Who is Dr. Kilburn?

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http://www-hsc.usc.edu/~kilburn/

Dr. Kilburn graduated from the University of Utah

College of Medicine in 1954. He completed postgraduate

training in internal medicine at Western Reserve

University (internship), University of Utah Hospitals

(residency in Medicine and in Pathology), and Duke

University (fellowship in cardiopulmonary disease). In

1958, he developed a cardiopulmonary research

laboratory with a staff of 15 at the U.S. Army Medical

Research and Nutritional Laboratory at Fitzsimmons

Army Hospital. Six papers were published. Following

these two years, he trained in clinical cardiology

with the late Dr. Wood in London, England.

He returned to the United States in 1961 to organize

the first cardiopulmonary division for Washington

University Medical school (at Hospital), St.

Louis. His effect on the house staff included 5 of 20

interns going into pulmonary disease.

He returned to Duke in 1963 to head the medical

service of the Durham Veterans Administration that was

integrated with the Department of Medicine, chaired by

Dr. Eugene Stead. Faculty and house staff training was

emphasized. The cardiology sections and pulmonary were

strengthened including developing pulmonary intensive

care and research laboratories. Respiratory failure

was studied prospectively together with clearance

mechanisms of the lung and ciliary beating. After five

years of administration a sabbatical was taken in

ultra structure of the lung.

A new and novel division of Environmental Medicine was

developed and organized by Dr. Kilburn at Duke from

1968-73. The epidemiology of textile workers' lung

disease (byssinosis) was pursued in cooperation with

the North Carolina Department of Health and Burlington

Industries, the textile giant. The basic biology of

ciliary beating, of lung surfactant and glycoproteins

in alveolar proteinosis and effects of inhalants such

as cotton dust and cigarette smoke on airway lining

cells and alveolar clearance were investigated in a

model for scientific solving of societal problems. The

division had a faculty of 12 and a staff of 25. Ten

M.D.'s and Ph.D.'s were trained in environmental

medicine each 2 years.

In 1973, Dr. Kilburn went to the University of

Missouri to establish its first pulmonary and

environmental and critical care medicine program.

In 1977, Dr. Kilburn returned to society's

environmental and occupational medicine frontier by

joining Dr. Irving J. Selikoff in the Environmental

Sciences Laboratory at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in

New York. Among his roles was the development of

" mechanisms of diseases " laboratories to complement

Selikoff's epidemiological laboratories.

In 1980, Dr. Kilburn accepted the Ralph Edgington

Chair in Medicine at the University of Southern

California School of Medicine. In August of 1980, he

founded the Barlow-USC Occupational Health Center as a

clinical center for the investigation of the adverse

health effects of environmental agents. The Pulmonary

Division at USC School of Medicine and Los Angeles

County-USC Medical Center, with its responsibilities

for education, research and patient care, came under

Dr. Kilburn's direction in July, 1982.

Research accomplishments included studies of shipyard

workers and their household exposed family members

which showed 11.3% of wives had signs of asbestosis.

The nonsmoking women in this group showed airflow

reductions attributed to Los Angeles air pollution.

The repeat study of 330 of these women, four years

after the initial study confirmed the role of air

pollution. Over 1,200 Los Angeles school children in

2nd and 5th grades were studied by spirometry for

functional status as compared to Houston children as

controls and by questionnaire for the prevalence of

asthma, chronic bronchitis, the response to

bronchodilators, and effects of household cigarette

smoking and of Los Angeles smog. Not only were their

pulmonary flows reduced as compared to those in

Houston but their flows decreased across three years.

A longitudinal study of pulmonary and neurobehavioral

effects of formaldehyde showed acute and progressive

effects on pulmonary function. Furthermore, 6 of 10

neurobehavioral tests were reduced by hours of

formaldehyde in regression analysis after age had

reduced 8 of 10 tests.

A cross-shift study of stainless steel welding showed

reduced flow rates during work, but more disturbing,

cigarette-smoking welders had more functional

impairment than smoking specific referents.

From 1986-1993 nearly 16,000 asbestos exposed shipyard

and construction workers were studied to characterize

the physiological impairments as obstruction of small

airways with air trapping to reduced vital capacity

and diffusing capacity. The under- measurement of

total lung capacity using gas dilution was defined.

These asbestosis studies and normal values for total

lung capacity based on standard population were

published.

Since 1986, following the study of neurobehavioral

performance in histology technicians, nearly 4000

subjects exposed to environmental chemicals have been

characterized by neurophysiological tests of balance,

reaction time, blink reflex latency, color

discrimination, visual fields, recall memory, and a

cognitive and perceptual motor test battery including

affective status with a profile of mood states.

Toluene, trichloroethylene, hydrogen

sulfide,chlordane, chlorpyrifos, chlorine, ammonia,

diesel exhaust, hydrochloric acid, and chlorinated

dibenzodioxanes are the major neurotoxicants

associated with impaired performance. Apparatus for

field testing of balance, blink and reaction time have

been developed and tested and results published. These

studies have led to over 30 publications and 12 papers

and a book Chemical Brain Injury. Three additional

books are in development. Brain injury is effectively

detected by testing balance, simple and choice

reaction time, color discrimination, and visual

fields. Other tests, mood state assays and scaled

frequency of 35 symptoms are helpful in characterizing

such injury.

Curriculum Vitae

Manuscripts

E-Mail to Dr. Kilburn

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For details on field studies and other activities

including Dr. Kilburn's new (December, 1997) book

Chemical Brain Injury, please visit the Neuro-Test

Inc. site by clicking on the NTI logo below.