the 1950 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discoveries relating to the hormones of the adrenal cortex, their structure and biological effects." As of the 2010 prizes, Hench and Kendall are the only two Nobel laureates affiliated with Mayo Clinic. Hench's Nobel Lecture was directly related to the research he was honored for, and titled "The Reversibility of Certain Rheumatic and Non-Rheumatic Conditions by the Use of Cortisone Or of the Pituitary Adrenocorticotropic Hormone". His speech at the banquet during the award ceremony acknowledged the connections between the study of medicine and chemistry, saying of his co-winners "Perhaps the ratio of one physician to two chemists is symbolic, since medicine is so firmly linked to chemistry by a double bond." During his career, Hench was one of the founding members of the American Rheumatism Association, and served as its president in 1940 and 1941. In addition to the Nobel Prize, Hench has been awarded the Heberdeen Medal (1942), the Lasker Award (1949), the Passano Foundation Award (1950), and the Criss Award. Lafayette College, Washington and Jefferson College, Western Reserve University, the National University of Ireland and the University of Pittsburgh awarded Hench honorary doctorates. In addition to his work with cortisone, Hench had a career long interest in yellow fever. Starting in 1937, Hench began to document the history behind the discovery of yellow fever. His collection of documents on this subject are at the University of Virginia in the Philip S. Hench Walter Reed Yellow Fever Collection. His wife donated the collection to the university after his death. Family Hench married Mary Kahler (1905-1982) in 1927. His father-in-law, John Henry Kahler, was a friend of Mayo Clinic founder William J. Mayo. Hench and his wife had four children, two daughters and two sons. His son, Philip Kahler Hench also studied rheumatology. Hench died of pneumonia while on vacation in Ocho Rios, Jamaica in 1965. References External links including the Nobel Lecture, December 11, 1950 The Reversibility of Certain Rheumatic and Non-Rheumatic Conditions by the Use of Cortisone Or of the Pituitary Adrenocorticotropic Hormone Biography University of Virginia Health Sciences Library, A Guide to the Philip S. Hench Walter Reed Yellow Fever Collection 1896 births University of Freiburg alumni 1965 deaths Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine American Nobel laureates American endocrinologists Physicians of the Mayo Clinic University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine alumni United States Army Medical