A Tribute to Seven Scientists

Recognizing the fundamental role basic science plays in the progress of medical knowledge and its applications to human health, the U-M Medical School, as part of its year-long sesquicentennial celebration, dedicated seven lecture halls in the names of basic scientists who, throughout the School’s history, have significantly contributed to basic science advances and, through effective communication of their work, have inspired those who have come to Michigan to learn medicine.

The seven scientists — John Jacob Abel, Minor J. Coon, James V. Neel, Horace W. Davenport, Frederick C. Neidhardt, Elizabeth C. Crosby, and Gerald D. Abrams — were selected as a result of nominations from their departments and are commemorated in a 27-foot-long multi-media installation, created by Ann Arbor artist Bill Burgard and showcased in the lobby of Medical Sciences Building II. To the primary medium of oil painting on laminated plywood, Burgard added elements of steel, granite, aluminum, Plexiglas and slate to depict and characterize the scientists and their work. Dedication of the installation and named lecture halls took place on August 21, 2000.

John Jacob Abel, M.D., Department of Pharmacology. Considered the father of American pharmacology, Abel was appointed, in 1891, the first professor of pharmacology at Michigan (and in the U.S.). He founded the Department of Pharmacology, a change from Materia Medica that was quickly emulated by other medical schools across the country, and he was a founding member of the American Society for Biological Chemists and of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. Abel was also founding editor of the Journal of Experimental Medicine, of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, and of the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. The lecture hall located at 5330 Medical Sciences I was named for Abel.

Tetsufumi Ueda (Ph.D. 1971) and Minor “Jud” Coon

Minor J. Coon, Ph.D., Department of Biological Chemistry. Chair of the Department from 1970 to 1990, Coon’s work in unraveling the chemical, physical, catalytic and mechanistic properties of cytochrome P450, and in establishing its biomedical significance in steroid biosynthesis, chemical carcinogenesis and drug metabolism, led to worldwide recognition. Based on his pioneering research, he was elected to the National Academy of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Institute of Medicine, and he was awarded an honorary medical degree from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. The lecture hall located at 3330 Medical Science I was named for Coon.

Priscilla Neel, widow of the late James V. Neel, and Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs Gil Omenn

James V. Neel, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Human Genetics. Neel founded, in 1956 at Michigan, the nation’s first department of human genetics and served as its chair for 25 years. Widely regarded as the father of human genetics, Neel’s work increased our understanding of the genetics of diseases such as diabetes mellitus, neurofibromatosis and sickle cell anemia, as well as our understanding of the effects of atomic radiation on humans and the genetic structure of Amerindian populations. The Neel Lecture Hall is located at 2901 Taubman Library.

Horace W. Davenport, Ph.D., D.Sc., Department of Physiology. For 22 years Davenport chaired the Department of Physiology, during which time he became the world’s leading authority on gastric secretion and acid-base balance. Noted historian, distinguished scientist and a popular teacher, Davenport was president of the American Physiological Society and author of several major textbooks, including the classic, The ABC of Acid-Base Chemistry. His Not Just Any Medical School chronicles the history of the U-M Medical School from its 1850 founding to pre-World War II times. The lecture hall located at 3699 Medical Science II South was named for Davenport.

Frederick Neidhardt and wife, Germaine Chipault

Frederick C. Neidhardt, Ph.D., Department of Microbiology and Immunology. Neidhardt joined the University of Michigan in 1970 as chair of the Department of Microbiology and went on to serve the Medical School as associate dean for faculty and the University as vice president for research. His own research focused on gene regulation and the molecular physiology of bacterial growth, and he served as president of the American Society for Microbiology. The Neidhardt Lecture Hall can be found at 2903 Taubman Library.

Elizabeth C. Crosby, Ph.D., Department of Cell and Developmental Biology (the Department of Anatomy in Crosby’s time). A neuroanatomist of international authority and one of the Medical School’s most beloved teachers, Crosby was the School’s first female professor, teaching 8,500 students between 1920 and 1958. She worked an additional 23 years in the Section of Neurosurgery and co-authored several volumes of Correlative Neurosurgery, the standard neurosurgery textbook for nearly 20 years. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter awarded Crosby the National Medal of Science. The Elizabeth Crosby Lecture Hall is located at 3695 Medical Science II North.

Gloria and Gerald Abrams at the Seven Scientists installation

Gerald D. Abrams, M.D., Department of Pathology. A surgical pathologist with special expertise in gastrointestinal and cardiac pathology, Abrams is a 1955 graduate of the Medical School and has been a faculty member for over four decades. Particularly committed to medical education, he has served in a number of administrative roles including coordinator of pathology education, director of anatomic pathology, and member of the Dean’s Committee on Curriculum Improvement. Repeatedly recognized by students as an outstanding and inspirational teacher, Abrams has received every major teaching award in the Medical School. The lecture hall located at 3697 Medical Science II West was named for Abrams.