George Moore, 88, doctor, researcher
DENVER - Dr. George Moore, who discovered radioactive isotopes to diagnose cancer, died in Conifer, Colo., on May 19. He was 88.
Dr. Moore was a well-known medical researcher, having headed - and greatly expanded - the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, N.Y., before moving to Denver in 1973.
Dr. Moore's work to expand cancer programs and the physical plant at Roswell Park helped make it "a world-renowned cancer center and a leader in cancer research and patient care," said Donald E. Trump, president and chief executive of Roswell Park.
In a prepared statement, Trump praised Dr. Moore for the development of a tissue culture medium "that has had an enormous impact" on research worldwide; his creation of numerous new teaching programs; and heading fund-raising efforts for new facilities, including a $7.2 million hospital.
When Dr. Moore arrived at Roswell Park, there were just two aging buildings, said his daughter Laurie of Davis, Calif. When he left, the institute covered seven city blocks and had another property where Moore did tobacco research, she said.
Dr. Moore testified before US Senate committees on the dangers of tobacco, said his son Don of Conifer.
He was professor of surgery and microbiology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and chief of the oncology section at Denver Health (then Denver General Hospital). Dr. Moore's interests were broad. Mixing science with the artistic, he created a 7-foot-tall metal sculpture of the cross-section of a cell that stands in his front yard.
He studied the geology of Colorado and was a past president of the Colorado Mineral Society, his daughter said.
He wrote two books and more than 700 articles for medical journals.
Dr. Moore was born in Minneapolis. He married Lorraine P. Hammell on Feb. 22, 1945. They had met while hitchhiking to an airport to take flying lessons outside Minneapolis.
In addition to his wife, son, and daughter, he is survived by another son, Allan B. of Acton, Mass., daughters Linda Wagner of Jefferson County, Colo., and Moore of Tucson, Ariz.; and eight grandchildren.
