In Memoriam: Howard Morgan (1927–2009)

Abstract

Howard E. Morgan, who died on March 2, 2009, did as much as anyone to incorporate molecular biology into cardiology and cardiovascular research. His original research helped bring basic science to the bedside, and his superb organizational skills helped physicians use this and other new knowledge to manage patients with cardiovascular disease. Howard was born in Bloomington, Illinois, on October 8, 1927. After 1 year at Illinois Wesleyan University (1944– 1945), he entered The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where he earned his MD degree in 1949. After completing a residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Vanderbilt University in 1953, he joined their faculty as Instructor in Obstetrics and Gynecology. However, a growing interest in basic science led him to begin a fellowship with C. R. Park in Physiology at Vanderbilt in 1954. His first article, on the transport of glucose and other sugars across cell membranes, was published in 1956 while he was on active duty in the US Army, serving as Assistant Chief of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Service at Ft Campbell, Kentucky. In 1957, he joined the physiology Department at Vanderbilt where, in 1959, he became Assistant Professor of Physiology and, in 1962, Associate Professor. His research, which at that time focused on the regulation of carbohydrate metabolism in the …