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Howard E. Morgan
October 8, 1927 - March 2, 2009
Howard E. Morgan, MD, who served The American Physiological Society as
the Society’s 58th President from 1985-1986 passed away on March 2, 2009, at
age 81.
Morgan was born in Bloomington, Illinois, and began his college education
there with one year at the Illinois Wesleyan University (1944-45). He then
moved directly into medical school at Johns Hopkins University, where he
received his M.D. degree in 1949. His original intention was to become an
obstetrician-gynecologist, a career he began on the house staff of the
hospital of Vanderbilt University (1949-53). The following year (1953-54) he
was instructor in these disciplines. He then became for a year a fellow in
medical research in the unit of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute
established in the Department of Physiology at Vanderbilt (1954-55). But the
following year he was back in obstetrics and gynecology as assistant chief
of that service on active duty in the U.S. Army Station Hospital at Fort
Campbell, Kentucky. He then returned to Vanderbilt, and for the next ten
years (1957-67) he was an investigator in the Hughes Institute, with faculty
rank that progressed from assistant professor (1959-62), to associate
professor (1962-66), and professor (1966-67). Morgan then became the first
professor and chairman of the Department of Physiology in the College of
Medicine of the Pennsylvania State University in Hershey, Pennsylvania. From
1973 he was also Associate Dean for Research, and in 1974 was honored by
designation as the Evan Pugh Professor of Physiology. In 1982 he was further
honored by appointment as a scholar of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Morgan was elected to APS membership in 1965. He was
elected to APS Council in 1983 and became president elect the following
year. During the three years he was in presidential offices, Morgan became
closely involved in planning for the Centennial Celebration because the long
process of making these plans began to come to a focus in 1984-87. He was
instrumental in making the final agreement for a project many years in the
making---the joint publication with IUPS of News in Physiological
Sciences. He also took an active part in the lengthy consideration of
how to ensure a broader representation of the several sections by modifying
governance of the Society. Finally it was in the year when Morgan was
president elect that Orr E. Reynolds retired from the position of executive
secretary-treasurer of APS and Martin Frank was appointed to that office.
Morgan became therefore the first president to hold office in collaboration
with Frank, as Berne had been the first to serve with Reynolds in 1973.
Morgan brought to the office extensive experience not only with the
Society's journals (see later) but also in the deliberations of the Porter
Physiology Development Committee (1968-1980).
Another important feature of Morgan's career
was his association with scientific journals. Beginning with the Editorial
Board of the American Journal of Physiology (1967-73), he became
editor of Physiological Reviews (1973-78), associate editor of the
American Journal of Physiology: Endocrinology and Metabolism (1979-81),
and editor of the American Journal of Physiology: Cell Physiology
(1981-84). For much of this time he served on the Publications Committee
(1979-85; chairman, 1981-85). Other journals for which he provided editorial
assistance include Circulation Research (1971-76 and 1982-), the
Journal of Biological Chemistry (1973-78 and 1980-85), the Journal of
Cardiovascular Pharmacology (1977-82), and the Journal of Molecular
and Cellular Cardiology (1974-; associate editor, 1979-83). Of this
listing, his influence was perhaps the greatest on Physiological Reviews.
During his tenure as editor it grew significantly in international
reputation and influence.
Morgan was internationally
regarded as one of the greatest experimental cardiologists of the 20th
century. Morgan's research focused on the physiological regulation of
intermediary metabolism. For many of his studies he used the isolated and
perfused rat heart. Later in his research career, Morgan’s interest shifted
to identification of factors that control growth of the heart and that can
lead to cardiac hypertrophy. His strong commitment to excellence in heart
research, his clear vision for blending the basic sciences with clinical
cardiology, and his deep devotion to helping young cardiovascular scientists
reach their potential demonstrated his outstanding ability in the creative
organization of medical research.
He wrote more than 250
scientific publications. His work was named three times as a "Citation
Classic," a paper with more than 500 citations in published research for
each article.
Morgan was also president of the American Heart Association, 1987-88 and
president of the International Society for Heart Research, 1983-86. He was
founding president of the International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences,
1996-2002. He served as coordinator of the U.S./U.S.S.R exchange program
dealing with cardiovascular biology and medicine for 20 years. He was a
member of Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. He was
also the recipient of the Abigail A. Geisinger Award. Morgan was the Evan
Pugh Professor of Physiology, emeritus, of Pennsylvania State University and
senior vice president for research, emeritus, Geisinger Clinic and was a
consultant to the Reynolds Foundation, Whitaker Foundation and the Bugher
Foundation.
He is survived by his wife,
Donna of 21 years. In addition to his wife, he is survived by one daughter
and son-in-law, Patricia L. and Nelson Wehler of East Berlin, PA and two
grandsons, Jonathan and Geoffrey Morgan of Ann Arbor, MI. Howard was
preceded in death by two sons, Stephen L. and Howard L. Morgan.
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