Julius H. Comroe, Jr. (March 13, 1911 – July 31, 1984) was a surgeon, medical researcher, author and educator,[2] described by The New York Times as an "award-winning expert on the functions and physiology of the human heart and lungs".
[3] His work contributed to advances in respiratory physiology, cardiology, heart and vascular surgery, and the treatment of pulmonary disease, hypertension and high blood pressure.
[3] From 1957 to 1973 Comroe served as the founding director of the Cardiovascular Research Institute (CVRI) at the University of California, San Francisco.
He became an intern at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, intending to become a surgeon, but had to give up that goal after he lost one of his eyes to an infection.
With his colleagues, he developed scientific instrumentation and methods for evaluating human respiratory performance under normal conditions, while exercising, and during illness.
He and anesthesiologist Robert Dunning Dripps showed that the method of manual artificial respiration used at that time was inefficient, which eventually led to its replacement by mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
[6] In 1957 Comroe moved to the University of California, San Francisco to become Director of its new Cardiovascular Research Institute (CVRI) and professor of physiology.
At the same time, he developed a highly respected program for postdoctoral training and teaching in medicine and physiology.