Pediatrics
Edward (Ted) Mortimer, MD, was the first chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at UNM School of Medicine. He obtained his MD degree from Northwestern in 1947, did a rotating internship at St. Luke’s Hospital in Chicago, then spent two years on active duty at the US Navy Hospital, Mare Island, CA. Following this he completed a three-year residency in Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital in Boston. He joined the faculty at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in 1952 and advanced to Professor of Pediatrics. He came to UNM School of Medicine as Professor and Founding Chair of Pediatrics in 1966.
At UNM, Dr. Mortimer recruited faculty for outpatient pediatrics, neonatology, neurology, cardiology, gastroenterology and infectious diseases. The house staff training program was expanded. He was considered an enthusiastic and effective teacher, both at the bedside and in conferences. His obligatory Saturday morning rounds and quizzes were the highlight of the week for many in the department.
Ted was an accomplished and recognized pediatric researcher in the area of infectious diseases. He was co-author of the first study in the country that demonstrated the bacteriologic cause of otitis media in young children. He was at the forefront of research relating to the prevention and treatment of rheumatic fever and continued his research efforts on streptococcal diseases at UNM. He received the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society Distinguished Physician Award in 1994.
He was lured back to Case Western Reserve in the mid 1970s as Professor and Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Community Health and finished his distinguished academic career there.
