Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley: A Geographically Distributed and Expanding Life Science Ecosystem

Philadelphia has been considered by many to be the birthplace of the modern US pharmaceutical industry with Merck & Co. Inc.’s research division Merck Research Labs [originally called MSDRL] based in West Point and GSK’s primary US labs [originally SKF] now based in Collegeville. The City of Philadelphia is also home to two of the oldest medical schools in the US: Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania founded in 1765 and the Sydney Kimmel Medical College [formerly Jefferson Medical College] founded in 1824. The conjunction of those two touchpoints along with the other big pharma players, e.g., Johnson & Johnson/Janssen and emerging biotech entities in the wider Delaware Valley region is significant. Also noteworthy is the presence of other research intensive universities such as Drexel University, Temple University, Jefferson University and research institutes such as the Wistar Institute, Fox Chase Cancer Center [associated with Temple University School of Medicine], Lankenau Institute, Monell Chemical Senses Center and the Coriell Institute in Southern New Jersey.

DARTMOUTH MEDICAL SCHOOL IN THE USA: ESTABLISHMENT, INNOVATORS, AND INNOVATIONS (THE LATE 18TH – 19TH CENTURY)

The article reveals the peculiarities of the Dartmouth Medical School establishment. Moreover, the author appeals to American outstanding innovators and innovations from the late 18th century to the 19th century. Note that N. Smith was an innovator-organizer of American medical schools (Dartmouth Medical School, Yale School of Medicine, Bowdoin Medical School, and Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia). Besides, N. Smith’s methods of typhus treating and certain surgical operations, as ovariotomy, staphyloraphy, were innovative in American medicine. Also, R. Mussey, D. Crosby, E. Peasley, C. Frost provided innovative activity at Dartmouth Medical School during the 19th century. Among the crucial innovations, there were new departments, implementation of new teaching methods within the educational process, use of various European practices and devices, including the X-ray apparatus, etc.

The herpetological legacy of Jacob Green and the nomenclature of some North American lizards and salamanders

Jacob Green was born in 1790 to a prominent New Jersey family of scholars and theologians. He taught at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) from 1818 to 1822 before co-founding Jefferson Medical College (now Thomas Jefferson University) in 1825, where he taught Chemistry until his death in 1841. Between 1818 and 1831, he published a series of nine papers on lizards, salamanders, and snakes, authoring the original description of several well-known species of salamanders from the eastern United States. Many of his names are ambiguous; some have been adjudicated by the ICZN, while others are currently treated as nomina dubia. Here, we review all of Green’s publications, report on newly re-discovered or re-interpreted material from several major natural history collections, and resolve most if not all remaining issues through a series of taxonomic actions. In particular, we first designate a neotype for Salamandra nigra Green, 1818. We then place S. sinciput-albida Green, 1818 and S. frontalis Gray in Cuvier, 1831 in synonymy with S. scutata Temminck in Temminck & Schlegel, 1838 and invoke Reversal of Precedence under Article 23.9 to designate them nomina oblita. We also designate a lectotype for S. bislineata Green, 1818. Finally, we resurrect the name S. fusca Green, 1818 as the valid name for the species Desmognathus fuscus, assuming priority over Triturus fuscus Rafinesque, 1820, designating S. fusca Laurenti, 1768 a nomen oblitum, and placing S. nigra Green, 1818 in synonymy. While Green’s herpetological legacy is not as expansive as that of some of his successors such as Holbrook, he is nonetheless a foundational early worker in salamanders, having described some of the most-studied species in the world.

Algernon Brashear Jackson, M.D.: A Pioneer for Community and Minority Advocacy

A historical vignette regarding Dr. Algernon Brashear Jackson, the first Black male graduate from Jefferson Medical College. It details his early life, medical school years, surgical training, and contributions to his local community and beyond as he paved the way for future doctors of color.

John Chalmers DaCosta (1863–1933): Restoration of the Old Operating Table

John Chalmers DaCosta was an influential chairman and the first Samuel D. Gross Professor of Surgery at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. He was well known throughout the field as a skilled surgeon, passionate speaker, and exceptional writer. In addition to countless accomplishments during his career, DaCosta was deeply dedicated to the preservation and commemoration of surgical history. This ideology was exemplified when he set out on a mission to recover the old wooden operating table used by many of his iconic mentors including Samuel D. Gross, Joseph Pancoast, and William W. Keen. This table was originally used for surgical demonstrations and anatomy lessons in a lecture room of the Ely Building and later in the great amphitheater of the Jefferson Sansom Street Hospital. It was found forgotten in the basement of the College Building and was promptly refurbished, donned with dedicatory plaques, and returned to its honored position in the medical college. Dr. DaCosta also contributed a detailed article recalling the history of the table and the notable leaders in surgery who taught and practiced on its surface. The old table currently stands proudly in the entranceway of the Department of Surgery where it will remain as a cherished symbol of the early beginnings of surgical practice and education.

John Y. Templeton III: Pioneer of Modern Cardiothoracic Surgery

John Young Templeton III was born in 1917 in Portsmouth, Virginia, and graduated from Jefferson Medical College in 1941. He completed his residency training under Dr. John H. Gibbon, Jr., and was the first resident who worked on Gibbon's heart–lung machine. After his training, he remained at Jefferson as an American Cancer Society fellow and Damon Runyon fellow and went on to become the fourth Samuel D. Gross Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery in 1967. Dr. Templeton was the recipient of numerous grants and published over 80 papers in the field of cardiothoracic surgery. As a teacher and mentor, he was a beloved figure who placed great faith in his residents. He participated in over 60 professional societies, serving as president to many such as the Philadelphia Academy of Surgery and the Pennsylvania Association of Thoracic Surgery. He was also recognized through his many awards, in particular the John Y. Templeton III lectureship established in 1980 at Jefferson of whom Denton Cooley was the first lecturer. Dr. Templeton retired from practice in 1987. He is forever remembered as an important model of a modern surgeon evident in numerous academic achievements, the admiration and affection of his trainees, and the lives of patients that he had touched.

Assessing the value of an optional radiation oncology clinical rotation during the core clerkships in medical school.

e19507 Background: Few medical students are given proper clinical training in oncology, much less radiation oncology. We evaluate the value of adding a radiation oncology clinical rotation to the medical school curriculum. Methods: In July 2010, Jefferson Medical College offered a 3-week radiation oncology elective rotation for third-year medical students during the core surgical clerkship. During 2010-2012, 52 students chose to enroll in this rotation. The rotation included outpatient clinics, inpatient consults, didactic sessions, and case-based presentations by the students. Tests of students’ knowledge of radiation oncology were administered anonymously before and after the rotation to evaluate the educational effectiveness of the rotation. Students and radiation oncology faculty were given surveys to assess feedback about the rotation. Results: The students’ pre-rotation test scores had an average of 64% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 61%, 66%), which improved after the rotation to 82% (95% CI: 80%, 83%; 18% absolute improvement). In exam question analysis, scores improved in clinical oncology from 63% to 79%, in radiobiology from 70% to 77%, and in medical physics from 62% to 88%. Improvements in all sections but radiobiology were statistically significant. Students rated the usefulness of the rotation as 8.1 (scale 1-9, 95% CI: 7.3, 9.0), their understanding of radiation oncology as a result of the rotation as 8.8 (95% CI: 8.5, 9.1), and their recommendation of the rotation to a classmate as 8.2 (95% CI: 7.6, 9.0). Radiation oncology faculty rated their belief that this rotation would be valuable to students as 8.2 (scale 1-9), that students had appropriate responsibilities in the clinic as 7.9, and that the lectures and meetings that students attended were at an appropriate level as 8.1. Conclusions: Integrating a radiation oncology clinical rotation into the medical school curriculum improves student knowledge of radiation oncology, including aspects of clinical oncology, radiobiology, and medical physics. The rotation is appreciated by both students and faculty. We recommend including exposure to radiation oncology as part of the core clinical curriculum for all medical students.