Gregory G. Pincus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gregory Goodwin Pincus
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| Born | April 9, 1903 Woodbine, New Jersey, U.S.
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| Died | August 22, 1967 (aged 64) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
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| Citizenship | United States |
| Alma mater | Cornell University Harvard University |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Notkin (died 1988) |
| Children | 2 |
| Awards | Cameron Prize for Therapeutics of the University of Edinburgh (1966) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Biology |
| Institutions | Harvard University Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology |
Gregory Goodwin Pincus (April 9, 1903 – August 22, 1967) was an American biologist and researcher.
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Early life
Pincus was one of five siblings born in Woodbine, New Jersey, to immigrant parents of Russian Jewish origin. His father was Joseph Pincus, a teacher and the editor of a farm journal, and his mother was Elizabeth (née Lipman), whose family had come from the region that is now Latvia. He credited two uncles, both agricultural scientists, for his interest in research. Pincus's IQ was said to be 210, and his family considered him a genius.
Pincus attended Cornell University and received a bachelor's degree in biology in 1924. He attended Harvard University, where he was an instructor in zoology while also working toward his master's and doctoral degrees. Between 1927 and 1930, he moved from Harvard to Cambridge University to the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Biology with Richard Goldschmidt in Berlin. He became an instructor in general physiology at Harvard University in 1930 and was promoted in 1931 to an assistant professorship.
Research
Pincus began studying hormonal biology and steroidal hormones early in his career. He was interested in the way that hormones affected mammalian reproductive systems.
In 1944, Pincus co-founded the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. He wanted to continue his research on the relationship between hormones and conditions such as (but not limited to) cancer, heart disease, and schizophrenia. By the end of the 1960s, more than 300 international researchers came to participate in the Worcester Foundation of Experimental Biology.
Personal life
Pincus married Elizabeth Notkin (1900–1988) in 1924 and they had two children together.
Awards
Pincus was the recipient of numerous awards for his research. He was awarded the Oliver Bird Prize in 1960; the Julius A. Koch Award in 1962; the Cameron Prize for Therapeutics of the University of Edinburgh in 1966; and the American Medical Association’s Scientific Achievement Award in 1967.
Pincus was acknowledged for his creation of the Laurentian Hormone Conference (which was a conference of endocrinologists). He served as the chairman of the conference, and its purpose was to discuss the hormones of the endocrine system. The conference was attended by endocrinologists from all over the world.
Death
He died in 1967 of myeloid metaplasia, a blood cancer, in Boston, Massachusetts. He was 64 years old and lived in Northborough, Massachusetts. His funeral was held August 25, 1967 at Temple Emanuel in Worcester, Massachusetts.
