Maine Legislative Sentiment honoring Victor McKusick presented at Jackson Laboratory
| Date: July 21, 2008 |
Bar Harbor, Maine - At the opening day of the 49th annual Short Course in Medical and Experimental Mammalian Genetics at The Jackson Laboratory, Maine State Representative Peter Johnson and Loring Pratt, M.D., honored Dr. Victor McKusick of Johns Hopkins University with a Legislative Sentiment passed by both houses of the Maine legislature.
Dr. Victor McKusick is University Professor of Medical Genetics at the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine at Johns Hopkins University. The Maine native has maintained his ties to his home state by founding the Short Course together with Jackson Laboratory scientists in 1959. Today the Short Course continues to attract international leaders in biomedical research as faculty and lecturers.
Rep. Johnson's legislative district of Greenville includes the town of Parkman, Maine, where Dr. McKusick and his twin brother, former Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court Vincent L. McKusick, were born and raised. Like his longtime friend Dr. McKusick, Dr. Pratt of Fairfield received his medical training at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. McKusick was unable to attend this year's Short Course but could watch the presentation of the Legislative Sentiment via a live video stream.
The Legislative Sentiment was cosponsored by Sen. Douglas Smith, who represents the Piscatiquis district, and was signed by Senate President Beth Edmonds, Senate Secretary Joy J. O'Brien, House Speaker Glenn Cummings, and House Clerk Millicent M. MacFarland. The document reads as follows:
"Be it known to all that we, the members of the Senate and House of Representatives join in recognizing VICTOR A. McKUSICK, M.D., of Parkman, Maine, and Baltimore, Maryland, on his exceptional accomplishments as University Professor of Medical Genetics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
"He is the physician-scientist widely acknowledged as the father of genetic medicine. In 1957. Dr. McKusick founded the Division of Medical Genetics at Johns Hopkins University and in 1966 created the first edition of the genetic reference Mendelian Inheritance in Man, a compilation of inherited disease genes. Raised on a dairy farm in Parkman, Dr. McKuisick has since had a distinguished career as a master clinician, scientist, medical historian and teacher. He has received both national and international recognitions, including the 2001 National Medal of Science. His accomplishments, spanning over six decades, reflect on his prodigious intellect, unsurpassed leadership in the field of genetics and deep concern for all citizens. We congratulate him on his extraordinary career:
"And it is ordered that this official expression of sentiment be sent forthwith on behalf of the 123rd Legislature and the people of the State of Maine.”
The Jackson Laboratory is a nonprofit biomedical research institution and National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center based in Bar Harbor, Maine. Its mission is to discover the genetic basis for preventing, treating and curing human diseases, and to enable research and education for the global biomedical community.
Contact(s): Joyce Peterson, 207-288-6058
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Media Relations, Communications Office
The Jackson Laboratory
600 Main Street
Bar Harbor, Maine 04609-1500
Phone: 207-288-6058 (journalists only)
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Fax: 207-288-6076
Email: news@jax.org
