James E. Bowman
Encyclopedia
James E. Bowman, MD, FASCP, FCAP (February 5, 1923 – September 28, 2011) was an American
physician
was internationally renowned as a specialist in pathology
, hematology
, and genetics
. He was a professor of pathology and genetics at the Pritzker School of Medicine
at the University of Chicago
.
. He earned his undergraduate and medical degrees from Howard University
in 1943 and 1946. He did medical internships at Freedmen's Hospital in Washington D.C. and at Provident Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. His residency in pathology was at St. Luke's Hospital in Chicago where he was the first African American resident.
Following residency, Bowman served as chair of pathology at Provident Hospital. He was drafted again and spent 1953 to 1955 as chief of pathology for the Medical Nutrition Laboratory at Fitzsimons Army Hospital in Denver. After leaving the military Bowman decided to move overseas. “My wife and I decided that we were not going to go back to anything that smacked of segregation,” he recalled. He became chair of pathology at Nemazee Hospital in Shiraz
, Iran. “We were recently married, so we took a chance,” he said. “It changed our lives completely.” Their daughter, Valerie, was born in Iran.
In Iran Bowman saw many diseases for the first time. “I saw smallpox
, brucellosis
, rabies
, all sorts of things,” he said. One of the most common diseases among certain ethnic groups in Iran was favism
, a metabolic disease
caused by an enzyme deficiency in red blood cells. The mutation, which the most common human enzyme defect, renders those who have it unable to break down a toxin found in fava beans. Favism fit with Bowman’s lifelong focus on inherited blood diseases and led to a series of important discoveries about the genetics of these diseases and the populations they affect, especially in the Middle East, Africa and America. It enabled him to travel all over the world collecting blood samples for DNA testing. It also led to frequent contacts and collaborations with University of Chicago
researchers, who had first described the enzyme deficiency (Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency
, or G6PD) and its connection with antimalarial medications.
Bowman joined the faculty of the University of Chicago in 1962 as an assistant professor of medicine and pathology and director of the hospital’s blood bank. He was promoted to full professor and director of laboratories in 1971. From 1973 to 1984, he directed the Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center of the University of Chicago, funded by the National Institutes of Health. He was a member of the national advisory group that urged the Nixon administration to initiate the inception of the Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center, which served as a model of patient-centered disease management and research. He also served as assistant dean of students for minority affairs for the Pritzker School of Medicine from 1986 to 1990.
In 1972 Bowman declared that mandatory sickle cell screening laws were “more harmful than beneficial.” These laws could “revive many of the past misadventures and racism of eugenics movements,” he argued at the time, adding that adult screening programs create “inaccurate, misleading, politically motivated propaganda which has left mothers frantic.” In 1973, he was named to two federal review committees designed to oversee sickle cell screening and education and to evaluate laboratory diagnostic techniques.
Bowman was certified by the American Board of Pathology in pathologic anatomy (1951) and clinical pathology (1952).
He was the first tenured African-American professor in the University of Chicago's Biological Sciences Division. He served as the medical school's Assistant Dean of Students for Minority Affairs from 1986 to 1990. He was a fellow of the Hastings Center
, a bioethics research institution.
He was married to educator Barbara Bowman
and they had one daughter, Valerie Bowman Jarrett
, who is a Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama
.
Dr. Bowman died of cancer on September 28, 2011, at the University of Chicago Medical Center, at the age of 88.
Books:
Journal articles:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
was internationally renowned as a specialist in pathology
Pathology
Pathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....
, hematology
Hematology
Hematology, also spelled haematology , is the branch of biology physiology, internal medicine, pathology, clinical laboratory work, and pediatrics that is concerned with the study of blood, the blood-forming organs, and blood diseases...
, and genetics
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
. He was a professor of pathology and genetics at the Pritzker School of Medicine
Pritzker School of Medicine
The Pritzker School of Medicine is the M.D. granting unit of the Biological Sciences Division of the University of Chicago. It is located on the University's main campus in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, and matriculated its first class in 1927...
at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
.
Life and career
James Edward Bowman was born on February 5, 1923, in Washington, D.C. where he attended Dunbar High SchoolDunbar High School (Washington, D.C.)
Dunbar High School is a public secondary school located in Washington, D.C., United States. The school is located in the Truxton Circle neighborhood of Northwest Washington, two blocks from the intersection of New Jersey and New York Avenues...
. He earned his undergraduate and medical degrees from Howard University
Howard University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
in 1943 and 1946. He did medical internships at Freedmen's Hospital in Washington D.C. and at Provident Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. His residency in pathology was at St. Luke's Hospital in Chicago where he was the first African American resident.
Following residency, Bowman served as chair of pathology at Provident Hospital. He was drafted again and spent 1953 to 1955 as chief of pathology for the Medical Nutrition Laboratory at Fitzsimons Army Hospital in Denver. After leaving the military Bowman decided to move overseas. “My wife and I decided that we were not going to go back to anything that smacked of segregation,” he recalled. He became chair of pathology at Nemazee Hospital in Shiraz
Shiraz
Shiraz may refer to:* Shiraz, Iran, a city in Iran* Shiraz County, an administrative subdivision of Iran* Vosketap, Armenia, formerly called ShirazPeople:* Hovhannes Shiraz, Armenian poet* Ara Shiraz, Armenian sculptor...
, Iran. “We were recently married, so we took a chance,” he said. “It changed our lives completely.” Their daughter, Valerie, was born in Iran.
In Iran Bowman saw many diseases for the first time. “I saw smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
, brucellosis
Brucellosis
Brucellosis, also called Bang's disease, Crimean fever, Gibraltar fever, Malta fever, Maltese fever, Mediterranean fever, rock fever, or undulant fever, is a highly contagious zoonosis caused by ingestion of unsterilized milk or meat from infected animals or close contact with their secretions...
, rabies
Rabies
Rabies is a viral disease that causes acute encephalitis in warm-blooded animals. It is zoonotic , most commonly by a bite from an infected animal. For a human, rabies is almost invariably fatal if post-exposure prophylaxis is not administered prior to the onset of severe symptoms...
, all sorts of things,” he said. One of the most common diseases among certain ethnic groups in Iran was favism
Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency
Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency is an X-linked recessive hereditary disease characterised by abnormally low levels of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase , a metabolic enzyme involved in the pentose phosphate pathway, especially important in red blood cell metabolism. G6PD deficiency is...
, a metabolic disease
Inborn error of metabolism
Inborn errors of metabolism comprise a large class of genetic diseases involving disorders of metabolism. The majority are due to defects of single genes that code for enzymes that facilitate conversion of various substances into others...
caused by an enzyme deficiency in red blood cells. The mutation, which the most common human enzyme defect, renders those who have it unable to break down a toxin found in fava beans. Favism fit with Bowman’s lifelong focus on inherited blood diseases and led to a series of important discoveries about the genetics of these diseases and the populations they affect, especially in the Middle East, Africa and America. It enabled him to travel all over the world collecting blood samples for DNA testing. It also led to frequent contacts and collaborations with University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
researchers, who had first described the enzyme deficiency (Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency
Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency
Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency is an X-linked recessive hereditary disease characterised by abnormally low levels of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase , a metabolic enzyme involved in the pentose phosphate pathway, especially important in red blood cell metabolism. G6PD deficiency is...
, or G6PD) and its connection with antimalarial medications.
Bowman joined the faculty of the University of Chicago in 1962 as an assistant professor of medicine and pathology and director of the hospital’s blood bank. He was promoted to full professor and director of laboratories in 1971. From 1973 to 1984, he directed the Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center of the University of Chicago, funded by the National Institutes of Health. He was a member of the national advisory group that urged the Nixon administration to initiate the inception of the Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center, which served as a model of patient-centered disease management and research. He also served as assistant dean of students for minority affairs for the Pritzker School of Medicine from 1986 to 1990.
In 1972 Bowman declared that mandatory sickle cell screening laws were “more harmful than beneficial.” These laws could “revive many of the past misadventures and racism of eugenics movements,” he argued at the time, adding that adult screening programs create “inaccurate, misleading, politically motivated propaganda which has left mothers frantic.” In 1973, he was named to two federal review committees designed to oversee sickle cell screening and education and to evaluate laboratory diagnostic techniques.
Bowman was certified by the American Board of Pathology in pathologic anatomy (1951) and clinical pathology (1952).
He was the first tenured African-American professor in the University of Chicago's Biological Sciences Division. He served as the medical school's Assistant Dean of Students for Minority Affairs from 1986 to 1990. He was a fellow of the Hastings Center
Hastings Center
The Hastings Center, founded in 1969, is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit bioethics research institute based in the United States. It is dedicated to the examination of essential questions in health care, biotechnology, and the environment...
, a bioethics research institution.
He was married to educator Barbara Bowman
Barbara T. Bowman
Barbara Taylor Bowman is an award-winning early childhood education expert/advocate, professor, and author. Her areas of expertise include early childhood care/education, educational equity for minority and low-income children, as well as intergenerational family support and roles...
and they had one daughter, Valerie Bowman Jarrett
Valerie Jarrett
Valerie Bowman Jarrett is a senior advisor and assistant to the president for Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs for the Obama administration. She is a Chicago lawyer, businesswoman, and civic leader...
, who is a Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
.
Dr. Bowman died of cancer on September 28, 2011, at the University of Chicago Medical Center, at the age of 88.
Selected publications
Bowman published numerous articles and books, including:Books:
Journal articles: