John W. Littlefield, Renowned Physician-Scientist, Dies at 91

To the school of medicine faculty and staff

Dear Colleagues,

It is with immense sadness that we inform you of the death of John W. Littlefield, M.D., a renowned physician-scientist, whose work dramatically advanced the field of genetics. Dr. Littlefield died on April 20, at the age of 91.

A former director of pediatrics and physiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and pediatrician-in-chief at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Dr. Littlefield was also a prolific researcher who focused on the use of human cells in culture as a valuable tool in scientific experimentation, including studies on how our cells age. A member of the National Academy of Sciences, he was a major contributor in discovering the role of the ribosome in protein synthesis. He developed the technique of using amniocentesis to diagnose prenatal genetic disorders and played a strong role in developing a procedure to map human genes. Dr. Littlefield also helped pioneer the derivation and study of human stem cells.

A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Medical School, Dr. Littlefield first came to Johns Hopkins in 1974 as a professor and director of pediatrics in the school of medicine and pediatrician-in-chief of the Children's Hospital of The Johns Hopkins Hospital. As pediatrician-in-chief, he was instrumental in recruiting new physician-scientists as leaders in neonatology, pulmonary, gastroenterology, nephrology, academic general pediatrics and oncology. He also actively recruited junior faculty members who later became leaders at Johns Hopkins and many other pediatric programs across the country.

Early in his career, Dr. Littlefield and his family lived in Cambridge, England, where he served as a research assistant with James Watson and Frances Crick, who several years later would win the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their elucidation of the molecular structure of DNA. His collaboration with these luminaries helped to lay the foundation for his later career in human genetics.

Upon returning to Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Littlefield delved deeper into genetic research. In one of the proudest accomplishments of his professional life, he developed a method to isolate hybrid cells, a technique that would be used by other researchers to localize genes to specific chromosomes for gene mapping.

Dr. Littlefield also served as chairman of the Harvard Medical School Department of Physiology, allowing him to spend more time in research. He founded and was appointed chief of a new genetics unit at the Children's Service at Massachusetts General, where he gained renown as a nationwide champion for this new, important discipline. Genetics became a recognized medical specialty in 1982, and Dr. Littlefield was elected president of the American Society of Human Genetics in 1983. He also co-founded the Genetics Training Program at Harvard Medical School to train scientists and clinicians, and to support researchers in the field. One of the first and largest such programs in the country, it is still in operation today.

Perhaps the greatest legacy of Littlefield's work is the wide use of amniocentesis—the isolation of fetal cells from the womb—to diagnose genetic disorders in fetuses. His innovation enabled pregnant women to be tested for a broad range of genetic disorders in their developing fetuses. For the first time in history, families with known propensities for genetic disorders, who normally might have avoided having children, could now safely screen for disorders and make better-informed choices about family planning.

Following his retirement from Johns Hopkins in 1992, Dr. Littlefield became an integral member of a research team here that would become the first to report on the derivation of human stem cells capable of forming all cell types in the body. His expertise with cell culture was key to establishing these unique cells in culture—and to initiating further studies that have revolutionized biomedical research.

Dr. Littlefield authored nearly 200 scientific publications, as well as two books: Variation, Senescence and Neoplasia in Cultured Somatic Cells and (with two co-authors) The Harriet Lane Home: A Model and a Gem, a history of the Harriet Lane Clinic at Johns Hopkins. The John W. Littlefield Collection, which contains his published writings, forms part of the Alan Mason Chesney Medical Archives at Johns Hopkins.

We extend our sincere condolences to John's three children, Peter, John Jr., and Elizabeth; his seven grandchildren; and a special friend, Nancy Warner.

A memorial service is planned for 2 p.m. on May 19 at St. Thomas' Church in Owings Mills, Maryland. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to Doctors Without Borders, a nonprofit organization close to Dr. Littlefield's heart and to his life's work.

Sincerely,

Tina Cheng, M.D.
Director, Department of Pediatrics
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Pediatrician-in-Chief, The Johns Hopkins Hospital