Denis Parsons Burkitt, FRSM, FRCS (Edinburgh): a passion for learning

Dennis Parsons Burkitt was an accomplished Irish surgeon who was headed for a life of luxury. However, he opted for a more meaningful calling and pursued missionary work in Africa instead. While there, he came across an extraordinary pediatric jaw tumor that was not only disfiguring, but also rapidly fatal. Despite the futility of surgery, he became captivated with studying this unrecognized malignancy and conducted what is considered to be one of the most formidable epidemiologic investigations in the history of cancer research by surveying the entire continent. Without any formal training in research, it would be his simple passion to learn that led him to unravel the mysteries behind a new form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that currently bears his name. Through his spirit for collaboration, effective forms of treatment were ultimately discovered for this most common pediatric malignancy in Africa.