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THE UNIVERSITY OF CT?-"AQO Office of Public Rel-,;ions MIdway 3-0800, ext. 23014 IMMEDIATE 61-537 11-9-61 Dr. Leon Orris Jacobson, a medical scientist distinguished for his work on the effects of radiation, has been appointed Chairman of the Department of Medicine of The University of Chicago. Dr. Jacobson, an authority on the study and clinical use of radioactivity in medicine, heads the Argonne Cancer Research Hospital which The University of Chicago operates on campus for the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission, He is a Professor of Medicine and has been serving as Acting Chairman of the Department of Medicine for the past seven months. The department is the largest academic unit in the Division of the Biological Sciences, which includes the University's Hospitals and School oi' Medicine as well as graduate teaching and research in the clinical and non-clinical sciences. A member of the medical faculty at the University fcr two decades, Dr. Jacobson is internationally known for his work on blood formation, diseases.of the blood, and protection against radiation injuries. He has directed his own research program in two fields, both concerned with red blood corpuscles. He has made.extensive pioneer studies of the hormone erythropoietin, which is produced by the kidney and controls the formation of the corpuscles. He has also made important studies of the body mechanism by which blood-forming tissues recover after they are subjected to radiation. In connection with this latter work, in 1956, he received the Robert Roesler de Villiers Prize of the Leukemia Society of New York. He as the first man to make use of radioactive isotopes in The University of Chicago Clinics--in 1939, when he began using radioactive phosphorus-32 in the treatment of some leukemias and of polycythemia rubra vera, a disease in which the blood has abnormally high amounts of red cells. He was also one of the first physicians to use nitrogen mustard in the treatment of Hodgkins' disease, a leukemia-like disorder of the white blood cells. He is distinguished as an administrator and teacher as well as a research scientist. In World War II, he was Director of Health" for the atomic bomb project at The University of Chicago. For five years after the war, he served as Associate Dean of the Division of the Biological Sciences. Since 1951 he has been Professor of Medicine and head of the Hematology section of The University of Chicago Hospitals, and Director of the Argonne Cancer Research Hospital', the first in the nation devoted completely to the study and use of man- made and natural radiation in the fight against cancer. Dr. Jacobson was named Acting Chairman of the Department of Medicine last April, when Dr. Wright Rowe Adams resigned the chair- manship to become Associate Dean of the Division of the Biological Sciences, Dean of the•Clinical Faculty, and Chief of Staff of The University of Chicago Hospitals. The appointment of Dr. Jacobson as the new chairman of the department was announced by Dr. H. Stanley Bennett, Dean of the Division of the Biological Sciences late Thursday, November 9th. "The Department of Medicine, which includes the fields of general medieine, neurology, and dermatology, has always emphasized the importance of advancing knowledge on the problems of disease. Out of this tradition have come such contributions as Dr. Alf Alving's discovery of a genetically determined enzymatic defect which accounts for many instances of drug sensitivity; Dr. J. Thomas Grayston's cultivation of trachoma virus and development of a vaccine against the disease; and Dr. Jacobson's mn significant work." Dr. Bennett added: "For the head of a great department whose broad concerns are so closely tied to laboratory and clinical investi- gations it was fitting and necessary to find a man with great ability as a research scientist as well as an administrator. In consultation with the former Chairman and other members of the Division, I have explored the possible choices for this appointment for man~r months. All of us are satisfied that we have chosen the right man.' (more )

DR. JACOBSON'S APPOINTMENT 61-537 Add one 11-9-61 Dr. Jacobson will continue as Director of the Argonne Cancer Research Hospital. Born in Sims, North Dakota, on December 16, 1911, Dr. Jacobson was a country school teacher from 1929 to 1933. Iie received his Bachelor of Science degree at North Dakota State College in 1935, and his M.D. degree at The University of Chicago in 1939. He joined the medical faculty after completing his internship and residency in the University Clinics. In addition to his many-faceted responsibilities at the University, he has served as an advisor and consultant on radiation and health problems to many government and other agencies, including the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission, the U. S. Public Health Service, the World Health Organization, the National Research Council, and the Illinois Division of the American Cancer Society. He was a U. S. representative to the International Conferences on Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy at Geneva in 1955 and 1958. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians, past President of the Chicago Pathological Society, a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, Association of American Physicians, the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine, the International Society for Hematology, Sigma Xi, the honor society for scientific research, and many other professional groups. He is married to the former Elizabeth Louise Benton, and is the father of two children, E;.~ic Paul and Judith Ann. Dr. Jacobson and his family live at 1222 East 56th Street. BM: dm