Obituary for Lawrence Mark Lichtenstein
Dr. Lawrence Mark Lichtenstein, a world-renowned immunologist at Johns Hopkins University for more than 40 years, passed away peacefully on August 5, 2022. He was 88.
Dr. Lichtenstein did pioneering work leading to a better understanding of asthma and allergies to ragweed and bee venom, and in 1989 was knighted by the Italian government for training physicians there.
Through Hopkins’ Division of Clinical Immunology and later its Asthma and Immunology Center, more than 150 doctors from 30 countries have received clinical and research training from a group led by Dr. Lichtenstein and Dr. Phil Norman. His role as a mentor was one of the great joys of his life. Over the years, Dr. Lichtenstein published more than 700 scholarly works, garnering more than 42,000 citations.
He is survived by Carolyn, his loving wife of 66 years, his three children Elizabeth, Joshua and Rebekah and their spouses and seven grandchildren, Sam, Jackson, Ben, Isaac, Eliseo, Alice, and Joe.
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Dr. Lichtenstein was born May 31, 1934 in Washington D.C to Sam and Lillian, and grew up there with his sisters Barbara and Marianne. He graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School before attending the University of Chicago as an undergraduate. He received his Doctor of Medicine degree from the U. of C. in 1960.
It was at the U. of C. that Larry met the love of his life, Carolyn Eggert, also an undergraduate. They began dating, and were married at the Quadrangle Club in June of 1956.
From Chicago, he moved to an internship at the Osler Medical Service at Hopkins in 1961 and went on to receive a Ph.D. in Microbiology in 1965. He began a long and productive collaboration with Dr. Norman at this time. In the 1970s, Dr. Lichtenstein and Dr. Norman created a separate division of Clinical Immunology, housed at Good Samaritan Hospital in Baltimore. From small beginnings, the department became a preeminent center for allergy and immunology research. In 1989 the division moved to a new state-of-the-art facility, The Johns Hopkins Asthma and Immunology Center at Bayview. Dr. Lichtenstein was particularly proud when the Italian government in 1998 awarded him the Cavaliere di Gran Croce in recognition of training so many young Italian doctors in collaboration with Dr. Gianni Marone. It is the highest recognition given by the Italian government, and one rarely bestowed on foreigners.
Dr. Lichtenstein grew up in a family firmly rooted in the secular Jewish tradition of social justice, and carried on their sentiments, becoming actively involved in the civil rights movement in the 1950s, working to desegregate the Johns Hopkins Hospital, and in the 1960s, to end the war in Vietnam. He supported many local Baltimore and Maryland politicians and was active in fundraising for Democratic candidates. When he wasn’t working, Dr. Lichtenstein loved being with his family at home in the Mount Washington neighborhood of Baltimore, where he kept a large vegetable and cut flower garden. He was an avid reader, especially of history, and he continued to enjoy swimming regularly, as well as playing bridge.
No formal service is planned. In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory may be sent to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Dr. Lichtenstein did pioneering work leading to a better understanding of asthma and allergies to ragweed and bee venom, and in 1989 was knighted by the Italian government for training physicians there.
Through Hopkins’ Division of Clinical Immunology and later its Asthma and Immunology Center, more than 150 doctors from 30 countries have received clinical and research training from a group led by Dr. Lichtenstein and Dr. Phil Norman. His role as a mentor was one of the great joys of his life. Over the years, Dr. Lichtenstein published more than 700 scholarly works, garnering more than 42,000 citations.
He is survived by Carolyn, his loving wife of 66 years, his three children Elizabeth, Joshua and Rebekah and their spouses and seven grandchildren, Sam, Jackson, Ben, Isaac, Eliseo, Alice, and Joe.
***
Dr. Lichtenstein was born May 31, 1934 in Washington D.C to Sam and Lillian, and grew up there with his sisters Barbara and Marianne. He graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School before attending the University of Chicago as an undergraduate. He received his Doctor of Medicine degree from the U. of C. in 1960.
It was at the U. of C. that Larry met the love of his life, Carolyn Eggert, also an undergraduate. They began dating, and were married at the Quadrangle Club in June of 1956.
From Chicago, he moved to an internship at the Osler Medical Service at Hopkins in 1961 and went on to receive a Ph.D. in Microbiology in 1965. He began a long and productive collaboration with Dr. Norman at this time. In the 1970s, Dr. Lichtenstein and Dr. Norman created a separate division of Clinical Immunology, housed at Good Samaritan Hospital in Baltimore. From small beginnings, the department became a preeminent center for allergy and immunology research. In 1989 the division moved to a new state-of-the-art facility, The Johns Hopkins Asthma and Immunology Center at Bayview. Dr. Lichtenstein was particularly proud when the Italian government in 1998 awarded him the Cavaliere di Gran Croce in recognition of training so many young Italian doctors in collaboration with Dr. Gianni Marone. It is the highest recognition given by the Italian government, and one rarely bestowed on foreigners.
Dr. Lichtenstein grew up in a family firmly rooted in the secular Jewish tradition of social justice, and carried on their sentiments, becoming actively involved in the civil rights movement in the 1950s, working to desegregate the Johns Hopkins Hospital, and in the 1960s, to end the war in Vietnam. He supported many local Baltimore and Maryland politicians and was active in fundraising for Democratic candidates. When he wasn’t working, Dr. Lichtenstein loved being with his family at home in the Mount Washington neighborhood of Baltimore, where he kept a large vegetable and cut flower garden. He was an avid reader, especially of history, and he continued to enjoy swimming regularly, as well as playing bridge.
No formal service is planned. In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory may be sent to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.