J. Bruce Beckwith
American pathologist (1933–2025)
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John Bruce Beckwith (September 18, 1933 – January 21, 2025) was an American pediatric pathologist known for helping to identify Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, which is partly named after him. He is also known for his role as reference pathologist for the National Wilms Tumor Study Group, a position he held from 1969 until his retirement thirty years later.[1][2][3] He is also recognized for his research on sudden infant death syndrome,[4] which he helped to define in the 1960s.[5]
Beckwith was born in Spokane, Washington, and grew up in St. Ignatius, Montana.[1] A 1954 graduate of Whitman College, he taught at the University of Washington, the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and Loma Linda University, among other places.[4]
Beckwith received the Fred W. Stewart Award from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in 1994.[6] In 1998, he was named an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists;[4] the same year, he became the first recipient of the National Institutes of Health's Astute Clinician Award.[7] He received the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology's Distinguished Career Award in 2005.[2]
Beckwith died in Missoula, Montana on January 21, 2025, at the age of 91.[8]
