Mary Fowkes
Mary Fowkes, M.D. | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 1, 1954 |
| Died | November 15, 2020 |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Occupation(s) | Physician, neuropathologist |
| Known for | Autopsies on COVID-19 victims; study of long term debilitating effects of COVID-19 |
Mary Fowkes (November 1, 1954 – November 15, 2020) was an American physician and neuropathologist. She is noted for her early autopsies of COVID-19 that significantly contributed to the identification of long term effects of the novel coronavirus.[1][2] Her findings that victims had suffered multiple organ failures resulted in the recommendation for use of blood thinners as a part of the treatment process.[1]
Early life
Fowkes was born in Clayton, New York on November 1, 1954 to Isabel and Glen Fowkes. Her mother was a social worker and her father was an insurance underwriter.[1] She grew up in Syracuse, New York and was graduated from State University of New York College of Environmental Science, Syracuse, before joining SUNY Upstate Medical University in a doctoral program.[1][2]
She completed her residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center before following it up with a neuropathology fellowship at the NYU Medical Center and a forensic pathology fellowship at the New York City chief medical examiner office. She joined the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, New York as an assistant professor of pathology before going on to become the director of neuropathology.[1]
Research
Fowkes and her team at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, New York, studied COVID-19 victims, when not much was known about the virus and its impacts. Based on initial learnings, the impact of the disease was considered largely respiratory. i.e. its impact was limited to the lungs. However, when Fowkes and her team performed autopsies on patients, they found that virus had affected not only the lungs, but, also the patients' other vital organs, leading the team to believe that the virus had probably traversed the body through endothelial cells through the blood vessels.[1][3] The team found that patients had microscopic blood clots in a few organs, including the lungs, and heart, but, had significant clots in the brain, indicating that the patients had suffered from strokes.[2] The team found these observations in a diverse group of victims ranging from young victims, who typically are not a target age group for strokes, to older victims.[4]
The findings from autopsies performed by Fowkes and her team led to the increased use of blood thinners as a part of the treatment process resulting in improved responses in many patients.[1]
Her work, as well as those by her colleagues, helped reinforce the importance of autopsies in understanding the impact of the covid disease.[5] It is considered that working with oscillating saws to open the skulls of victims to remove the brain could have potentially exposed her to aerosolized fragments of the bone and droplets of blood.[1] Earlier, in a conversation with the BBC World Service, she had reinforced the importance of performing these autopsies despite the risks posed to the physicians who were performing these procedures, even while taking precautions that included personal protective equipment.[4][1]
Working Papers
Unrefereed preprint of a paper detailing findings by Fowkes and team:
- Fowkes, Mary; Cordon-Cardo, Carlos; et al. (2020-05-22). "Pathophysiology of SARS-CoV-2: targeting of endothelial cells renders a complex disease with thrombotic microangiopathy and aberrant immune response. The Mount Sinai COVID-19 autopsy experience". medRxiv: 2020.05.18.20099960. doi:10.1101/2020.05.18.20099960.
Death
Fowkes died on November 15, 2020 of a heart attack at her house in Katonah, New York. She was aged 66.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Sandomir, Richard (2020-11-26). "Dr. Mary Fowkes, 66, Dies; Helped Science Understand the Pandemic". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2020-11-27. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
- ^ a b c "Puzzling, often debilitating after-effects plaguing COVID-19 "long-haulers"". www.cbsnews.com. Archived from the original on 2020-11-25. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
- ^ "Why Autopsies Are Proving Crucial During Covid-19". Smithsonian Magazine. Archived from the original on 2020-11-23. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
- ^ a b "BBC Science in Action: Coronavirus: How can Covid-19 affect the brain?". BBC. 2020-06-05. Archived from the original on 2020-11-27. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
- ^ Cha, Ariana Eunjung. "Coronavirus autopsies: A story of 38 brains, 87 lungs and 42 hearts". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 2020-11-25. Retrieved 2020-11-27.