The Harold and Marilyn Menkes Memorial Lectureship in lung health and disease was established at the School following the tragic and sudden deaths of the Menkes in a car accident in 1987. Because of the Menkes’ particular devotion to teaching and research, a memorial lectureship was begun, whereby a leading pulmonary scientist would be invited to the School to interact with students, fellows, and faculty. Such a lectureship continues the Menkes’ tradition of excellence in pulmonary teaching and research, and the study of lung disease at Johns Hopkins.

Harold Menkes, MD
Harold Menkes, MD, received his medical degree from the University of British Columbia in 1963 and did residency training at the University of Pennsylvania, the Johns Hopkins University, and the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal. He was professor of Environmental Health Sciences and Medicine and director of the Division of Environmental Physiology at the School from 1980 until his death. He was also director of interdisciplinary pulmonary training program and the clinical pulmonary function laboratories. His broadly based research interests spanned the gamut from occupational and environmental lung disease to intracellular molecular mechanisms of airway smooth muscle hyperactivity. Despite his outstanding scientific career, Dr. Menkes is perhaps best remembered for the enormous energy and commitment he brought to teaching students and fellows.

Marilyn Menkes, PhD
Marilyn Menkes, PhD, earned her doctorate in Epidemiology at the School in 1986. She shared her husband’s enthusiasm for learning and teaching. From 1972 to 1977, she taught science at Mercy High School in Baltimore prior to embarking on her studies for the PhD degree. She was appointed to the faculty in the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine just prior to her death. In her brief scientific career, she was rapidly becoming nationally known through her papers dealing with the epidemiology of lung disease.

2003 Lectureship |  Past Speakers