John M. Opitz

John M. Opitz (1935 to 2023) was a German-American medical geneticist and professor at the University of Utah School of Medicine. He is best known for rediscovering the concept of the developmental field in humans, which Hans Spemann had first set out in amphibians, and for detecting and delineating many genetic syndromes. Several of these now carry his name, among them Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome, Opitz-Kaveggia syndrome, Opitz G/BBB syndrome and Bohring-Opitz syndrome, and he also described other autosomal and X-linked conditions. He founded the Wisconsin Clinical Genetics Center and the American Journal of Medical Genetics, and he was a cofounder of the American College of Medical Genetics and the American Board of Medical Genetics. He was born on 15 August 1935 and died on 31 August 2023.