With sorrow we announce the passing of Dr. Maria I. New on July 26, 2024. She was a pioneering figure in pediatric endocrinology and a past President of PES. Born and raised in New York City, she overcame family, economic and academic challenges to pursue her goal of becoming the first physician in her family. As an undergraduate scholarship student at Cornell University, she majored in chemistry. There she met and married her husband, Bertrand (Buzz) New. They were the first married couple to matriculate at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, graduating in 1954. Starting out in an internal medicine residency, she switched after a year to pediatric training at Cornell Medical College-New York Hospital. She then spent the next few years in research, culminating with a three year NIH-sponsored fellowship at Cornell with Dr. Ralph Peterson, thus establishing her life-long fascination with adrenal steroid disorders. Shortly after joining the faculty of Cornell Medical College, she founded the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, and remained as Division Director for nearly 40 years. She rose rapidly through the academic ranks, acquiring new responsibilities as Director of the Pediatric Clinical Research Center, and in 1980 was named Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at a time when there were very few women serving as academic department chairs. During this time, Dr. New established a fellowship program in pediatric endocrinology, mentoring several generations of trainees from the US and abroad, among them at least 18 Division Chiefs and many other noted leaders in the field. In 2004, Dr. New moved to the Mount Sinai School of Medicine as a Professor of Pediatrics and Human Genetics and Director of the Adrenal Steroid Disorders Program, where she remained for the rest of her career.
From 1985-1986, she served as President of what was then known as “The Lawson Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society” and in 1991-1992, as President of the Endocrine Society. Her awards and honors include the Judson J. Van Wyk Award of the Pediatric Endocrine Society and Fred Conrad Koch Award for Lifetime Achievement, The Endocrine Society’s highest honor. Dr. New was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and inducted into the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Hall of Honor, being among the longest tenured grant recipients in NICHD history. As Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, she introduced a series of articles titled “The Prismatic Patient,” including highlights of her own research resulting in more than 400 peer-reviewed publications, plus numerous monographs, textbooks and chapters.
Her painstaking description of patients’ clinical and hormonal phenotypes led to the delineation of the several forms of congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency and several novel disorders of human steroid biosynthesis including two inherited forms of hypertension, apparent mineralocorticoid excess and glucocorticoid remediable aldosteronism (dexamethasone suppressible hyperaldosteronism). She also made important contributions to early studies of syndromes of aldosterone resistance and deficiency and rarer forms of congenital adrenal hyperplasia such as 11beta-hydroxylase deficiency. Her carefully curated collection of affected kindreds provided a springboard for identifying linkage of the trait for congenital adrenal hyperplasia to the HLA complex in work done with Drs. Lenore Levine, Sharon Oberfield and Bo Dupont. This led to cloning, sequencing and identification of various CYP21A2 genotypes in collaboration with Dr. Perrin White and colleagues, to subsequent extensive studies of genotype-phenotype relationships in this disease, to extensive clinical experience in prenatal treatment of CAH, and to collaborations to apply next generation sequencing techniques to non-invasive prenatal diagnosis.
Maria New was pre-deceased by her husband. She is survived by two daughters and one son (all physicians), as well as 8 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren. We extend our condolences to all.
Phyllis W. Speiser, MD
Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics
Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra-Northwell Health
Hempstead, NY
Perrin C. White, MD
Audre Newman Rapoport Distinguished Chair in Pediatric Endocrinology
Professor of Pediatrics
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, TX
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Former fellows of Dr New (* indicates Division Chief):
Lenore S. Levine, MD*
Robert Rapaport, MD*
Robert McVie, MD
Michael Novogroder, MD
Paul Saenger, MD *
Harold Starkman, MD*
Elizabeth Stoner, MD
Finella Greig, MD
Donna J. Levy, MD
Sharon E. Oberfield, MD *
Brenda Kohn, MD*
Perrin C. White, MD*
Jean W Temeck, MD
Phyllis W. Speiser, MD*
Joan DiMartino Nardi, MD*
Barney Softness, MD
Robin Nemery, MD*
Michael Rosenbaum, MD
Hadas Globerman, MD
Madeleine Harbison, MD
Michele Zerah, MD*
Susan Drucker, MD
Jorge Serrat, MD
Linda Riddick, MD*
Ron Newfield, MD
Ian Marshall, MD*
Kyriakie Sarafoglou, MD
George Kalaitzoglou, MD
Javier Aisenberg, MD*
Michael Wajnrajch, MD
Grace M. Tannin, MD
Levon Agdere, MD
Jihad Obeid, MD
Maria G. Vogiatzi, MD*
Lefke Karaviti, MD
Oksana Lekarev, DO
Svetlana Ten, MD*
Arlene Mercado, MD
Saroj Nimkarn, MD
Ahmed Khattab, MD
Wassim Chemaitilly, MD*
Alan Parsa, MD
Jose B Quintos, MD*
Karen Lin Su, MD
Mabel Yau, MD
Barbara Cerame, MD
International trainees:
Peter Gunczler, MD*
Wolfgang Rauh, MD*
Franziska Lorenzen, MD
Sigrid Korth-Schutz, MD
Lucy Ghizzoni, MD*
Sandro Loche, MD*
Marco Cappa, MD*
Ursula Kuhnle-Krahl, MD*
Hiro Sasano, MD PhD*
Elpis Vlachopapadopoulou, MD