James A. Shannon devoted his life to medical research, teaching, and public health service.
Dr. Shannon made significant medical contributions in the realms of kidney physiology and tropical diseases, notably malaria.
Born in New York in 1904, Dr. Shannon received his undergraduate degree from Holy Cross in 1925, his medical degree from New York University in 1929, and his Ph.D. in physiology from the same in 1935. In 1931, he entered medical teaching at NYU and in 1942, he became Director of Research Service at Goldwater Memorial Hospital, a medical division of New York University. From 1946 to 1949, he was Director of the Squibb Institute for Medical Research. Dr. Shannon has been associated with the U.S. Public Health Service since 1949, and in 1955 he received the post of Director of the National Institutes of Health at Bethesda. Dr. Shannon held this post until 1968. In 1970, he became Professor and Special Assistant to the President of the Rockefeller University, where he remained for five years before retiring. Dr. Shannon died in 1994.
Information as of 1994