George F. Grannis, 1926-1980

George F. Grannis, Ph.D., FACB, was the second President of the National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry and a Professor of Pathology at Ohio State University College of Medicine. The following biography is taken from an obituary written by Amadeo Pesce, Ph.D., FACB, for the April 1980 NACB Newsletter. In turn, Dr. Pesce based his obituary on a Memorial Resolution of the Ohio State University College of Medicine written by John A. Lott, PhD, FACB.

George F. Grannis, Professor of Pathology, died suddenly on January 14, 1980 at the age of fifty-three. He was born in Lodi, Ohio and received bachelors degrees in science and math and also in chemistry from the University of Michigan. He stayed in Michigan and obtained a master’s degree in biochemistry and later received a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Temple University in 1961. He came to Ohio State in 1968 and quickly moved up the ranks to Professor of Pathology in 1976.

He was a man of great curiosity and introspection in many areas, not only in biochemistry, and he provoked thoughts and criticism of ideas in the people he touched. Some of the topics in which he published research findings were biochemistry of proteins in health and disease, normal and abnormal blood coagulation, analysis of proteins involved in hemorrhage and thrombosis, secretion of estrogens in pregnancy, evaluation of pregnancy by urinary estrogens, proficiency evaluation of clinical laboratories, biochemistry of aging, preparation and design of quality control materials, statistical evaluation of laboratory data, demographic perturbation due to cigarette smoking, and the quality control of enzyme analyses.

But these are just one measure of the man and do not reflect all his interests or abilities. He enjoyed discussing economic problems, life expectancy statistics, social order, gerontology, and aging. His life was a world of ideas. George had the unique gift of profound thinking, creativity, and critical analysis. Everything he did was thorough, and he paid particular attention to details. He loved writing scholarly papers and enjoyed the precise use of the English language. Each one of his many scholarly publications are a pleasure to read, since they are so lucid, and the ideas flow smoothly and easily. He was particularly skilled in preparing graphs and charts to convey ideas clearly.

George was a leader. He was a founding member and the second President of the National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry, serving in that position from July 1977 through June 1978. He was a chairman of the Ohio Valley Section of the AACC. He was the Ohio Regent of the Gerontological Society and a member of the advisory board of the Ohio Department of Health and Laboratory Improvement Program. He was a member of thirteen professional, scientific, and scholarly organizations, which reflected his consummate interest in science, biochemistry, clinical chemistry, pathology, aging, and social problems. He made particular contributions to the College of American Pathologists Quality Control Programs.