Dr. Shannon made myriad contributions to HST, including directing the respiratory pathophysiology course for 21 years.
HST
The HST community mourns the death of Daniel C. Shannon, a founding faculty member in HST and pediatric pulmonologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. Over the years, Dr. Shannon made myriad contributions to HST, including directing the respiratory pathophysiology course for 21 years, chairing the HST MD Admissions Committee, and serving as Faculty Director of Development.
Dan received his BA in philosophy and mathematics from Xavier University, his medical degree from Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, and an MA from Harvard. According to an interview with Xavier Magazine, Shannon had been drafted during the Vietnam War, serving at Hanscom Air Force Base as a pediatrician for soldiers’ families. He then came to MGH as a pediatric resident, obtaining his research training in the adult division. He specialized in treating ailments of the lungs and respiratory system in children, and he went on to be a founder and developer of the Pediatric Pulmonary Division and the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at MGH. While at HST, he was passionate about teaching students how basic science and physiology applied to clinical medicine.
Dan was a leader and had many accomplishments in the field of pulmonary medicine for children. He applied science to the study of respiratory systems of children, and his research led to the use of an asthma drug, theophylline, to treat babies who stop breathing. He developed the electronic monitor that detects heart rate and breathing of babies in intensive care. It was eventually adapted for use at home to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
He is survived by his wife, Marcia Lloyd, and children, John, Sarah, and Kate. Those not aware of his passing in September, 2022, can read his obituary here.