Class of 1970 Commemorative Biographical Book

1893

1902

Tr ad i t i on and Innova t i on a t Johns Hopk i ns Med i c i ne

Progressive Medical Education Begins Philanthropist Mary Elizabeth Garrett (1854-1915) leads a nationwide fundraising campaign to establish the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Neurosurgery and Endocrinology Become Specialties Performing the first brain

surgery in the United States, Harvey Cushing (1869-1939) becomes known as the founder of neurosurgery. He introduces the use of X-rays before surgery, monitors blood pressure

Herself the largest single contributor, she requires that the school set rigorous academic standards and admit women on an equal basis with men.

during surgery, discovers the function of the pituitary gland and also founds the specialty of endocrinology. 1931

1944

1951

Modern Heart Surgery Arrives Taking an idea proposed to him by pediatric cardiologist

Osler Medical Clinic and Halsted Surgical Clinic To meet the growing need for inpatient beds and operating space, the Osler Medical

HeLa Cells George Gey, director of the Department

of Surgery’s tissue culture laboratory, establishes the world’s first continuously multiplying human cell culture—HeLa—with cervical cancer cells obtained from Henrietta Lacks. Gey distributes the HeLa cells for free to scientific researchers worldwide. Over the next 60 years, they prove instrumental in development of the polio vaccine, human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines, chemotherapy breakthroughs, cloning, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization and landmark research on HIV and tuberculosis.

Helen Taussig, surgery director Alfred Blalock and surgical technician Vivien Thomas devise a way to correct the deadly heart defect called tetralogy of Fallot. Their “blue baby” operation not only saves thousands of lives, it proves that surgery involving the heart is possible.

Clinic and the Halsted Surgical Clinic are added to The Johns Hopkins Hospital. They are named for William Osler, Hopkins’ first professor of medicine, and for William Halsted, Hopkins’ first professor of surgery.

1963 Blalock Clinical Science Building

At its completion the tallest building in East Baltimore, this 15-story structure is the first American hospital building to include an internal pneumatic tube system. The building, added to the hospital to provide new operating rooms as well as modern outpatient and emergency room space, is named for surgeon Alfred Blalock, who helped devise and was the first to perform the blue baby operation.

1968

1977 A. McGehee Harvey Teaching Tower and Russell A. Nelson Patient Tower Providing much-needed new space for laboratories and clinical care, these additions to The Johns Hopkins Hospital are named for “Mac” Harvey, who headed the

1980

Discovery of Restriction Enzymes Microbiologist Hamilton O. Smith discovers restriction enzymes, the proteins that can cut DNA

Lifesaving Heart-Device Surgery Begins Performing the first implantation of the automatic

at precise points in its genetic sequence. Microbiologist Daniel Nathans uses the discovery to analyze the DNA of a virus that causes cancer in animals, achieving the first practical application of restriction enzymes. These accomplishments, along with Swiss microbiologist Werner Arber’s initial theorizing on the existence of restriction enzymes, would earn the trio the 1978 Nobel Prize in Medicine.

defibrillator in a human being, heart surgeon Levi Watkins introduces a surgical procedure that will save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people who have a sudden interruption in the natural rhythm of their heartbeat.

Department of Medicine from 1946 to 1973, and for Russell Nelson, the hospital’s president from 1952 to 1972.

2009 Medical Education Takes Another Quantum Leap The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine launches a revolutionary curriculum called Genes to Society.

2000

HPV Is Linked to Head and Neck Cancer

Oncologist Maura Gillison, virologist Keerti V. Shah and colleagues show that human papilloma virus, already known to be a

2009 Anne and Mike Armstrong Medical Education Building The school of medicine’s first new medical education center in 25 years, the Armstrong Building provides innovative classrooms, lecture halls and learning studios, as well as the latest digital communications technology, virtual reality simulations and other 21st- century reference tools. It is named for a former chairman of the Johns Hopkins Medicine board of trustees and his wife.

Reframing the entire idea of health and illness, the new approach teaches students to take into account not only each patient’s biology, but the unique effects of environment, family life and genetic inheritance.

cause of cervical cancer, is also strongly associated with cancers that develop in the throat at the base of the tongue and tonsils.

2012

2014 The Johns Hopkins Hospital Turns 125 John Shaw Billings’ words in 1889 prove prophetic. As the intellectual architect of The Johns Hopkins Hospital, he says at its opening, “Let us hope . . . that it will be a hospital which shall compare favorably . . . with any other institution of like character in existence.”

The Johns Hopkins Hospital Opens its New Front Door After years of planning and construction, the Sheikh Zayed Tower and The Charlotte R. Bloomberg Children’s Center welcome patients to

the latest chapter in Johns Hopkins medical care. The buildings are designed top to bottom to support Johns Hopkins’ ongoing mission: patient-centered care and education grounded firmly in research.

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