INTERNATIONAL BURN FOUNDATION

Dr. J. C. Tanner was born and educated in Georgia. After receiving his MD degree from Medical College of Georgia in 1946, he began his surgical practice in 1952 and became an instructor at Emory University, Department of Surgery in Atlanta.

 

His interest in research led to involvement in many areas including corneal transplants, techniques in partial nephrectomy and proctology and developments to gauge burn depth.

 

In 1962 Dr. Tanner and Dr. Jacques Vandeput, a plastic surgery resident from Belgium, developed the Tanner-Vandeput Mesh Dermatome to allow skin to be serrated and stretched over a patient's burn. This device was widely used in treating burns and contributed substantially to the survival rate of burn patients. The device continues to be an important tool of burn treatment today.

 

Dr. Tanner was a founding member of the American Burn Association in 1969 and joined the International Society for Burn Injuries when it began. During the mid-1970's Dr. Tanner and several other doctors founded Doctors Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.

 

In 1983 Dr. Tanner established the International Burn Foundation of the United States for the purpose of promoting and administering a Prize for Burn Research.

 

Dr. Tanner retired from medical practice in 1979 but remained active and interested in burn research until his death in 1996. In 1985 he received the Distinguished Service Award of the Southern Medical Association

Dr. Jacques Vandeput was born in 1935 in Belgium, and educated in that country. He received his MS and MD degrees from the University of Louvain. From 1958 through 1965 he studied at a variety of hospitals and universities in North America.

 

In 1962 he was a resident in plastic surgery at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia where he became acquainted with Dr. J. C. Tanner. They worked extensively on many projects including development of the Tanner-Vandeput mesh dermatome, a device widely used in treating burns and still an important tool of burn treatment.

 

Since that time Dr. Vandeput was involved in the practice of plastic surgery and burns in Belgium. He was Clinical Professor of Surgery at the University of Louvain and was Professor of Physics in the Engineering School at Hasselt University, as well as on the staff of Holy Hart Hospital in Tienen, Belgium.  He is now retired from medical practice.

Dr. John Boswick was born in Galatia, Illinois and educated in that state. He received his masters and medical degrees from Loyola University in Chicago.

 

Dr. Boswick was the founding director of the Sumner Koch Burn Unit at Cook County Hospital in Chicago which he led until 1972 when he moved his medical activities to Denver, Colorado.  There, he became Professor of Surgery at the University of Colorado and Chief of Hand Surgery at University Hospital.

 

In 1984 he went into private practice for hand surgery and worked extensively in the field of burn and wound care, becoming a consultant to a number of pharmaceutical companies.

 

Dr. Boswick was a founding member of the American Burn Association, the International Society for Burn Injuries, and the Wound Healing Society. He also held leadership positions in many medical societies and organizations including the American College of Surgeons.

 

In 1983 he worked with Dr. J. C. Tanner to establish the International Burn Foundation and served as Chairman of the board until his death in 1999.