Georgios Papanikolaou was one of the pioneers in cytopathology and early cancer diagnosis! And one of the people you should know!
His influence and legacy is undisputed. So let’s get to know him a little bit better!
- His full name is Georgios Nikolaou Papanikolaou
- Or George Papanicolaou
- He was born on 13 May 1883
- He died on 19 February 1962
- He was a Greek pioneer in cytopathology and early cancer detection
- And inventor of the “Pap smear”
- After studying medicine in Greece and Germany, he migrated in 1913 to the United States
- He first reported that uterine cancer cells could be detected in vaginal smears in 1928
- But his work was not widely recognized until the 1940s
- An extensive trial of his techniques was carried out in the early 1950s
- In 1961 he was invited to the University of Miami to lead and develop the Papanicolaou Cancer Research Institute there
- Georgios Papanikolaou was born in Kymi, Greece
- Papanikolaou studied at the University of Athens
- There he received his medical degree in 1904
- Six years later, he received his PhD from the University of Munich, Germany
- After he had spent time at the universities of Jena and Freiburg
- In 1910, Papanikolaou returned to Athens
- There he married Andromahi Mavrogeni
- He then departed for Monaco
- There he worked for the Oceanographic Institute of Monaco
- Participating in the Oceanographic Exploration Team of the Prince of Monaco
- In 1913, he emigrated to the U.S.
- To work in the department of Pathology of New York Hospital and the Department of Anatomy at the Cornell Medical College Cornell University
- The importance of his work was not recognized until a publication with Herbert Frederick Traut
- It was called Diagnosis of Uterine Cancer by the Vaginal Smear in 1943
- The book discusses the preparation of vaginal and cervical smears
- The hysiologic cytologic changes during the menstrual cycle
- The effects of various pathological conditions
- And the changes seen in the presence of cancer of the cervix and of the endometrium of the uterus
- He thus became known for his invention of the Papanicolaou test
- Commonly known as the Pap smear or Pap test
- It is used worldwide for the detection and prevention of cervical cancer and other cytologic diseases of the female reproductive system
- Papanicolaou was the recipient of the Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research in 1950
- In 1961, he moved to Miami, Florida, to develop the Papanicolaou Cancer Research Institute at the University of Miami
- But died there on 19 February 1962
- Prior to its opening
- In 1978, his work was honored by the U.S. Postal Service with a 13-cent stamp for early cancer detection
- Between 1995-2001, Papanikolaou’s portrait appeared on the obverse of the Greek 10,000-drachma banknote
- Until its replacement by the euro
- On 13 May 2019, the 136th anniversary of his birth, a Google Doodle featuring Papanikolaou was shown in North America, parts of South America, parts of Europe and Israel
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