 philip showalter hench (february 28, 1896 â march 30, 1965) was an american physician. hench, along with his mayo clinic co-worker edward calvin kendall and swiss chemist tadeus reichstein was awarded the nobel prize for physiology or medicine in 1950 for the discovery of the hormone cortisone, and its application for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. the nobel committee bestowed the award for the trio's "discoveries relating to the hormones of the adrenal cortex, their structure and biological effects." hench received his undergraduate education at lafayette college in easton, pennsylvania, and received his medical training at the united states army medical corps and the university of pittsburgh. he began working at mayo clinic in 1923, later serving as the head of the department of rheumatology. in addition to the nobel prize, hench received many other awards and honors throughout his career. he also had a lifelong interest in the history and discovery of yellow fever. ==early life and education== he attended lafayette college in easton, pennsylvania, where he obtained his bachelor of arts in 1916. after serving in the medical corps of the u.s. army and the reserve corps to finish his medical training, he was awarded a doctorate in medicine from the university of pittsburgh in 1920. immediately after finishing his medical degree, hench spent a year as an intern at st. francis hospital in pittsburgh, and then he subsequently became a fellow of the mayo foundation. in 1928 and 1929, hench furthered his education at freiburg university and the von mÃ¼ller clinic in munich. ==medical career== hench started his career at mayo clinic in 1923, working in the department of rheumatic diseases. in 1926, he became the head of the department. while at mayo clinic, hench focused his work on arthritic diseases, where his observations led him to hypothesize that steroids alleviated pain associated with the disease.{{cite web|title=philip s. hench|url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1950/hench.html|publi
1896_births 1965_deaths American_Nobel_laureates American_endocrinologists American_military_personnel_of_World_War_I American_military_personnel_of_World_War_II American_physicians Nobel_laureates_in_Physiology_or_Medicine United_States_Army_Medical_Corps_officers University_of_Freiburg_alumni University_of_Pittsburgh_School_of_Medicine_alumni