Henry D. Moon
Henry D. Moon, also known as Henry Dukso Moon, was a prominent Korean-American endocrine and forensic pathologist recognized for his pioneering research on adrenocorticotropic hormones (ACTH) and their implications in cancer development and arteriosclerosis. Born in 1903 in San Francisco to Korean immigrant parents, Moon pursued an impressive educational path, earning degrees in medical sciences and anatomy from the University of California, Berkeley, and later obtaining his medical degree from UC San Francisco. His groundbreaking work on ACTH included isolating and purifying the hormone, leading to significant advancements in the understanding of endocrine disorders.
After serving in the U.S. Army Medical Corps during World War II, Moon held key positions in pathology, including chief pathologist for the San Francisco coroner's office and a faculty member at UC San Francisco, where he became a full professor. His contributions to medical science were extensive, with approximately one hundred peer-reviewed publications and leadership roles in multiple scientific societies. Moon's legacy continues through an annual lecture at UC San Francisco in his honor, celebrating his lasting impact on the fields of pathology and cancer research. He passed away shortly before his sixtieth birthday after a battle with cancer, leaving behind a significant academic and professional legacy.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Henry D. Moon
Physician, scientist, and university professor
- Born: September 28, 1914
- Place of Birth: San Francisco, California
- Died: August 2, 1974
- Place of Death: San Mateo, California
As an endocrine and forensic pathologist, Henry Moon is best known for the initial research illustrating the function and effects of adrenocorticotropic hormones (ACTH). He also described the role of pituitary hormones in the development of cancer and the pathology of arteriosclerosis.
Birth name: Henry Dukso Moon
Areas of achievement: Medicine, science and technology, education
Early Life
In 1903, Korean political activist and scholar Yang Mock Moon emigrated from Korea to the United States. He married Chan Sung Lee when she arrived in the United States in 1913 as a “picture bride.” The eldest of their four children, Henry Dukso Moon, was born and raised in San Francisco, California, and lived there for most of his life.
Henry Moon graduated from Galileo High School in 1931. He received his bachelor’s degree in medical sciences from the University of California (UC), Berkeley in 1935, and in 1937 a master of arts degree in anatomy. For the next two years, Moon worked in the university’s Department of Anatomy and its Institute of Experimental Biology, which sparked his interest in endocrinology. It was during this time that he published groundbreaking research on the adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), which is a hormone produced by the pituitary gland. He isolated and purified the hormone and described its function and pathological properties, and with his colleagues, wrote ten of the original scientific papers on ACTH.
By 1940, Moon received his medical degree from UC San Francisco. Moon’s brother, William H. Moon, noted that Henry was the first San Francisco-born Korean to graduate from UC Berkeley and UC Medical School, San Francisco. Moon completed his internship and residency at San Francisco General Hospital, and he completed his specialty training in pathology in 1944.
Life’s Work
After his residency, Moon was appointed to the faculty of UC San Francisco as an instructor of pathology in 1943. In 1944, he enlisted in the United States Army Medical Corps, where he served until 1947. Moon achieved a rank of lieutenant and eventually major at the Letterman General Hospital in San Francisco. During his years at the hospital, Moon continued to work in endocrine pathology but also began specializing in forensic pathology.
In 1947, Moon became chief pathologist for the coroner’s office in San Francisco, and he concurrently held the position of chief of pathology for the Veterans’ Administration Hospital. Moon then returned to UC Medical School to continue pathology research, focusing on how the pituitary gland and hormones can cause cancerous growths. He also studied the development of arteriosclerosis in the body, and he created experimental animal models to help understand the condition.
Moon became associate professor and chairman of pathology at UC Medical School in 1956—as well as the chair at forensic medicine—before becoming a full professor in 1958. While serving in an additional capacity as visiting professor for the US State Department in 1957, Moon was able to visit Korea for the first and only time in his life. Moon completed a similar second assignment in the Soviet Union the following year.
Moon was presented with an award in 1961 from the American Cancer Society for his work on the effects of pituitary hormones on cancerous growths. He also served on the editorial board of three scientific journals. He was a member of thirteen scientific societies, three of which he presided over as president: the International Academy of Pathology (1965), the American Society for Experimental Pathology (1968), and the American Association of Pathologists and Bacteriologists (1973). Over the course of his career, Moon published approximately one hundred scientific peer-reviewed journal articles, and he served as a committee member of the National Institutes of Health and on the Scientific Advisory Board for the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology.
Moon and his wife, Lona, had three children: Nancy, Henry, and Thomas. After a battle with hypopharyngeal cancer, Moon died at home shortly before his sixtieth birthday. At the time of his death, Moon had been a part of the University of California system, as a student and a member of the faculty, for over forty years. UC San Francisco honors Moon each year with a lecture in his name given through the departments of pathology and laboratory medicine.
Significance
Moon’s intelligence, diligence, and strong educational values drove him to publish his ten original scientific papers on ACTH prior to graduation from medical school, a feat that usually takes researchers years to accomplish after schooling. He continued to mentor students and colleagues and publish new scientific findings until his death. His published findings related to endocrine disorders serve as the scientific foundation for current research in the area of tumor and cancer drug development and treatment.
Bibliography
Bennett, Leslie L., and Oscar N. Rambo. "Henry Dukso Moon, Pathology; Forensic Pathology and Medicine: San Francisco." Online Archive of California, oac.cdlib.org/view?docId=hb9k4009c7;NAAN=13030&doc.view=frames&chunk.id=div00035&toc.depth=1&toc.id=&brand=oac4. Accessed 21 Aug. 2024.
Connell, Amy M., et al. “ACTH Deficiency.” NORD Guide to Rare Disorders. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, 2003. Print.
Moon, Henry D., and James F. Reinhart. “Histogenesis of Coronary Arteriosclerosis.” Circulation 6, 4 (1952): 481–88. Print.
"1965-1966 Henry D. Moon, USA." International Academy of Pathology, www.iapcentral.org/home/hall-of-presidents/1965-1966-henry-d-moon-usa. Accessed 21 Aug. 2024.
Palinski, Wulf, and Claudio Napoli. “The Fetal Origins of Atherosclerosis: Maternal Hypercholesterolemia, and Cholesterol-lowering or Antioxidant Treatment During Pregnancy Influence in Utero Programming and Postnatal Susceptibility to Atherogenesis.” Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology 16, 11 (2002): 1348–60. Print.
Stewart, Harold L. “Henry D. Moon, MD, 1914–1974: In Appreciation.” American Journal of Pathology 79, 1 (1975): 3–6. Print.