William Greenough III received his B.A. from Amherst College in Massachusetts in 1953 and an MD from Harvard Medical School in 1957. He completed post-graduate training at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University, and the National Cancer Institute and Peter Bent Brigham Hospital. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians.
Professor Greenough held several prominent positions and consultancies at different research centers, institutions and hospitals in the United States and overseas, including: the National Heart Institute and the National Institutes of Health, Baltimore City Hospitals, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Perry Point Veterans Administration and Bangladesh Information Center. He has been teaching at Johns Hopkins University since 1967 and is currently a Professor of Medicine, a Professor of Microbiology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and an Associate Professor in the department of Health Care Organization at Bloomberg School of Hygiene and Public Health at Johns Hopkins Medical Center at Bay View, MD. He is also a faculty member of the Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology and Consultant at the Burn Center in Johns Hopkins medical center. Professor Greenough founded and directed research on diarrheal diseases in Bangladesh and was the Scientific Director of the Cholera Research Laboratory. He is currently the Director of the International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He also served as President of Bangladesh Foundation in Washington since 1971.
Professor Greenough conducted seminal studies – jointly with Professor Michael Field – on the etiology, pathogenesis and pathophysiology of diarrheal diseases, the influence of these diseases on salt and water balance in the human body and their treatment and control. His contributions were published in more than 200 scientific papers, review articles, conference papers, abstracts, and 43 book chapters. He also edited ten books and conference proceedings, and served as editor-in chief, founding editor or associate editor of many scientific and medical journals. He is also a fellow or member of 14 medical societies.
Professor Greenough received the UNICEF Gold Medal for East Asia and Pakistan in 1983 and the UNICEF International Maurice Pate Prize in 1984. He also served as an invited lecturer at numerous universities and research institutions.
This biography was written in the year the prize was awarded.