Alfred M. Bongiovanni, MD
Physician-in-Chief, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania, 1963-1972
Alfred M. Bongiovanni was the Physician-in-Chief at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania from 1963 to 1972. Dr. Bongiovanni was a dedicated investigator. Even before his graduation from Villanova in 1940, he was working as an investigator at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
In 1956, Dr. Bongiovanni received the Ciba Award, the highest award given by the Endocrine Society to an investigator. In 1957, he was honored with the E. Mead Johnson Award for Research in Pediatrics, the highest honor bestowed by the Society for Pediatric Research to an investigator. Dr. Bongiovanni’s reputation as a leader in pediatric endocrinology and an accomplished pediatrician-scientist was firmly established when he became CHOP’s Physician-in-Chief and the Chair of Pediatrics at the University in Pennsylvania in 1963. Together with longtime collaborator Dr. Walter R. Eberlein, Dr. Bongiovanni studied congenital adrenal hyperplasia and elucidated the pathway of hydrocortisone synthesis and the important steps required for the production of other hormones secreted by the adrenal gland. With Dr. Bongiovanni at the helm, CHOP became a national and international center for children who required care for abnormalities of growth and sexual maturation.
As Physician-in-Chief and Chair, Dr. Bongiovanni continued to strongly support CHOP’s entire research portfolio and mission to improve the health of children. Importantly, he had a holistic view of pediatrics and society, and he used the “bully pulpit” of his leadership at CHOP to advocate for children’s health issues and access to care that resonant strongly today. In 1967, Dr. Bongiovanni wrote, “At this juncture it becomes an obligation for all physicians to play a role in their communities to assure equal rights for all children and to courageously contest all manner of racial discrimination. The best possible education and medical care must be accorded everyone, especially children, regardless of race, color, or creed. And the child, as patient, may come to recognize and absorb the physician's understanding of the brotherhood of man which can know no discrimination.” CHOP is fortunate to have a proud history of innovative leadership, and we continue to work toward fulfilling Dr. Bongiovanni’s vision.
References:
- Villanova University, Office of the President Communication.
- Bongiovanni AM, Eberlein WR. DEFECTIVE STEROIDAL BIOGENESIS IN CONGENITAL ADRENAL HYPERPLASIA: E. Mead Johnson Award Addresses. Pediatrics (1958) 21 (4): 661–672.
- Bongiovanni, Alfred M. (1967) "The Physician and the Child," The Linacre Quarterly: Vol. 34 : No. 1 , Article 16.
Summary:
Alfred M. Bongiovanni, MD was a leader in pediatric endocrinology and an accomplished pediatrician-scientist. In collaboration with Dr. Walter R. Eberline, he elucidated the pathway of hydrocortisone synthesis and made other major advances in endocrinology. Importantly, he had a holistic view of child health and society. In 1967, he wrote that his wish was for pediatricians to “play a role in their communities to assure equal rights for all children and to courageously contest all manner of racial discrimination.” CHOP is fortunate to have a proud history of innovative leadership, and we continue to work toward fulfilling Dr. Bongiovanni’s vision.