March 19, 2010

Basil Hirschowitz. Download image.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) physician Basil I. Hirschowitz, M.D., Ph.D., professor emeritus of medicine, physiology and biophysics, has been given the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. National Physician of the Year Awards.

Hirschowitz, the medical pioneer who invented the first fiberoptic endoscope that became the standard for visualizing and treating virtually every cavity in the body, will accept the award at the group's fifth annual awards dinner Monday, March 22 in the Hudson Theatre of the Millennium Broadway Hotel in New York City.

The Castle Connolly National Physician of the Year Awards recognize physicians and leaders in health care whose skills and dedication have improved the lives of countless thousands of people throughout the world. This event is a tribute to the awardees and also to the excellence of many thousands of practicing U.S. physicians.

Basil Hirschowitz circa 1960. Download image.

Hirschowitz joined the UAB faculty in 1959 as associate professor of medicine and founder of the Division of Gastroenterology, a post he held for 29 years. Prior to joining UAB, he was a member of the medical school faculties at the University of Michigan and Temple University. It was at the University of Michigan in 1957 that the young researcher and his team invented the coated glass fiber that made possible the development of the prototype flexible endoscope. He tested the prototype by swallowing it himself. The endoscope prototype now resides in the Smithsonian Institution.

His major research involved the normal gastric functions and patho-physiology of acid-peptic diseases such as peptic ulcer, reflux and, particularly, Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome. His career achievements include leadership in clinical trials that were the forerunners to new pharmaceutical treatments in gastroenterology. Those trials paved the way for widespread use of medications the public knows today by such names as Pepcid, Prilosec and Nexium.

Hirschowitz retired as professor in the Department of Medicine's Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in 1995 after 36 years of service and, until recently, continued to work actively as professor emeritus in the School of Medicine, focusing on clinical practice and research. He was named Distinguished Faculty Lecturer in 1988 and Professor Emeritus in 1996.

A native of Bethal, South Africa, Hirschowitz earned three degrees at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, including the equivalent of the American degrees of M.D. and Ph.D. In 1950, he left South Africa to work in London, first at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School and then at the Central Middlesex Hospital. In 1953, he earned admittance as a member of the Royal College of Physicians in Edinburgh and London. He later was awarded Fellowship in both.

Hirschowitz's career spanned six decades, five spent at UAB. In addition to being the founder and the first director of the Division of Gastroenterology, his career appointments also included professor and vice chair of the Department of Medicine.

Hirschowitz's leadership in gastroenterology garnered several meritorious honors, most notably the General Motors Cancer Research Foundation Charles F. Kettering Prize, the Julius Friedenwald Medal from the American Gastroenterological Association, the Schindler Medal from the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the Distinguished Scientist Award from the American College of Gastroenterology and the Laureate Award of the American College of Physicians, for which he also was elected Master.

In 2004, he was presented an honorary Doctor of Medicine by the Sahlgrenska Academy of Goteborg University, Sweden. He was named a Fellow in the Royal Society of Medicine, London, and was elected to the Alabama Academy of Honor. Most recently, the Board of Trustees of The University of Alabama System passed a resolution naming the new Endoscopy Unit in UAB Hospital the Basil I. Hirschowitz Endoscopic Center of Excellence.

About Castle Connolly Medical Ltd.

Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. was founded in 1991 by Chairman John K. Castle and President and CEO John J. Connolly, Ed.D., to help consumers find the best health care. They achieve that mission through consumer books - such as America's Top Doctors® - their Web site and various consumer and business-oriented print and online partnerships. A physician-lead research team surveys physicians and hospital executives to identify, screen and select physicians regarded by their peers as the very best in their specialties.

About the UAB Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
The UAB Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology has a comprehensive clinical program related to all diseases of the digestive tract and liver. The division comprises 19 faculty members active in the areas of teaching, patient care and research. It operates inpatient and consultative services at UAB Hospital and Birmingham Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Outpatient clinics are held at The Kirklin Clinic and Birmingham VA Medical Center. The division's comprehensive research facilities and programs enable the development of new understandings and therapies associated with gastrointestinal disorders.