I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 304 
To award a congressional gold medal to Joseph Barnett Kirsner, M.D., 
Ph.D., in recognition of his many outstanding contributions to the Nation. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 8, 2009 
Mr. KIRK (for himself and Mr. CAPUANO) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To award a congressional gold medal to Joseph Barnett 
Kirsner, M.D., Ph.D., in recognition of his many out-
standing contributions to the Nation. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds as follows: 
(1) Dr. Joseph B. Kirsner was born in Boston 
in 1909 to poor Ukrainian immigrants. 
(2) Dr. Kirsner earned his medical degree from 
Tufts University, graduating near the top of his 
class, in 1933. 
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(3) In 1935, Dr. Kirsner joined the staff of the 
first academic gastroenterology unit in the United 
States at the University of Chicago. 
(4) Dr. Kirsner earned his Ph.D. in gastro-
enterology from the University of Chicago in 1942. 
(5) Dr. Kirsner conducted invaluable research 
on peptic ulcers, inflammatory bowel disease, colitis 
and Crohn’s disease, making numerous break-
throughs in the field on patient management and 
cancer risk. 
(6) In more than 60 years of teaching, Dr. 
Kirsner trained more than 200 of the field’s leading 
specialists, including more than 41 full professors 
and 14 department chairs. 
(7) Dr. Kirsner authored nearly 700 publica-
tions and 15 textbooks which are the leading teach-
ing materials on gastroenterology. 
(8) Dr. Kirsner helped found several profes-
sional societies, including the American Society for 
Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and the American Asso-
ciation for the Study of Liver Diseases. 
(9) Dr. Kirsner was unrelenting in raising 
funds for gastrointestinal programs around the 
country, leading to creation of the General Medicine 
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Study Section of the National Institutes of Arthritis, 
Metabolic, and Digestive Diseases. 
(10) In 1962, a group of Dr. Kirsner’s patients 
established the Gastro-Intestinal Research Founda-
tion, which provided immense support for research 
at the University of Chicago. 
(11) In 1984, the Gastro-Intestinal Research 
Foundation raised more than $2,000,000 to con-
struct the 17,000 square-foot Joseph B. Kirsner 
Center for the Study of Digestive Diseases. 
(12) Dr. Kirsner received every major award 
the field of gastroenterology has to offer, except the 
one he was not eligible to win: American Digestive 
Health Foundation’s top prize for excellence in clin-
ical research, the Joseph B. Kirsner Award. 
(13) Aside from his military service in World 
War II, Dr. Kirsner has practiced medicine, con-
ducted research, and educated young doctors for 
more than 70 years straight. 
(14) To this day, Dr. Kirsner remains active in 
medicine, still seeing the patients he cares so much 
for. 
(15) The Congress has awarded similar medals 
to other doctors for their outstanding contributions 
to the medical field, including Major Walter Reed 
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