William Frederick Windle

William Frederick Windle (October 10, 1898, Huntington, Indiana – February 20, 1985, Granville, Ohio) was an American anatomist and experimental neurologist.

Biography Windle graduated in 1921 with a B.S. from Denison University. At Northwestern University Medical School (now named Feinberg School of Medicine), he graduated with an M.S. in 1923 and a Ph.D. in anatomy in 1926. His Ph.D. thesis Studies on the trigeminal nerve with particular reference to the pathway for painful afferent impulses was supervised by S. Walter Ranson (1880–1942).

At Northwestern University School of Medicine, Windle was appointed assistant professor of anatomy in 1926, associate professor in 1929, and professor of microscopic anatomy in 1935. A research stay at the University of Cambridge in England followed from 1935 to 1936. From 1963 until his retirement in 1971, he worked at the New York University Medical Center (now named NYU Langone Health). There Windle was a research professor and the director of research at the medical center's institute for rehabilitative medicine. From 1971 to 1985 he was a research professor at Denison University. He was a guest professor at various institutions throughout his career. The island Cayo Santiago is owned by the Universidad de Puerto Rico, and researchers are the only visitors allowed.

In 1959 Windle was one of the founders of the journal Experimental Neurology, of which he remained editor-in-chief until 1975.

Research Windle was a pioneer of physiological research in the developmental biology of embryos and newborn infants. He contributed important insights into the etiology and pathogenesis of cerebral palsy and other forms of infantile brain damage. By experimental neurology on kittens, guinea pigs, and monkeys, he and his colleagues created a basis for prevention and treatment of childbirth asphyxia in newborns. His research also increased scientific understanding of kernicterus.

Awards and history 1927 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science 1945 Harvey Lecturer at the New York Academy of Medicine with José F. Nonidez: 5th edition 1976 with Robert F. Pitts:

as editor with E. Harold Hinman:

(See Clarence Luther Herrick.)