LaVonne Bernadene Bergstrom (October 17, 1928 – January 10, 2001) was an American surgeon, otolaryngologist, and medical school professor. She was president of the
American Auditory Society in 1987.
Early life and education
Bergstrom was born in
Erskine, Minnesota and raised in
Wadena, Minnesota, the daughter of Harry Bergstrom and Clara Bjornson Bergstrom. Her father was a store manager, born in Sweden. She earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from
University of Minnesota in 1950, and a medical degree from Minnesota's School of Medicine in 1957.[1]
Career
After medical school, Bergstrom was commissioned as a
Presbyterian medical missionary,[2] and spent three years as a physician in
Embudo, New Mexico.[3] From 1961 to 1965, she was medical director of the Sangre de Cristo Medical Unit in
San Luis, Colorado.[4][5] Both the Embudo and Sangre de Cristo sites were mission programs operated by the Presbyterian Board of National Missions.[6]
Bergstrom completed a residency in otolaryngology at the
University of Colorado in the mid-1960s. In 1975, she joined the faculty of the
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and in 1979 she achieved the rank of professor there. She specialized in pediatric otolaryngology and congenital syndromes affecting hearing. Rosenberg-Bergstrom syndrome, a genetic condition which includes
renal insufficiency and deafness, is named for her and for her colleague Alan L. Rosenberg.[7] She was associate director of the Hope for Hearing Medical Foundation.[8] She retired from UCLA in 1989.[1]
Bergstrom was on the board of the Colorado Medical Audiology Workshop when it was established in 1974. She was the first woman physician to become a full member of the
American Otological Society, inducted in 1977.[9] Also in 1977, she was elected to membership in the
Triological Society, and won the society's Fowler Award for her thesis on
osteogenesis imperfecta. She served as president of the American Auditory Society in 1987.[1]
Bergstrom lived in
Manhattan Beach, California, in her later years.[30] She had
Pick's disease, a form of dementia, for more than a decade before she died in 2001, at the age of 72, in Los Angeles, California.[1]
LaVonne Bernadene Bergstrom (October 17, 1928 – January 10, 2001) was an American surgeon, otolaryngologist, and medical school professor. She was president of the
American Auditory Society in 1987.
Early life and education
Bergstrom was born in
Erskine, Minnesota and raised in
Wadena, Minnesota, the daughter of Harry Bergstrom and Clara Bjornson Bergstrom. Her father was a store manager, born in Sweden. She earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from
University of Minnesota in 1950, and a medical degree from Minnesota's School of Medicine in 1957.[1]
Career
After medical school, Bergstrom was commissioned as a
Presbyterian medical missionary,[2] and spent three years as a physician in
Embudo, New Mexico.[3] From 1961 to 1965, she was medical director of the Sangre de Cristo Medical Unit in
San Luis, Colorado.[4][5] Both the Embudo and Sangre de Cristo sites were mission programs operated by the Presbyterian Board of National Missions.[6]
Bergstrom completed a residency in otolaryngology at the
University of Colorado in the mid-1960s. In 1975, she joined the faculty of the
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and in 1979 she achieved the rank of professor there. She specialized in pediatric otolaryngology and congenital syndromes affecting hearing. Rosenberg-Bergstrom syndrome, a genetic condition which includes
renal insufficiency and deafness, is named for her and for her colleague Alan L. Rosenberg.[7] She was associate director of the Hope for Hearing Medical Foundation.[8] She retired from UCLA in 1989.[1]
Bergstrom was on the board of the Colorado Medical Audiology Workshop when it was established in 1974. She was the first woman physician to become a full member of the
American Otological Society, inducted in 1977.[9] Also in 1977, she was elected to membership in the
Triological Society, and won the society's Fowler Award for her thesis on
osteogenesis imperfecta. She served as president of the American Auditory Society in 1987.[1]
Bergstrom lived in
Manhattan Beach, California, in her later years.[30] She had
Pick's disease, a form of dementia, for more than a decade before she died in 2001, at the age of 72, in Los Angeles, California.[1]