Elliot Middleton Jr., M.D., 73, of Chebeague Island, a leading physician and medical scientist, died Sunday.
Dr. Middleton contributed extensively to research on asthma and immunology. In recent years he investigated the biological effects of dietary plant compounds. Elected president of the American Academy of Allergy and Immunology in 1972, he was editor of The Journal of Allergy: and Clinical Immunology from 1983 to 1988, and was editor-in-chief of the standard textbook, Allergy : Principles and Practice, for its first five published editions.
Dr. Middleton received the American Academy of Allergy and Immunology's Distinguished Service Award in 1991. He was a diplomat of the American Board of Allergy and Immunology, which he co-founded, and the American Board of Internal Medicine. He served on many editorial boards in his subspeciality. He traveled and lectured internationally.
He was born in Glen Ridge, N.J., December 15, 1925, and attended Princeton University as part of the Navy's World War II accelerated V-12 program, completing his studies in 1946 while receiving his A.B. in chemistry post-dated to 1947. He received his M.D. from Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1950. He served as an intern and resident at Presbyterian Hospital, New York City, where he worked with Dr. Michael Heidelberger in immunochemistry.
From 1953 to 1955, Dr. Middleton worked as a research fellow at the National Heart Institute, National Institutes of Health, in Bethesda, Maryland. He served as a research fellow at the Roosevelt Hospital Institute of Allergy in 1955 under Drs. Robert A. Cooke and William B. Sherman in New York City.
In 1956 to 1969 Dr. Middleton held clinical positions within the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, and at the Presbyterian and Roosevelt Hospitals in New York City, while running a half-time private practice and raising a family of four children in his home town of Montclair, N.J.
In 1969 he moved to Children's Asthma Research Institute and Hospital, Denver, where he became director of clinical services and research, while also serving as associate clinical professor of medicine at the University of Colorado.
In 1976 Dr. Middleton was appointed professor of medicine and pediatrics at the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he served as director of the division of allergy and immunology in the department of internal medicine.
In 1995 Dr. Middleton and his wife Elizabeth retired to Chebeague Island, where they hosted children and grandchildren. Dr. Middleton remained active as editor-in-chief of Allergy: Principles and Practice, 6th edition, and as author of a series of articles on the effects of plant compounds on mammals.
Surviving are his wife, Elizabeth Blackford Middleton; a sister, Elizabeth Brown of Little Falls, N.J.; three sons, Elliott of Sioux Falls, S.D., Blackford of Portland, Ore., and James Jay of Denver; a daughter, Ellen Alice Middleton of Amenia, N.Y., and four grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at the Chebeague Island United Methodist Church. In lieu of flowers send contributions to the education and Research Trust, American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, c/o Milwaukee Foundation, 1020 North Broadway, Milwaukee, WI 53202. (414) 272-5805.