Profession Physician Name Dorothy Andersen | Role Physician Specialism Pathology | |
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Born May 15, 1901 Asheville, North Carolina Institutions University of RochesterColumbia College of Physicians and SurgeonsColumbia-Presbyterian Medical Center Died March 3, 1963, New York City, New York, United States Education Johns Hopkins University, Mount Holyoke College | ||
Dorothy Hansine Andersen | Wikipedia audio article
Dorothy Hansine Andersen (May 15, 1901 – March 3, 1963) was the American physician who was the first person to identify cystic fibrosis and the first American physician to describe the disease.
Born in Asheville, North Carolina, she received her B.A. from Mount Holyoke College in 1922, and her M.D. from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1926. She taught at the University of Rochester prior to joining the faculty of Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, working at Babies Hospital, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, New York. She developed a diagnostic test of cystic fibrosis that was publish in the American Journal of Diseases of Children. In the 1940s, she contributed to training heart surgeons and to the study of nutrition.
Andersen died from lung cancer on March 3, 1963 in New York City.
She was greatly admired and honored for her work receiving recognition from Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center with the Distinguished Service Medal. She was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2002 for her scientific work.