Alexander Leaf papers

Alexander Leaf, 1920-2013, James Jackson Professor of Clinical Medicine Emeritus at Harvard Medical School and Ridley Watts Professor of Preventive Medicine Emeritus at Harvard School of Public Health, completed his internship at Massachusetts General Hospital in 1944. Leaf returned to Massachusetts General Hospital in 1949 as a clinical and research fellow. In 1966, Leaf became the ninth James Jackson Professor of Clinical Medicine at Harvard Medical School, serving in this capacity through 1990, becoming Emeritus. Simultaneously, Leaf continued as Chief of the Cardiorenal Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital and became chairman of Harvard’s Department of Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Chief of Medical Services at Massachusetts General Hospital. He held the latter two positions until 1981, when Leaf became Ridley Watts Professor of Preventive Medicine and chairman of the new Department of Preventive Medicine at the Harvard School of Public Health until his retirement in 1990.

At age 20, Leaf earned a degree in chemistry from the University of Washington. In 1943 he received an M.D. from the University of Michigan. While working with Louis Newburgh at Michigan, Leaf became interested in applying the principles of physiology to the solution of clinical problems, the foundation of his future research interests. After an internship at Massachusetts General Hospital with endocrinologist Fuller Albright’s group, Leaf completed his residency at the Mayo Graduate School, 1944-1946. During 1946-47 Leaf was assigned to the U.S. Army Medical Corps in El Paso, Tex. After his military service, Leaf became a research fellow and instructor in medicine at the University of Michigan, exploring the mechanisms of renal sodium and potassium handling by the human kidney. This research was continued during his residency at Massachusetts General Hospital where he set up a lab to perform kidney function studies. In 1954, Leaf received a research fellowship to become an Investigator through the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. This fellowship enabled him to take a two-year leave of absence to study abroad with Hans Ussing in the Zoophysiology Laboratory at the University of Copenhagen and H. A. Krebs in the Department of Biology at the University of Oxford. Upon his return to Massachusetts General Hospital in 1956, Leaf continued his research of permeability and active ion transport, as well as his duties teaching medicine and providing patient care. Leaf also established the Renal Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he created a model for combining clinical investigation, patient care and medical education. Leaf’s later research included preventive medicine and cardiology, omega-3 fatty acids, coronary heart disease, aging, health effects of nuclear war, global climate changes, world medicine and issues related to health policy. He started a cardiac rehabilitation program at Massachusetts General Hospital, and established programs of instruction in nutrition, occupational and environmental health, medical impact of nuclear war and public health issues at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health. These interests led Leaf to accept the Ridley Watts professorship at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Leaf was a past president of the American Society for Clinical Investigation. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, USA and the Institute of Medicine. Leaf was a member of several World Health Organization committees of experts in medical sciences, and also served as Distinguished Physician at Brockton and West Roxbury Veterans Affairs Medical Centers. Leaf died of complications due to Parkinson's disease on 24 December 2013 in Boston.