Judith Goslin Hall

The daughter of a minister, Judith Goslin Hall was born on July 3, 1939 in Boston, Mass..[1] She graduated from Garfield high school in Seattle and then attended Wellesley College in Wellesley, Mass. from which she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1961.

She went to medical school in Seattle at the University of Washington (UW) from which she received an MD degree in 1966.[1] She was also awarded an MS degree in Genetics from UW.[1]

In 1972, she returned to the University of Washington School of Medicine and was given a joint appointment in the Departments of Pediatrics and Medicine as, successively, assistant, associate and full professor. She also gained additional depth of knowledge concerning congenital malformations by working in Seattle with the pioneer dysmorphologist, David W. Smith (1926-1981).

In 1981, Hall was named professor of medical genetics at the University of British Columbia and the Director of the Genetics Services for British Columbia. From 1990-2000, she was also Ppofessor and head of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of British Columbia and BC Children's Hospital.

In 1988 she received a Killam Senior Fellowship for a sabbatical year at Oxford University, UK. During 2001, she was a Distinguished Fellow at Christ's College, Cambridge University, UK.

Hall's research has been far-ranging in the areas of congenital malformations including neural tube defects, the genetics of short stature, the mechanisms of disease such as mosaicism and imprinting, the natural history of genetic disorders, the genetics of connective tissue disorders such as arthrogryposis, and monozygotic (identical) twins. She has contributed to the knowledge of a number of syndromes. Her name is associated with the Hall type of pseudoachondroplasia (a severe form of dwarfism with short limbs), Sheldon-Hall syndrome, and the Hall-Pallister syndrome (hamartoma in the hypothalamus tract, hypopituitarism, imperforate anus and polydactyly).[2]

Hall has received a number of honors, including alumni awards from Garfield High School, Wellesley College, the University of Washington School of Medicine, and the University of British Columbia. In 1998, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada as "a leader and world authority in both genetics and pediatrics" and having "contributed to the development of resources and services essential to coping with genetic illnesses" [1] In 2011, she became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. In 2015, Hall was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.[3]

Hall is quoted as saying, with regard to her recognition, that

To me, high achievement is not the number of publications but being a successful female in a world of professional men. And by that I mean caring more about peacemaking and nurturing the individual and the environment than success, winning, owning or directing.[1]