John M. Opitz
| John M. Opitz | |
|---|---|
| Born |
John Marius Opitz August 15, 1935 (age 82) Hamburg, Germany |
| Nationality | German-American |
| Citizenship | Naturalized Citizen |
| Education |
BA - University of Iowa MD - University of Iowa |
| Occupation | Pediatrics |
| Known for |
FG Syndrome Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome (SLOS) American Journal of Medical Genetics |
| Medical career | |
| Profession | Medical Geneticist |
| Institutions |
University of Wisconsin Montana State University Shodair Hospital University of Utah |
| Research |
Genetics Pathology Developmental Biology |
| Notable prizes |
William Allan Award of ASHG Medal of Honor of the DGofH (German Society of Hum Genet) German Academy of Science Leopoldina |
BA - University of Iowa
FG Syndrome
Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome (SLOS)
University of Wisconsin
Montana State University
Shodair Hospital
Genetics
Pathology
William Allan Award of ASHG
Medal of Honor of the DGofH (German Society of Hum Genet)
John M. Opitz (born August 15, 1935) is a German-American medical geneticist and professor at the University of Utah. He is best known for rediscovering the concept of the developmental field in humans (first enunciated by Hans Spemann in amphibians) and for his detection and delineation of many genetic syndromes, several now known as the “Opitz syndromes” including Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (SLOS), Opitz-Kaveggia syndrome (FGS1), Opitz G/BBB syndrome, Bohring-Opitz syndrome, and other autosomal and X-linked conditions. He is founder of the Wisconsin Clinical Genetics Center, the American Journal of Medical Genetics, and the American College and American Board of Medical Genetics.
John M. Opitz was born in Hamburg, Germany, on August 15, 1935 to a middle-class family. His father died of tuberculosis while Opitz was still young, a disease which he also contracted and, caused him to spend 14 months in a sanatorium. After seven years of separation, he rejoined his mother in 1947 in Nuremberg where she worked as an interpreter for the US occupation forces during the war-crimes trials. They immigrated to the United States in 1950, eventually settling in Iowa City where Opitz’ uncle, Hans Koelbel, was Professor of Cello and Chamber Music at the University of Iowa.
It was at the age of 15 that his uncle introduced him to Emil Witschi, an internationally acclaimed embryologist, endocrinologist, and zoologist at the University of Iowa, who fanned Opitz’ interest in embryology, genetics and evolution. After completing high school, Opitz’ studied Zoology at the University of Iowa under Witschi’s tutelage, receiving his bachelor's degree in 1956. With the approach of Witschi’s retirement from the University of Iowa just previous to his graduation, Opitz wondered where he would go next as his previous plan had been to complete a PhD under Witschi. However, with some prodding from his mother, he was reluctantly persuaded to attend medical school at the University of Iowa. His initial lack of interest dissipated as he was immersed in the world of clinical medicine.
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