A Passion, A Focus, A Gift for Tuberculosis Research
For more than 25 years Dr. Edward F. Parsons (MED'65) made it his business to treat and cure tuberculosis (TB), one of the world's most persistent, deadly and contagious diseases. It's the second leading cause of infectious death worldwide, after HIV infection. His dedicated efforts have led to public recognition for his work.
As a pulmonologist, Dr. Parsons spent most of his practice years in Lowell, MA. Following a long career in private practice and hospital patient management, he is now serving as the medical director of Lowell General Hospital's tuberculosis clinic. His longtime interest in TB research and treatment keep him actively engaged in practice.
In fact, it is the passion for TB research that inspired Dr. Parsons to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his graduation from the BU School of Medicine with a generous gift, a portion of which will be made through his will. Through this kind of thoughtful planning he hopes to stimulate more research on TB at BU. "Early diagnosis is really the key to reducing the number of cases of active disease," he says. "Many people carry the infection but less than 5% go on to develop active disease. My job has been to try to separate those, to treat infected people prophylactically before they develop active disease, and to isolate, hospitalize and develop drug treatments for those with active disease."
It is his wish, in supporting TB research, both now and well into the future, that new treatment options for TB patients will offer comfort and new hope.