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Jesse E. Edwards, M.D.
Jesse E. Edwards, M.D. (July 14, 1911--May 18, 2008) was a world-renowned cardiac pathologist who helped pioneer the study of heart disease. He participated in the first days of open heart surgery at the University of Minnesota, in Minneapolis, Minn., and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. and published more than 700 papers and 15 books based on his research of cardiac disease. He served as President of the American Heart Association in 1967-68, and created the Jesse E. Edwards Registry of Cardiac Disease at United Hospital in St. Paul Minnesota, which contains a collection of about 22,000 human hearts.

Early Life and Education
Jesse E. Edwards was born to Max and Nellie Edwards, of Eastern European Jewish descent, in Hyde Park, Mass., on July 14, 1911. His mother died when he was 11 and he was raised by his father. They lived on a farm in Connecticut until Jesse started high school, and then they moved to Boston. He graduated from Tufts College with a BS in 1932 and received his M.D. degree from Tufts College Medical School in 1935. Following this he trained at from 1935-36 as a resident in Pathology at the Mallory Institute of Pathology, Boston and completed his clinical internship in 1936-37 at  Albany Hospital, Albany, NY. He served as Assistant to the Pathologist, Mallory Institute of Pathology, Boston City  Hospital, Boston from 1937 to 1940 and was a  Research Fellow, National Cancer Institute, US Public Health Service, Bethesda, Md., from 1940 to 1942.

Medical Career
During World War II, from 1942 to 1946 Dr. Edwards rose to the rank of Lt. Col in the United States Army Medical Corps. He served as Chief of the General Hospital Laboratories in US and European Theater from 1942 to 1945. In 1945 he served as a pathologist on the War Crimes Investigating Team in the European Theater. From 1945 to 1946 he was Commanding Officer of the Central Laboratory for US Army in Europe and as well as  Laboratory Consultant to the Chief Surgeon, European Theater. After the war, he joined the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., as a Consultant, department of Pathology, where he worked from 1945 tot 1960. At the Mayo Clinic, he began his work in cardiac pathology. During the early 1950’s he was an integral member of the first open heart surgery team. His description of complex congenital heart defects and collaboration with the first cardiac surgeons opened the door for surgical correction. His early clinical training and subsequent specialization in pathology allowed him to link the two fields providing unique clinical insight into the field of pathology. His pioneering work on the blood vessels in the lung in patients with congenital heart disease provided insight that allowed surgeons to better identify surgical candidates and reduce the mortality of open-heart surgery. His colleagues included most of the pioneers in cardiac surgery and medicine, the surgeons John Kirklin at the Mayo Clinic and C. Walton Lillehei at the University of Minnesota, cardiologist Howard Burchell and physiologist Earl Wood  at the Mayo Clinic and radiologist Kurt Amplatz at the University of Minnesota. He worked in collaboration with renown medical illustrators including Frank Netter and Robert Benassi, producing more than 5,000 medical illustrations with Benassi.

In 1960, Dr. Edwards moved to the Charles T. Miller Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was here he began collecting specimens of human hearts which became the core collection for the Jesse E.Edwards Registry of Cardiovascular Disease at United Hospital (formerly Charles T. Miller Hospital). He served as Director of Laboratories from 1960 to 1978 and as the Senior Consultant in Pathology until 1987. During this time, he also served as Professor of Pathology at the University of Minnesota Medical School. He trained more than 900 physicians and medical students who came to study with him in the laboratory located in the basement on the Miller Hospital. His laboratory was a mandatory training destination for many aspiring surgeons and cardiologists. Over the decades, the “Miller Basement Boys,” as they called themselves, traveled from around the globe to study with Dr. Edwards. Widely recognized for his outstanding contributions in his field, he served as president of the American Heart Association and received the Heart Association’s Gold Heart Award. He was president of the first World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology, received an Honorary Degree from Georgetown University’s medical school, was named a distinguished alumnus of the Mayo Clinic and gifted teacher of the American College of Cardiology. The University of Minnesota named him named Teacher of the Year and United Hospital of St Paul presented him with its first Service to Humanity Award and named an annual lectureship in his honor for the last 29 years.

Publications
Dr. Edwards authored more than 700 scholarly paper and 15 books.

Personal Life
Dr. Edwards married Marjorie Helen Brooks in 1952, and they had two children, Brooks S. Edwards and Ellen Edwards, and five grandchildren. Though he suffered a stroke in 1995, he continued to work until his death at age 96 in May, 2008. He authored two books after his stroke.