Respiratory Leader Honored with Stamp

July 1, 2008

A leader in the field of respiratory was recently honored with a U.S. postage stamp. Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau (1848-1915), founder and first president of the National Association for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis (the precursor to the American Lung Association) and founder of the American Thoracic Society, will be featured on a 76-cent stamp in the Distinguished Americans series.

Under Dr. Trudeau's leadership, the National Association for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis spearheaded research, launched the first-ever public health campaigns to halt the spread of TB, and fought for the establishment of local public health departments. Ultimately, research breakthroughs led to the first effective drug treatment for TB in the mid-1950s, resulting in a dramatic change in our nation's public health.

"As a researcher and clinician, Dr. Trudeau still inspires members of the medical society he founded more than a hundred years ago," said David Ingbar, the 2007-2008 president of the American Thoracic Society. "Dr. Trudeau's belief that hope comes from compassion and from advances in medical science defines everything we do."