Reproductive Medicine
Pioneer Georgeanna Seegar Jones Dies at 92
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Georgeanna Seegar Jones, M.D. |
March 28, 2005
NORFOLK—Georgeanna Seegar Jones, M.D., one of the 20th century's
preeminent scientists in the field of reproductive medicine and a
professor emeritus of obstetrics and gynecology at Eastern Virginia
Medical School, died March 26 of heart failure. She was 92.
In addition to her many scientific accomplishments, Georgeanna is
remembered for her warmth, her 64-year marriage to the love of her
life and collaborator, Howard Jones, M.D., and as a devoted mother to
her three children.
"She had the unique ability to have several simultaneous careers
without neglecting any one of them," said Howard, also a professor
emeritus of obstetrics and gynecology at EVMS. "She was a brilliant
bioscientist. She was certainly a compassionate physician, a loving
and caring mother and an ideal wife."
Georgeanna, a native of Baltimore, received her medical degree and
completed her residency at Johns Hopkins Medical School and was a
fellow at the National Institutes of Health. In 1939, she became one
of the first gynecological endocrinologists on a medical school
faculty in the United States when she was appointed
gynecologist-in-charge of the Gynecologic Endocrine Clinic at Hopkins.
After retiring from Hopkins in 1978, Georgeanna and Howard came to
EVMS at the urging of their former Hopkins colleague, Mason C.
Andrews, M.D., professor of obstetrics and gynecology.
The Joneses later became the namesakes of the EVMS Jones Institute for
Reproductive Medicine, which is internationally known for its
groundbreaking research and advances in fertility treatment.
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Drs. Howard and
Georgeanna Jones pose with Elizabeth Carr in 2002. The event was an
international symposium at which the Joneses received the Award for
Lifetime Achievement in Reproductive Health from the Bertarelli
Foundation. |
Three years after joining the EVMS faculty, a collaboration between
the couple resulted in the first child conceived by in-vitro
fertilization in the United States. Elizabeth Carr was born in
December 1981. Carr has maintained a close relationship with the
couple to this day. In interviews, she has often described the Joneses
as being like grandparents to her.
As other colleagues often do, Gerald J. Pepe, Ph.D., EVMS interim dean
and professor and chairman of physiological sciences, mentioned
Georgeanna's warm personality along with her research in reproductive
medicine.
"She was one of the pioneers in our field," said Pepe, whose work
focuses on reproductive science. "She opened up new ways to do
research in reproductive medicine. She was innovative and provided
leadership to her students and colleagues and was just a wonderful
person with whom to work. She was unselfish and well-liked by
everybody. We're going to miss her very much."
Georgeanna's research also included the revolutionary discovery in the
1930s that the pregnancy hormone originates in the placenta rather
than in the pituitary gland. This find led to the creation of the home
pregnancy test that is used today.
"She was a legend in her field," said Alfred Abuhamad, M.D., professor and
chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at EVMS. "She had a superb
scientific mind and was able to see the value of science better than
anybody else around. Her work at the Jones Institute opened
significant avenues for women with infertility. She really was behind
making IVF possible in the United States."
Abuhamad also called Jones "a delightful lady and an outstanding
person."
Georgeanna authored more than 300 peer-reviewed scientific articles
and more than 20 book chapters. She also co-authored more than five
textbooks used by generations of medical students throughout the
world. She and Howard co-authored the medical journal The Obstetrical
and Gynecological Survey for 30 years.
A member of numerous local, state, national and foreign medical
societies, Georgeanna became the first female president of the
American Fertility Society in 1970 and was elected to the Society of
Hopkins Scholars in 1986. She received the Johns Hopkins Distinguished
Alumnus Award in 1997, the Distinguished Scientist Award from the
Society of Gynecological Investigation and the Bertarelli Foundation
Award in reproductive health as well as numerous other honors from
local and national organizations.
Georgeanna holds honorary degrees from Goucher College, Old Dominion
University, Amherst College and EVMS.
A recently published book written by Howard chronicles the couple's
life during the period from August 1944 to November 1945, while
Howard was serving in the army in Europe and Asia. During that time,
Georgeanna was at home in Baltimore, raising their two young children
and working as an obstetrician and gynecologist at Johns Hopkins
University.
In correspondence documented in the book, the couple writes of their
plans to work together and their vow to never be apart again.
"It is not only that I do not want to ever again let you out of my
sight, but that it is that I think that we could work together
beautifully," Howard wrote. "As I have said before, I cannot think of
a happier being than one who is working with the one he loves."
He rarely did let her out of his sight from that point on. When Howard
returned from his military service, the two commenced working together
at Hopkins and continued to do so throughout their careers until
Georgeanna was no longer able to work. At Hopkins, the two had a
"partners' desk" where they sat facing each other. At EVMS, their
offices were adjacent. When Georgeanna was diagnosed with Alzheimer's
disease eight years ago, Howard became her primary caregiver. It was
only in February 2004, when Georgeanna broke her hip, that she stopped
coming to the office with Howard every day.
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For more information, contact:
Doug Gardner, Director of News and
Publications
EVMS Office of Institutional
Advancement
(757) 446-6070 -
gardneda@evms.edu
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