Henry M. Lemon, MD 

9 May 1992

A 1940 graduate of Harvard Medical School, Henry Lemon, MD, held positions at the University of Chicago Clinics and Boston University School of Medicine before being appointed the first director of the Eugene C. Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases at UNMC in 1961. At the time of his appointment, most cancer patients in Nebraska did not receive chemotherapy treatments. Under Dr. Lemon’s leadership, oncology clinics were established in Hastings, Kearney, and Grand Island. He also sponsored many seminars and programs to inform Nebraska physicians of new cancer treatments and was active in leading the drive for a statewide tumor registry.

Dr. Lemon’s research interest included work with Robert C. Rosenlof, MD, exploring the connection between lymphomas in rural Nebraska and farming pesticides. He also worked with Jorge Rodriquez Sierra, MD, in the study and prevention of breast cancer. Dr. Lemon was a consultant to the Nebraska State Health Department and assisted with the creation of its cancer control program for breast and cervical cancer. In November 1991, he was awarded the National Cancer Institute's Recognition award for his work. Dr. Lemon retired in 1968 and passed away in 1997. The Eppley Institute’s Short Course in Cancer Biology was named in his honor in 2019.

From the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives