Peter Tishler
Encyclopedia
Peter Verveer Tishler M.D. (born July 18, 1937) is a researcher in human genetics
and orphan diseases, educator, and clinician especially in the areas of genetic diseases, including polycystic kidney disease
, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
, Fabry disease
, and the porphyria
s.
Tishler was raised in New Jersey. His father, Max Tishler
, was a senior research chemist and later president of Merck
. Tishler attended public schools and Harvard College
where he majored in Biochemical Sciences. He wrote his senior thesis on carboxypeptidase
, in the lab of Dr. C.J. Fu at the Jimmy Fund, graduating cum laude in 1959.
. While at Yale, Tishler began his long association with the Thorndike Memorial Laboratory at Boston City Hospital. Dr. William B. Castle
, discoverer of intrinsic factor
, introduced him to Dr. Sidney H. Ingbar with whom Tishler began work on the metabolic actions of thyroid hormone
. Another important mentor, Dr. Maxwell Finland contributed to Tishler’s scientific and clinical work. Tishler’s interest in genetics arose from his laboratory research in the study of thyroid function in patients with phenylketonuria
.
At the Harvard Medical Service at Boston City Hospital in 1963, Finland and Ingbar encouraged Tishler to pursue his growing interest in medical genetics.
During the Vietnam War
, Tishler worked as a Public Health Service officer at the National Institutes of Health
. He worked with Christian B. Anfinsen
, Charles Epstein and Alan Schechter on the biochemistry of embryogenesis
. Other mentors were Charles S. Davidson, Ronald A. Arky, and Norbert Frankel.
In the following years, Tishler continued his basic laboratory work, but also was concerned with genetics and medicine in the terms of population and epidemiology
. Drs. Edward H. Kass and Frank Speizer guided his thinking about these issues. Tishler was also involved in familial studies of hypertension
at one of the first community health centers in the nation, East Boston Neighborhood Health Center.
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
and orphan diseases, educator, and clinician especially in the areas of genetic diseases, including polycystic kidney disease
Polycystic kidney disease
Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease is an inherited systemic disorder that predominantly affects the kidneys, but may affect other organs including the liver, pancreas, brain, and arterial blood vessels...
, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease , also known as chronic obstructive lung disease , chronic obstructive airway disease , chronic airflow limitation and chronic obstructive respiratory disease , is the co-occurrence of chronic bronchitis and emphysema, a pair of commonly co-existing diseases...
, Fabry disease
Fabry's disease
Fabry disease is a rare X-linked recessive lysosomal storage disease, which can cause a wide range of systemic symptoms...
, and the porphyria
Porphyria
Porphyrias are a group of inherited or acquired disorders of certain enzymes in the heme bio-synthetic pathway . They are broadly classified as acute porphyrias and cutaneous porphyrias, based on the site of the overproduction and accumulation of the porphyrins...
s.
Max Tishler
Max Tishler was a scientist at Merck & Co. who led the research teams that synthesized ascorbic acid, riboflavin, cortisone, miamin, pyridoxin, pantothenic acid, nicotinamide, methionine, threonine, and tryptophan...
, was a senior research chemist and later president of Merck
Merck & Co.
Merck & Co., Inc. , also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme or MSD outside the United States and Canada, is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. The Merck headquarters is located in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, an unincorporated area in Readington Township...
. Tishler attended public schools and Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
where he majored in Biochemical Sciences. He wrote his senior thesis on carboxypeptidase
Carboxypeptidase
A carboxypeptidase is a protease enzyme that hydrolyzes the peptide bond of an amino acid residue at the carboxy-terminal end...
, in the lab of Dr. C.J. Fu at the Jimmy Fund, graduating cum laude in 1959.
Career
Tishler attended Yale University School of MedicineYale School of Medicine
The Yale School of Medicine at Yale University is a private medical school located in New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. It was founded in 1810 as The Medical Institution of Yale College, and formally opened its doors in 1813....
. While at Yale, Tishler began his long association with the Thorndike Memorial Laboratory at Boston City Hospital. Dr. William B. Castle
William B. Castle
William Bainbridge Castle was an American politician of the Whig Party who served as the 11th and final mayor of Ohio City from 1853 to 1854 and the 14th mayor of Cleveland, Ohio from 1855 and 1856....
, discoverer of intrinsic factor
Pernicious anemia
Pernicious anemia is one of many types of the larger family of megaloblastic anemias...
, introduced him to Dr. Sidney H. Ingbar with whom Tishler began work on the metabolic actions of thyroid hormone
Thyroid hormone
The thyroid hormones, thyroxine and triiodothyronine , are tyrosine-based hormones produced by the thyroid gland primarily responsible for regulation of metabolism. An important component in the synthesis of thyroid hormones is iodine. The major form of thyroid hormone in the blood is thyroxine ,...
. Another important mentor, Dr. Maxwell Finland contributed to Tishler’s scientific and clinical work. Tishler’s interest in genetics arose from his laboratory research in the study of thyroid function in patients with phenylketonuria
Phenylketonuria
Phenylketonuria is an autosomal recessive metabolic genetic disorder characterized by a mutation in the gene for the hepatic enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase , rendering it nonfunctional. This enzyme is necessary to metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine to the amino acid tyrosine...
.
At the Harvard Medical Service at Boston City Hospital in 1963, Finland and Ingbar encouraged Tishler to pursue his growing interest in medical genetics.
During the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, Tishler worked as a Public Health Service officer at the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
. He worked with Christian B. Anfinsen
Christian B. Anfinsen
Christian Boehmer Anfinsen, Jr. was an American biochemist. He shared the 1972 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Stanford Moore and William Howard Stein for work on ribonuclease, especially concerning the connection between the amino acid sequence and the biologically active conformation...
, Charles Epstein and Alan Schechter on the biochemistry of embryogenesis
Embryogenesis
Embryogenesis is the process by which the embryo is formed and develops, until it develops into a fetus.Embryogenesis starts with the fertilization of the ovum by sperm. The fertilized ovum is referred to as a zygote...
. Other mentors were Charles S. Davidson, Ronald A. Arky, and Norbert Frankel.
In the following years, Tishler continued his basic laboratory work, but also was concerned with genetics and medicine in the terms of population and epidemiology
Epidemiology
Epidemiology is the study of health-event, health-characteristic, or health-determinant patterns in a population. It is the cornerstone method of public health research, and helps inform policy decisions and evidence-based medicine by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive...
. Drs. Edward H. Kass and Frank Speizer guided his thinking about these issues. Tishler was also involved in familial studies of hypertension
Hypertension
Hypertension or high blood pressure is a cardiac chronic medical condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated. What that means is that the heart is having to work harder than it should to pump the blood around the body. Blood pressure involves two measurements, systolic and...
at one of the first community health centers in the nation, East Boston Neighborhood Health Center.
Selected publications
- Linkage of serum leptin levels in families with sleep apnea. Int J Obes (Lond). 2005 Mar;29(3):260-7
- Whole genome scan for obstructive sleep apnea and obesity in African-American families. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2004 Jun 15; 169(12):1314-21. Epub 2004 Apr 7.
- Incidence of sleep-disordered breathing in an urban adult population: the relative importance of risk factors in the development of sleep-disordered breathing. JAMA. 2003 May 7;289(17):2230-7
- The effect of therapeutic drugs and other pharmacologic agents on activity of porphobilinogen deaminase, the enzyme that is deficient in intermittent acute porphyria. Life Sci. 1999;65(2):207-1
- Fetal alcohol effects in alcoholic veteran patients. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1998 Nov;22(8):1825-31
- A prospective study of plasma homocyst(e)ine and risk of myocardial infarction in US physicians. JAMA. 1992 Aug 19;268(7):877-81
- "The care of the patient": a living testimony to Francis Weld Peabody. Pharos Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Med Soc. 1992 Summer;55(3):32-6
- Thoughts as I watched the Peabody Building fall, March 31, 1990. N Engl J Med. 1990 Oct 11;323(15):1074
- Healthy female carriers of a gene for the Alport syndrome: importance for genetic counseling. Clin Genet. 1979 Oct;16(4):291-4
- A family with coexistent von Recklinghausen's neurofibromatosis and von Hippel-Lindau's disease. Diseases possibly derived from a common gene. Neurology. 1975 Sep;25(9):840-4.
- Phenylketonuria: therapeutic problems. Br Med J. 1969 Feb 22;1(5642):510
- Effect of thyroxine administered in vitro and in vivo on the succinoxidase and malic dehydrogenase reactions of frog myocardium.Endocrinology. 1963 May;72:673-6
External links
- http://www.porphyriafoundation.com/about_apf/advisory/tishler.html
- http://genetics.bwh.harvard.edu/genetics/labs/Tishler/index.html
- http://countway.med.harvard.edu/rarebooks/exhibits/finland/mfindex.htm
- http://www.massorchid.org/