Simon J. Simonian

For Lebanese-Armenian intellectual, writer, and teacher, founder of the literary Armenian periodical Spurk, see Simon Simonian

Simon John Simonian is recognized for his notable contributions to the building, betterment, evolution, and growth of healthy contemporary and future civilization and society, in Britain, USA and globally, as a bio-medical research scientist, public health scientist, surgeon, educator, university professor, innovator, administrator, Quaker nonordained minister, nonviolent peace activist, philanthropist, collaborator specialist, writer and published author. Awardee recold holder of the largest sized contemporary autobiographies ever published by Marquis Editorial and Publication Board in their entire history since their establishment in 1899, of more than 300 lines to the standard 20 lines allotted normally, in Who's Who in America, Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in Science and Engineering, and Who's Who in Medicine and Health Care.

His degrees include: B.A. (Oxford), 1964, M.A. (Oxford), 1969, Sc.M. (Harvard), 1967, Sc.D. (Harvard), 1969, M.D. (London), 1957, D.Sc. (Hon.), 1998.

He is a member of: MRCS, Member Royal College of Surgeons, (England), 1957, LRCP, Licentiate Royal College of Physicians, (London), 1957, FRCS, Fellow, Royal College of Surgeons, (Edinburgh), 1962, Diplomate, American Board of Surgery, 1977, FACS, Fellow American College of Surgeons (USA), 1981, FACPh, Fellow American College of Phlebology (USA, 2004–2006),

Career

He was born on April 20, 1932 displaced in Antioch, French Protectorate, Syria, from parents who were forced to leave their homeland of Western Armenia, and were orphaned survivors of the Armenian holocaust and genocide during 1915. He received his university education and a Medical Research Council Award at St. Edmund Hall, Oxford University (BA’64, MA’69), received his medical education, a Middlesex Award and a Suckling Research Prize at University College London, University of London (MD’57), and was the first surgeon conferred the research degrees (ScM’67, ScD’69) in Nutrition, Immunology, and Genetics from Harvard University. His academic appointments have included: Founding Chief and Faculty Member of the Division of Immunology and Laboratory, Department of Surgery, Peter Bent Brigham Hospital at Harvard Medical School in Boston; Founder of the first interdisciplinary credit course on Transplantation Biology and Medicine at Harvard Medical School; Assistant Professor of Surgery, and Committee on Immunology, University of Chicago, Professor of Surgery, Director, and Chief, Division of Renal Transplantation at Hahnemann University in Philadelphia; Chair, Department of Surgery with 190 faculty members and 25 resident trainees, and Associate Vice President for Medical Affairs at St. John Hospital Medical Center in Detroit; Clinical Professor of Surgery, Georgetown University Medical Center, and Founding President and CEO, the nation's oldest Vein Institute in Metropolitan Washington, DC.

Positions

Since 2009, he serves as a Member of the Religious Society of Friends, as a Quaker Minister, at Santa Monica in Los Angeles; Since 1963, he has given more than 400 Quaker ministries, in Britain and the USA. In 1957 he participated in one of the first nonviolent peaceful marches to Aldermaston, England, for abolition of nuclear bombs. That was the nuclear hydrogen bomb manufacturing facility. It was followed by other similar peace activist marches in Europe and the USA. It resulted in The Nuclear Test Ban Treaty which was signed by Britain, USA and the Soviet Union in 1963. It was an important first step to control nuclear weapons. He is nominated for election as a Council Member in the Interreligious Council of Southern California, to represent the Quakers as one of fifteen world religions; Visiting Professor in the Center for the Study of Religion at University of California, Los Angeles; a member of the National Academy of Sciences, Armenia, and the European Academy of Sciences and Arts in Austria. He also serves as an Honorary Member of the International Forum of Phlebology in Germany and the Korean Society of Phlebology in Seoul. He also served as Chief of the Medical Team and Surgeon-in-Chief for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush visiting Detroit;[1] President of the American Society of Lymphology; and Co-author of the first textbook of Lymhology in 2007, in USA; Founding Chair, the Section of Phlebological Surgery, and innovator in Phlebology; American College of Phlebology; Charter Founding Member American Society of Transplant Surgeons; Chairman of its Immunosuppression Studies Committee; on the Editorial Boards of several national and international scientific/medical journals; and on the Founding Advisory Boards of Indiana Center for Regenerative Biology and Medicine and The Leadership Council of Harvard School of Public Health. He also served on the Advisory Boards of the American Venous Forum Foundation, and St. Edmund Hall, Oxford University. He serves as a "Famous Graduate" of St. Edmund Hall. He served on the International Consensus Faculty Panels on Venous Thrombo-sembolism.[2][3]

Service

He has served in philanthropy in twelve universities in the USA and abroad. Joint Simon J. Simonian Awards are conferred annually in “Leadership” at Oxford, in “Nutrition” at Tufts and Harvard, in “Pathology” at Harvard. The "Surgery" Award at Harvard is held jointly with Nobel Laureate Joseph E. Murray. Since 1992, a Simonian award has been offered annually in Surgery at Georgetown University Medical Center. He is recognized as a participant in the eradication of smallpox, and as one of the leaders in the establishment of Immunogenetics, Kidney Transplantation, Phlebology and Lymphology as new medical specialties. He co-established the first successful Venous Vascular Phlebology program at Georgetown University Hospital. He has lectured extensively both nationally and internationally. He is the co-author of over 300 articles and four books that span his four major research interests: immunology and immunogenetics, organ transplantation, venous vascular disease, and lymphatic vascular disease.[4]

Contributions

His research contributions include:

  1. Research assistance in the production of the first freeze-dried, heat-stable globally effective smallpox vaccine subsequently used by World Health Organization (WHO) for the first eradication of a disease in history: smallpox, in 1977, which is saving two million lives annually.
  2. Co-discovery of the genetic control of antibody formation in the rat, in 1966, which helped establish Immunogenetics as a new biomedical specialty, and is helping matching organ transplants, resolve autoimmune and other chronic human diseases. Months earlier unknown to him a colleague using the guinea pig had obtained identical results, and deservedly received a Nobel Prize.
  3. Co-isolation of the IgG fraction of antilymphocyte serum which as ATGAM doubled the survival of human cadaveric renal allografts. His team leader, the pioneer of renal transplantation, Joseph E. Murray, MD was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1990.
  4. Co-covalent linkage of a cytotoxic agent to a protein carrier for the specific targeting of transplant rejection cells and cancer cells. As team leader, he consulted with 1966 Nobel Laureate Charles Huggins.

Publications

Notes

  1. ↑ "ARMENPAC Continues to Grow; New Board Members and Executive Director Named, The Armenian Reporter, 28 June 2003.
  2. ↑ http://www.regen.iupui.edu/boards_scientific.asp#ssimonian
  3. ↑ Simon J. Simonian, National Academy of Armenia, Foreign Members
  4. ↑ "Simon John Simonian," Marquis Who's Who, Marquis Who's Who, 2009, 2010, 2011. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009.