PHILADELPHIA, April 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — On April 5, 2014, the 20th anniversary of the death of Dr. Jerome Lejeune was marked with great celebration in Paris. Dr. Jerome Lejeune died there on April 3, 1994. To his family and "little ones" – as he always called his patients affected by Down syndrome – he was a remarkable man of science who was motivated by a profound love for those he served. He was a father of 5 who dedicated his life to his family, and to the service of his patients as a researcher and physician. To the world, April 3, 1994 marked the loss of the "Father Of Modern Genetics", as he was called because of his transformational role in the history of medicine, the discovery of the genetic cause of Down syndrome, or trisomy 21.
Photo – http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140409/PH01271-a
Photo – http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140409/PH01271-b
Dr. Lejeune was working with a team of talented French geneticists in Paris, including Marthe Gautier and Raymond Turpin, with whom, in January 1959, he co-authored the first article about an astonishing scientific finding: the presence of an extra chromosome (47 instead of 46) on the 21st pair, which was immediately understood to be the cause of the disability known as "Down syndrome".
It was also a huge step – or rather one of the many little steps as Lejeune argued – toward what would become modern genetics, and toward medical treatments for trisomy 21 that Lejeune knew would one day be possible. Mark Bradford, President of the Jerome Lejeune Foundation USA, said of the discovery:
"His discovery marked the beginning of the journey to end discrimination against people born with Down syndrome and their families. For the first time in history, it was proven that a disability had a genetic origin."
For his love of humanity and his scientific accomplishments, Lejeune went on to receive multiple awards, including the first Kennedy Prize from President John F. Kennedy in 1962.
The discovery of trisomy 21 was the fruit of a long process, with its first hypothesis and observations to be tested and confirmed only after months of research. Lejeune was the first to count the supernumerary 21st chromosome on May 22, 1958 , acknowledging the unique contributions of each member of the team that made the discovery possible. This collaboration lasted at least until 3 years after the first article about the discovery published.
At the end of his career, Lejeune was an honorary doctor, member, or laureate of many academies, universities and scholarly societies in France and abroad. In the midst of a hectic career of medical research, care of patients, and a full travel schedule, he had published over 500 peer-reviewed scientific articles. Francis. J. Kelly, Chairman of Board of the Jerome Lejeune Foundation USA concludes: "Jerome Lejeune was a admirable man, and a great scientist at the service of Man. The 20th anniversary of his death is an important time for us to recognize his legacy, and especially to continue his work through the mission of the Jerome Lejeune Foundation, which is research, care and advocacy for those living with Down syndrome and other genetic intellectual disabilities."
For more information on the Jerome Lejeune Foundation, please visit www.lejeuneusa.org or contact the Foundation directly at Email or 267-403-2910.
CONTACT: Mark Bradford, 215-983-8763
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