianthopoulas, N.C., Part II, North-Holland Publishing Co., Amsterdam (1982).
# Castilla, E., Penchaszadeh, V., Wertelecki, W., Youlton, R.: Prevention and Control of Genetic Diseases and Congenital Defects: Report of an Advisory Group. Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization, 525 Twenty-Third Street, Washington, D.C., Scientific Publication No. 460 (1984).
# Wertelecki, W.: Roberts Syndrome. Birth Defects Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition, Buyse, M.L., Editor. Blackwell/Year Book Medical Publishers, Inc. pp. 1498-1499 (1990).
# Wertelecki, W.: Chromosome 22. Birth Defects Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition, Buyse, M.L., Editor. Blackwell/Year Book Medical Publishers, Inc. pp. 395 (1990).
# Wertelecki, W.: A Regional Genetics Program in Alabama with Emphasis on Education and Clinicians - Achievements and Experience. In: Medical Genetics and Society. Eds., Fujiki, N., Bulyzhenkov, V., Bankowski, Z., Kugler Publications, Amsterdam/New York, (1991).
# Wertelecki, W.: Diagnosis of NF-2. In: Neurofibromatosis 2. Eds., Cohen, B.R. Korf, B.H., Pugh, J.N., The National Neurofibromatosis Foundation, Inc., New York, NY (1992).
# Wertelecki, W.: Clinical Dermatoglyphics. In: Human Malformations and Related Anomalies, Eds., Stevenson, R.E., Editor. Oxford University Press, Inc. (1993).
# Wertelecki W.: Congenital Malformations in Rivne, Ukraine. 119–138. In: Crisis Without End: The Medical and Ecological Consequences of the Fukushima Nuclear Catastrophe. Helen Caldicott, editor. New Press, The, Oct 21, 304 pages (2014).

''Further listing omitted.''

Current special projects

Among others:

Mandatory Folic Acid Flour Fortification in Ukraine

Prevention and Care of Spina Bifida and Related Disorders

Distribution of urinary catheters to children with spina bifida

* Adolescence and Adult Developmental Patterns of Children wit

* Continuing population-based surveillance of developmental anomalies upholdin
EUROCATICBDSR
standards of Cs-137 Incorporated Level
TrendsDistant Learning Modules


Parents and Public


Medical Students


Health Care Providers

Sustenance of Contents in Dedicated Websites

Teratology Information System in Vernacular
(in Ukrainian)

Clinical Signs – Eye Openers (Tutorials)


Medical Terminology and Humanities
(Tutorials)

I.B.I.S. – International Birth Defects Information System
(sailient extracts from International sources)

External links

n Ukrainian(last accessed Aug, 2017)

Birth Defects and Ukraine
Report by W. Wertelecki, M.D.



Reuters News - Higher birth-defect rate seen in Chernobyl area

Interview with Wladimir Wertelecki
n Ukrainian
* I
Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine
- Vol.4, p. 278, Kyiv n Ukrainian

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wertelecki, Wladimir
1936 births
Living people
Harvard Medical School faculty
People from Rivne
People from Wołyń Voivodeship (1921–1939)
Polish emigrants to Argentina
Argentine emigrants to the United States
University of Buenos Aires alumni
University of South Alabama faculty
University of California, San Diego faculty
Washington University in St. Louis fellows