C. Ladd Prosser is considered the “father” of modern comparative physiology. His research ranged from the neurophysiology of invertebrates to muscle physiology with various animal models. He published eight books and over 150 research articles and trained over 50 PhD students. His magnum opus, “Comparative Animal Physiology,” went through four editions from 1950 to 1991 and greatly influenced modern physiology. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1974.
Ladd received an AB degree from the University of Rochester (1929) and a PhD degree in zoology from Johns Hopkins University (1932). He then was a Parker Fellow first at Harvard Medical School (1932-33), and then with Adrian and Eccles in England (1933-34). Ladd began his faculty career in 1934 as an Assistant Professor at Clark University.
In 1939, he joined the Department of Zoology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and rose to the level of professor in 1949, retiring in 1975. He continued his scholarly activities for another 20+ years. Ladd served as head of the Physiology & Biophysics Department (now Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology) from 1960 to 1969 and was a key figure in the development of Biophysics and Neuroscience programs on this campus.
He met his wife, Hazel, while teaching at Woods Hole in the summer of 1932. They were married in 1934 and had three children: Jane Ellen (Armstrong), Nancy Ladd (Mienertzhagen), and Loring Blanchard.
To honor Dr. Prosser, his former trainees and associates established an endowed lectureship. Each year it allows the department to invite a renowned scientist(s) who have made fundamental contributions in shaping the field of physiology.
