The History of Pediatrics

Wilburt C. Davison, MD, the first dean of the medical school, was also the first Department of Pediatrics chairman. Recruited from Johns Hopkins University in 1926, Dr. Davison brought a new approach to health care and health education to Duke — an approach that was highly unorthodox, defying traditional rigidities but preserving excellent quality. He founded the medical school and medical center with young, unproven faculty and flexible educational policies. He also helped found the Blue Cross Hospital Insurance Program for North Carolina, and developed the private diagnostic clinic system that was copied across the nation.

Davison was so effective that, within five years of its founding, Duke was considered to be in the top 10 percent of medical centers in America. Today Duke is recognized as one of the foremost medical centers in the world, with an enviable reputation for excellence in medical school teaching, house staff training, research, and clinical care.

Davison served as chairman of Pediatrics from 1927 to 1954 and as dean until 1960. Being a generalist, he believed in nurturing a small department of versatile pediatricians, sending them into the community to practice, and using them to teach the medical students. In those early days, the clinics were staffed by residents and pediatricians from the practicing community.

Jerome Harris, MD, the second chairman, was one of Davison’s recruits. Originally coming to Duke as a biochemist in 1936, Harris became an instructor in Pediatrics in 1937 under J. Buren Sidbury, one of two pediatricians in the state when Duke opened. Later, Dr. Harris was named the first J. Buren Sidbury Professor. At a time when subspecialties were developing, he trained himself in pediatric cardiology and introduced subspecialties to the Department of Pediatrics. He served as chairman from 1954 to 1968.

Samuel L. Katz, MD, came to Duke from Harvard Medical School and from the laboratory of Nobel Laureate John F. Enders, with whom he helped develop the measles vaccine. As chairman, Katz was instrumental in planning Pediatrics’ move to the fifth floor of Duke Hospital. He also presided over a major expansion of the department’s staff, leading Duke pediatrics into the global arena with its divisional subspecialties. Katz stepped down in 1990 to pursue clinical research in infectious diseases.

Michael M. Frank, MD is an internationally recognized physician scientist, specializing in allergy and infectious diseases. The former clinical director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Frank served as chairman from 1990 to 2004. He strengthened and expanded the department’s clinical and research programs while developing house officer training opportunities. Dr. Frank continues his research and is an active member of the Department of Pediatrics.

Joseph St. Geme, MD, leads the Department of Pediatrics since coming to Duke in 2005. A nationally-recognized expert in basic research and clinical treatment for pediatric infectious diseases, he was professor of pediatrics and molecular microbiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Dr. St. Geme was a postdoctoral fellow in infectious diseases and microbiology at Stanford University from 1988 to 1992. He served as chief resident in Pediatrics at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia from 1987 to 1988 after completing residency training at the Children's Hospital. Dr. St. Geme graduated from Stanford University in 1979 and earned a medical degree from Harvard Medical School in 1984.