Joseph Barnett Kirsner

Joseph Barnett Kirsner (September 21, 1909 – July 7, 2012) was an American gastroenterologist and Louis Block Distinguished Service Professor of medicine at the University of Chicago.^[1][2] He was a pioneer in the field of digestive system disorders and was the first person to show the increased risk of colon cancer in patients with ulcerative colitis.^[3][2][4][5]

Kirsner was born on September 21, 1909, in a Jewish family. He was the eldest of five children. In 1933, Kirsner moved to Chicago after graduating from the Tufts University School of Medicine.^[2] Kirsner married Minnie Schneider, whom he met at Woodlawn Hospital on Chicago's South Side. While at University of Chicago, he published 750 papers and wrote six editions of a textbook on inflammatory bowel disease.^[4] In 1935, he joined the University of Chicago faculty and continued to see patients till the age of 100.^[6][1]

He had been instrumental in founding the American Gastroenterological Association, the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.^[3][5]

Over the course of his career, he was awarded twice with a lifetime achievement award by the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America.^[1] He also received the Distinguished Educator Award from the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA).^[4]

• Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Saunders, October 6, 1999, English, ISBN 978-0-72167-6166^[7]
• Origins and Directions of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Springer, 13 November 2013, English, ISBN 978-9-4010-3874-4
• Pocket Handbook of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Heinle, 21 January 2004, English, ISBN 978-1-4130-0679-7
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Guide for Patients and Their Families, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 1 February 1985, English, ISBN 978-0890049501
• The Development of American Gastroenterology, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 1 April 1990, English, ISBN 978-0881676037
• Crohn's Disease of the Gastrointestinal Tract, John Wiley & Sons Inc, 1 September 1980, English, ISBN 978-0471488965
• Diseases of the Colon, Rectum and Anal Canal, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 1 April 1988, English, ISBN 978-0683046236
• Growth of Gastroenterologic Knowledge During the 20th Century, Lea & Febiger,U.S., 1 April 1994, English, ISBN 978-0812115925
• The Early Days of American Gastroenterology, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 1 October 1998, English, ISBN 978-0397587315

In 2012, Kirsner died of kidney failure in Chicago. He was 102 years old.^[3][5]

• Joseph Barnett Kirsner