Jules Hirsch as born in New York City on April 6, 1927, to parents who had immigrated from Eastern Europe.
[3] As an undergraduate at Rutgers University, Hirsch was rejected from multiple medical schools due to restrictions at many institutions on the number of Jewish students.
Along with Edward H. Ahrens, Jr. [Wikidata], Hirsch developed techniques for measuring fats in the blood and body tissues.
Throughout his career, Hirsch's work focused on how eating choices, energy expenditure, and the biochemistry of fat cells influenced obesity.
He willed $244,587 to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School "in gratitude to the students and teachers of the class of 1948 who introduced me to the profession of medicine.