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Theodore N. Pullman
September 30, 1918 - February 8, 2001
Adapted from a press release prepared by John
Easton, Director of Media Relations for the University of Chicago Medical
Center.
Theodore N. Pullman, M.D., 82, Research Associate at the University of
Chicago and former Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago and at
Northwestern University, died of kidney failure at his Hyde Park home on
February 8.
Over his long career, Dr. Pullman made contributions in three different
areas. In the 1940's, he played an important role in the development of new
drugs for malaria, then for several decades he did research on kidney
function, especially on the effects of hormones on fluid and electrolyte
metabolism and on how the kidneys handled small proteins. After retirement,
he participated in studies on the molecular biology of thyroid function.
Although research was important to him, he put equal emphasis on patient
care and teaching.
"He was a brilliant scientist, a good and careful clinician, and a
teacher who inspired awe and fear in his students," recalled Adrian Katz,
M.D., Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago, whom Pullman had
recruited to the University. "His research changed the way we understand the
regulation of blood flow within the kidney, which had important implications
for diseases like hypertension."
"He was someone who set very high standards for himself and for others,"
recalled Richard Landau, M.D., Professor Emeritus of Medicine and a long-tie
friend of Pullman. "This made him a splendid teacher but a challenging one
if you were not prepared."
"He enjoyed research so much that he continued to come to our laboratory
meetings until just a few months ago," said Samuel Refetoff, M.D., Professor
of Medicine and Director of the Endocrinology Laboratory, where Pullman
focused his energies after retirement. "Ted Pullman brought a vast knowledge
of chemistry and biochemistry that made him extremely valuable to the lab
and a great help to the students and Fellows. They miss him a great deal."
Theodore Neil Pullman was born in New York City. He graduated cum laude
from Harvard in 1938 with a B.S. in chemistry. He entered Columbia
University for a year of graduate work in chemistry, then transferred to the
College of Physicians and Surgeons, where he completed his M.D. in 1943. His
internship and residency were at Yale University School of Medicine.
In 1944, he went into the Army and was stationed at the Malaria Research
Unit at Stateville Penitentiary. The Unit was successful in finding new and
effective drugs, including primaquine and chloroquine, to treat malaria.
Professor Alf Alving of the University of Chicago was in charge of the
project. When Pullman left the Army in 1946, with the rank of Major, Dr.
Alving asked him ot join the Nephrology Section at the University. Pullman
became Professor in 1964 and Chief of Nephrology in 1965.
In 1973, he left to become Associate Chief of Staff for Research at the
Veterans Administration Lakeside Medical Center and Professor of Medicine at
Northwestern University. In 1987, he became Emeritus at Northwestern and
returned to the University of Chicago to learn a new field, genetics and
microbiology, and to assist in the Endocrinology Laboratory.
Dr. Pullman was a Fellow of the American Association for teh Advancement
of Science and of the American College of Physicians. He was a member of
many professional societies. He served as President of the Chicago Society
of Internal Medicine, and as Chairman of the Research Committee of the
Chicago Heart Association.
His wife, Marjorie, shared his interests in classical music, opera,
sailing, canoeing, scuba diving, and underwater photography, during their 52
years of marriage.
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