PIONEERING TRANSPLANT SURGEON AND MEDICAL ADMINISTRATOR
In some medical specialties, the glass ceiling preventing women from rising to the top leadership positions has been especially tough to break through. Surgery has been one of the least welcoming specialties for women physicians. In 1987, Dr. Olga Jonasson was named chair of the department of surgery at Ohio State University College of Medicine, becoming the first woman in the United States to head an academic surgery department at a coeducational school of medicine. Dr. Jonasson was a pioneer in the field of clinical transplantation and histocompatibility.
A native of Illinois, Olga Jonasson attended Northwestern University as an undergraduate and earned her M.D. with honors from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in 1958. She completed graduate medical education in surgery in 1964 at the University of Illinois Research and Education Hospital. She then served her first postgraduate fellowship in immunochemistry at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and her second fellowship in transplantation immunobiology at the Massachusetts General Hospital of Harvard Medical School.
As a surgical faculty member at the University of Illinois Hospital from 1967 to 1987, she developed one of the first clinical transplantation services in Illinois and set up a statewide histocompatibility-testing laboratory for donor-recipient matching. She was named chief of surgery at Cook County Hospital in 1977, and in 1987 became chair and Robert M. Zollinger Professor of Surgery at Ohio State University. In 1993 Dr. Jonasson returned to Chicago to take a senior position at the American College of Surgeons, where she led educational programs and research in a number of areas of surgical importance.
Dr. Jonasson was a member of the editorial boards of Annals of Surgery and the Journal of the American College of Surgeons and a regular reviewer for the Journal of the American Medical Association and the New England Journal of Medicine. She received a number of honors and awards, was an honorary fellow of England's Royal College of Surgeons, and was appointed the Markle Scholar in Academic Medicine and the Elizabeth Blackwell Award of the American Medical Women's Association. Dr. Jonasson was also a member of many surgical societies and served as a member of the board of directors of the American Board of Surgery and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. She was widely honored as teacher of medical students and surgery residents and mentored many young surgeons in the development of their careers.
Dr. Olga Jonasson, a transplant surgeon and medical administrator who played an early and leading role in encouraging women to enter male-dominated surgical specialties, died on Aug. 30 in Chicago. She was 72.
Beginning in the 60's, Dr. Jonasson (pronounced JOHN-uh-sun) was a prominent figure in a field in which women were unusual and few held positions of authority. Decades later, when she joined Ohio State University in the late 1980's, Dr. Jonasson was believed to be the only woman serving as head of a university department of surgery.
In 1978, she explained to The New York Times, "The decisions of the surgeon as team leader are final, and men have simply been unwilling to accept women in that role of the all-powerful decision maker."
As a clinician and researcher, Dr. Jonasson was interested in immunological questions in organ transplantation, especially in kidney and pancreas transplants. She studied antirejection drugs, known as immunosuppressors, that fool the body's immune system into accepting unfamiliar tissue and organs.
At Illinois, she helped found a laboratory to test for compatibility between organ donors and potential recipients. She also wrote about the surgical complications of operating on patients with diabetes. Earlier in her career, Dr. Jonasson helped examine the potential for a harmful dispersal of tumor cells into the bloodstream when tumors are removed during surgery.
Dr. Truman O. Anderson, a former dean of the Illinois medical school, recalled Dr. Jonasson's "remarkable skills as a surgeon" and her facility in teaching residents and surgeons in training.
She "proved that in teaching students setting an example is more than important — it is the only thing," Dr. Anderson said.
The daughter of a nurse, Olga Jonasson was born in Peoria, Ill. She attended Northwestern University and in 1958, she received her medical degree from the University of Illinois.
After training at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and at Massachusetts General Hospital, she was named an instructor in surgery at Illinois in 1963. She remained as a professor of surgery before moving to Ohio State in 1987.
From 1977 to 1987, she was chief of surgery at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. She was also a former chief of the division of transplantation surgery at the University of Illinois Hospital.
In 1985, she was appointed to a federal panel of physicians and administrators assembled to advise the secretary of health and human services about the safety of antirejection drugs in transplant surgery.
In some medical specialties, the glass ceiling preventing women from rising to the top leadership positions has been especially tough to break through. Surgery has been one of the least welcoming specialties for women physicians. In 1987, Dr. Olga Jonasson was named chair of the department of surgery at Ohio State University College of Medicine, becoming the first woman in the United States to head an academic surgery department at a coeducational school of medicine. Dr. Jonasson was a pioneer in the field of clinical transplantation and histocompatibility.
A native of Illinois, Olga Jonasson attended Northwestern University as an undergraduate and earned her M.D. with honors from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in 1958. She completed graduate medical education in surgery in 1964 at the University of Illinois Research and Education Hospital. She then served her first postgraduate fellowship in immunochemistry at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and her second fellowship in transplantation immunobiology at the Massachusetts General Hospital of Harvard Medical School.
As a surgical faculty member at the University of Illinois Hospital from 1967 to 1987, she developed one of the first clinical transplantation services in Illinois and set up a statewide histocompatibility-testing laboratory for donor-recipient matching. She was named chief of surgery at Cook County Hospital in 1977, and in 1987 became chair and Robert M. Zollinger Professor of Surgery at Ohio State University. In 1993 Dr. Jonasson returned to Chicago to take a senior position at the American College of Surgeons, where she led educational programs and research in a number of areas of surgical importance.
Dr. Jonasson was a member of the editorial boards of Annals of Surgery and the Journal of the American College of Surgeons and a regular reviewer for the Journal of the American Medical Association and the New England Journal of Medicine. She received a number of honors and awards, was an honorary fellow of England's Royal College of Surgeons, and was appointed the Markle Scholar in Academic Medicine and the Elizabeth Blackwell Award of the American Medical Women's Association. Dr. Jonasson was also a member of many surgical societies and served as a member of the board of directors of the American Board of Surgery and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. She was widely honored as teacher of medical students and surgery residents and mentored many young surgeons in the development of their careers.
Dr. Olga Jonasson, a transplant surgeon and medical administrator who played an early and leading role in encouraging women to enter male-dominated surgical specialties, died on Aug. 30 in Chicago. She was 72.
Beginning in the 60's, Dr. Jonasson (pronounced JOHN-uh-sun) was a prominent figure in a field in which women were unusual and few held positions of authority. Decades later, when she joined Ohio State University in the late 1980's, Dr. Jonasson was believed to be the only woman serving as head of a university department of surgery.
In 1978, she explained to The New York Times, "The decisions of the surgeon as team leader are final, and men have simply been unwilling to accept women in that role of the all-powerful decision maker."
As a clinician and researcher, Dr. Jonasson was interested in immunological questions in organ transplantation, especially in kidney and pancreas transplants. She studied antirejection drugs, known as immunosuppressors, that fool the body's immune system into accepting unfamiliar tissue and organs.
At Illinois, she helped found a laboratory to test for compatibility between organ donors and potential recipients. She also wrote about the surgical complications of operating on patients with diabetes. Earlier in her career, Dr. Jonasson helped examine the potential for a harmful dispersal of tumor cells into the bloodstream when tumors are removed during surgery.
Dr. Truman O. Anderson, a former dean of the Illinois medical school, recalled Dr. Jonasson's "remarkable skills as a surgeon" and her facility in teaching residents and surgeons in training.
She "proved that in teaching students setting an example is more than important — it is the only thing," Dr. Anderson said.
The daughter of a nurse, Olga Jonasson was born in Peoria, Ill. She attended Northwestern University and in 1958, she received her medical degree from the University of Illinois.
After training at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and at Massachusetts General Hospital, she was named an instructor in surgery at Illinois in 1963. She remained as a professor of surgery before moving to Ohio State in 1987.
From 1977 to 1987, she was chief of surgery at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. She was also a former chief of the division of transplantation surgery at the University of Illinois Hospital.
In 1985, she was appointed to a federal panel of physicians and administrators assembled to advise the secretary of health and human services about the safety of antirejection drugs in transplant surgery.
PIONEERING TRANSPLANT SURGEON AND MEDICAL ADMINISTRATOR
In some medical specialties, the glass ceiling preventing women from rising to the top leadership positions has been especially tough to break through. Surgery has been one of the least welcoming specialties for women physicians. In 1987, Dr. Olga Jonasson was named chair of the department of surgery at Ohio State University College of Medicine, becoming the first woman in the United States to head an academic surgery department at a coeducational school of medicine. Dr. Jonasson was a pioneer in the field of clinical transplantation and histocompatibility.
A native of Illinois, Olga Jonasson attended Northwestern University as an undergraduate and earned her M.D. with honors from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in 1958. She completed graduate medical education in surgery in 1964 at the University of Illinois Research and Education Hospital. She then served her first postgraduate fellowship in immunochemistry at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and her second fellowship in transplantation immunobiology at the Massachusetts General Hospital of Harvard Medical School.
As a surgical faculty member at the University of Illinois Hospital from 1967 to 1987, she developed one of the first clinical transplantation services in Illinois and set up a statewide histocompatibility-testing laboratory for donor-recipient matching. She was named chief of surgery at Cook County Hospital in 1977, and in 1987 became chair and Robert M. Zollinger Professor of Surgery at Ohio State University. In 1993 Dr. Jonasson returned to Chicago to take a senior position at the American College of Surgeons, where she led educational programs and research in a number of areas of surgical importance.
Dr. Jonasson was a member of the editorial boards of Annals of Surgery and the Journal of the American College of Surgeons and a regular reviewer for the Journal of the American Medical Association and the New England Journal of Medicine. She received a number of honors and awards, was an honorary fellow of England's Royal College of Surgeons, and was appointed the Markle Scholar in Academic Medicine and the Elizabeth Blackwell Award of the American Medical Women's Association. Dr. Jonasson was also a member of many surgical societies and served as a member of the board of directors of the American Board of Surgery and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. She was widely honored as teacher of medical students and surgery residents and mentored many young surgeons in the development of their careers.
Dr. Olga Jonasson, a transplant surgeon and medical administrator who played an early and leading role in encouraging women to enter male-dominated surgical specialties, died on Aug. 30 in Chicago. She was 72.
Beginning in the 60's, Dr. Jonasson (pronounced JOHN-uh-sun) was a prominent figure in a field in which women were unusual and few held positions of authority. Decades later, when she joined Ohio State University in the late 1980's, Dr. Jonasson was believed to be the only woman serving as head of a university department of surgery.
In 1978, she explained to The New York Times, "The decisions of the surgeon as team leader are final, and men have simply been unwilling to accept women in that role of the all-powerful decision maker."
As a clinician and researcher, Dr. Jonasson was interested in immunological questions in organ transplantation, especially in kidney and pancreas transplants. She studied antirejection drugs, known as immunosuppressors, that fool the body's immune system into accepting unfamiliar tissue and organs.
At Illinois, she helped found a laboratory to test for compatibility between organ donors and potential recipients. She also wrote about the surgical complications of operating on patients with diabetes. Earlier in her career, Dr. Jonasson helped examine the potential for a harmful dispersal of tumor cells into the bloodstream when tumors are removed during surgery.
Dr. Truman O. Anderson, a former dean of the Illinois medical school, recalled Dr. Jonasson's "remarkable skills as a surgeon" and her facility in teaching residents and surgeons in training.
She "proved that in teaching students setting an example is more than important — it is the only thing," Dr. Anderson said.
The daughter of a nurse, Olga Jonasson was born in Peoria, Ill. She attended Northwestern University and in 1958, she received her medical degree from the University of Illinois.
After training at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and at Massachusetts General Hospital, she was named an instructor in surgery at Illinois in 1963. She remained as a professor of surgery before moving to Ohio State in 1987.
From 1977 to 1987, she was chief of surgery at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. She was also a former chief of the division of transplantation surgery at the University of Illinois Hospital.
In 1985, she was appointed to a federal panel of physicians and administrators assembled to advise the secretary of health and human services about the safety of antirejection drugs in transplant surgery.
In some medical specialties, the glass ceiling preventing women from rising to the top leadership positions has been especially tough to break through. Surgery has been one of the least welcoming specialties for women physicians. In 1987, Dr. Olga Jonasson was named chair of the department of surgery at Ohio State University College of Medicine, becoming the first woman in the United States to head an academic surgery department at a coeducational school of medicine. Dr. Jonasson was a pioneer in the field of clinical transplantation and histocompatibility.
A native of Illinois, Olga Jonasson attended Northwestern University as an undergraduate and earned her M.D. with honors from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in 1958. She completed graduate medical education in surgery in 1964 at the University of Illinois Research and Education Hospital. She then served her first postgraduate fellowship in immunochemistry at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and her second fellowship in transplantation immunobiology at the Massachusetts General Hospital of Harvard Medical School.
As a surgical faculty member at the University of Illinois Hospital from 1967 to 1987, she developed one of the first clinical transplantation services in Illinois and set up a statewide histocompatibility-testing laboratory for donor-recipient matching. She was named chief of surgery at Cook County Hospital in 1977, and in 1987 became chair and Robert M. Zollinger Professor of Surgery at Ohio State University. In 1993 Dr. Jonasson returned to Chicago to take a senior position at the American College of Surgeons, where she led educational programs and research in a number of areas of surgical importance.
Dr. Jonasson was a member of the editorial boards of Annals of Surgery and the Journal of the American College of Surgeons and a regular reviewer for the Journal of the American Medical Association and the New England Journal of Medicine. She received a number of honors and awards, was an honorary fellow of England's Royal College of Surgeons, and was appointed the Markle Scholar in Academic Medicine and the Elizabeth Blackwell Award of the American Medical Women's Association. Dr. Jonasson was also a member of many surgical societies and served as a member of the board of directors of the American Board of Surgery and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. She was widely honored as teacher of medical students and surgery residents and mentored many young surgeons in the development of their careers.
Dr. Olga Jonasson, a transplant surgeon and medical administrator who played an early and leading role in encouraging women to enter male-dominated surgical specialties, died on Aug. 30 in Chicago. She was 72.
Beginning in the 60's, Dr. Jonasson (pronounced JOHN-uh-sun) was a prominent figure in a field in which women were unusual and few held positions of authority. Decades later, when she joined Ohio State University in the late 1980's, Dr. Jonasson was believed to be the only woman serving as head of a university department of surgery.
In 1978, she explained to The New York Times, "The decisions of the surgeon as team leader are final, and men have simply been unwilling to accept women in that role of the all-powerful decision maker."
As a clinician and researcher, Dr. Jonasson was interested in immunological questions in organ transplantation, especially in kidney and pancreas transplants. She studied antirejection drugs, known as immunosuppressors, that fool the body's immune system into accepting unfamiliar tissue and organs.
At Illinois, she helped found a laboratory to test for compatibility between organ donors and potential recipients. She also wrote about the surgical complications of operating on patients with diabetes. Earlier in her career, Dr. Jonasson helped examine the potential for a harmful dispersal of tumor cells into the bloodstream when tumors are removed during surgery.
Dr. Truman O. Anderson, a former dean of the Illinois medical school, recalled Dr. Jonasson's "remarkable skills as a surgeon" and her facility in teaching residents and surgeons in training.
She "proved that in teaching students setting an example is more than important — it is the only thing," Dr. Anderson said.
The daughter of a nurse, Olga Jonasson was born in Peoria, Ill. She attended Northwestern University and in 1958, she received her medical degree from the University of Illinois.
After training at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and at Massachusetts General Hospital, she was named an instructor in surgery at Illinois in 1963. She remained as a professor of surgery before moving to Ohio State in 1987.
From 1977 to 1987, she was chief of surgery at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. She was also a former chief of the division of transplantation surgery at the University of Illinois Hospital.
In 1985, she was appointed to a federal panel of physicians and administrators assembled to advise the secretary of health and human services about the safety of antirejection drugs in transplant surgery.
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