Joel D. Wallach D.V.M.: 2011 Klaus Schwarz Medallist

Abstract

This year, the Klaus Schwarz Medal is awarded to Joel D. Wallach D.V.M., N.D., for his 1978 discovery of an animal model of cystic fibrosis (CF) in the offspring of a family of inadequately fed rhesus monkeys. The discovery of this first animal model of CF demonstrated that pancreatic lesions histologically identical to those observed in patients with CF can be produced by dietary means, i.e., nutritional imbalances such as selenium deficiency, and that some forms of CF are, in principle, nutritionally preventable.