As Dr. Howell, current President of ISNS had met Dr. Woolf during a previous event in his honor nearly a decade ago, it was strongly recommended that the plaque be presented by Dr. Howell, as ISNS President if possible, and this was quickly arranged.
On a beautiful late summer day in Vancouver, ISNS President, Dr. Rodney Howell, joined by ISNS Member Dr. Graham Sinclair, Professor at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, met with Dr. Louis I Woolf to commemorate his 100th year and present him with the plaque honoring his contributions in helping to lay the foundations for the successful dietary treatment of phenylketonuria (PKU).
Dr. Sinclair carefully recorded the visit and photographs of the visit are attached. Dr. Woolf recounted, with great clarity, humor and compassion, his first experiences with patients with PKU and the early recognition of the potential treatability of this condition. His vision regarding the possibility of using charcoal filtering to deplete phenylalanine from casein Hydrolysate was key to the first attempts by his friend and colleague, Dr. Horst Bickel to treat PKU with a phenylalanine restricted diet.
Dr. Woolf recalled his continued work to refine this approach and his use of early developmental assessment tools to provide evidence that the earlier the diet was started, the better the outcomes for those affected. This led Dr. Woolf to become a strong advocate for newborn screening and he described his efforts in the establishment of urine phenylalanine screening for newborns in the UK. Dr. Howell thanked Dr. Woolf on behalf of the ISNS for his seminal contributions that continue to benefit newborns around the world.