Blank, Irvin Haas, 1902-2000.

Irvin Haas Blank, 1902-2000, BS, 1924, University of Cincinnati; PhD, 1928, University of Cincinnati, was a research dermatologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Mass. who worked in the Harvard Medical School Department of Dermatology for over 42 years, retiring officially in 1968, and continuing to work, largely at the Wellman Laboratories, until 1968. Blank's research focused on skin therapy with topical agents, percutaneous absorption, contact dermatitis, and hydration of the skin.

From the description of Papers, 1927-1992. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 231047652

Irvin Haas Blank was one of the first researchers to specialize in dermatology. His research career spanned over 60 years, most of which were spent at the Harvard Medical School and its affiliates. Blank's research produced groundbreaking work in several areas of dermatology, particularly in the areas of the pH of the skin, the effects of detergents on the skin, the development of the modern surgical scrub, and the identification of skin allergens. When awarded the Society of Cosmetic Chemists Special Award in 1959, he was referred to as "the father of 'moisturizers'," in reference to his work in discovering the role of water in the stratum corneum and the function of emollients.

Blank was born February 20, 1902 in Mount Carmel, Illinois. He received his bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati in 1924, while working as a chemist at the Federal Products Company in Cincinnati. After graduation he took a job as a chemist for the A.C. Lawrence Leather Company of Peabody, Massachusetts. He worked there from 1924 until 1931, with a break between 1926-1928, when he returned to the University of Cincinnati to obtain his M.S. and Ph.D. After receiving his Ph.D., Blank worked for 4 years as both the Director of Bacteriological Research at the Tanner's Council Research Laboratory and as a Research Associate in the Department of Leather Research at the University of Cincinnati's Institute of Scientific Research.

In 1934 Blank came to Harvard University as a Research Fellow in Botany. He moved to Harvard Medical School as a Research Fellow in Dermatology in 1936. This position was funded by a grant-in-aid by the National Oil Products Company and was the first industry fellowship in the Dermatology Department. In 1938 he also became a Research Fellow in Dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital. He remained affiliated with both institutions in a variety of research positions until 1994, although he had officially retired in 1968, after seven years as an Assistant Professor of Dermatology at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School. By the late 1970s, Blank was working with Dr. John A. Parrish at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine. At Wellman he worked in a variety of research areas, including the effect of UVA on skin, skin responses to sunburn, and the function of sun screens.

Blank's participation in professional organizations was quite extensive. He was a member of the American Medical Association Committee on Cosmetics for eleven years (1951-1962), and served on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology from 1956-1961. By the mid 1950s Blank had become very involved with the Society for Investigative Dermatology, and he would hold several different leadership positions within the Society through the mid-1960s. He was instrumental in the creation of the Dermatology Foundation, and served as its secretary from 1965 (the year after it was incorporated) until 1978.

Blank was married to Anne for 58 years. They had two daughters. He died in 2000.

From the guide to the Papers, 1927-1992 (inclusive)., (Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine. Center for the History of Medicine.)