W illiam J. Rea, M.D., F.A.C.S., F.A.A.E.M. is a thoracic, cardiovascular and general surgeon with an added interest in the environmental aspects of health and disease. Founder of the Environmental Health Center - Dallas (EHC-D) in 1974, Dr. Rea is currently director of this highly specialized Dallas-based medical facility. Dr. Rea was awarded the Jonathan Forman Gold Medal Award in 1987 for outstanding research in environmental medicine, The Herbert J. Rinkle Award in 1993 for outstanding teaching, and the 1998 Service Award, all by the American Academy of Environmental Medicine. He was named Outstanding Alumnus by Otterbein College in 1991. Other awards include the Mountain Valley Water Hall of Fame in 1987 for research in water and health, the Special Achievement Award by Otterbein College in 1991, the Distinguished Pioneers in Alternative Medicine Award by the Foundation for the Advancement of Innovative Medicine Education Fund in 1994, the Gold Star Award by the International Biographical Center in 1997, Five Hundred Leaders of Influence Award in 1997, Who’s Who in the South and Southwest in 1997, The Twentieth Century Award for Achievement in 1997, the Dor W. Brown, Jr., M.D. Lectureship Award by the Pan American Allergy Society and the O. Spurgeon English Humanitarian Award by Temple University in 2002. Author of four medical textbooks, Chemical Sensitivity, and co-author of Your Home, Your Health and Well-Being, he also published the popular “how to” book on building less polluted homes, “Optimum Environments for Optimum Health and Creativity. Dr. Rea has published more than 150 peer reviewed research papers related to the topic of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery as well as that of environmental medicine.
Dr. Rea currently serves on the board and is president of the American Environmental Health Foundation, vice president of the American Environmental Board of Medicine and previously served on the board of the American Academy of Environmental Medicine. He previously held the position of chief of surgery at Brookhaven Medical Center and chief of cardiovascular surgery at Dallas Veteran's Hospital, and he is a past president of the American Academy of Environmental Medicine and the Pan American Allergy Society. He has also served on the Science Advisory Board for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, on the Research Committee for the American Academy of Otolaryngic Allergy and on the Committee on Aspects of Cardiovascular, Endocrine and Autoimmune Diseases of the American College of Allergists, Committee on Immunotoxicology for the Office of Technology Assessment and on the panel on Chemical Sensitivity of the National Academy of Sciences. He was previously adjunct professor with the University of Oklahoma Health Science Center College of Public Health. Dr. Rea is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, the American College of Allergists, the American College of Preventive Medicine, the American College of Nutrition, and the Royal Society of Medicine.
Born in Jefferson, Ohio and raised in Woodville, Ohio, Dr. Rea graduated from Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio, and Ohio State University College of Medicine in Columbus, Ohio. He then completed a rotating internship at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, Texas. He held a general surgery residency from 1963-67 and a cardiovascular surgery fellowship and residency from 1967-69 with The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School system, which includes Parkland Memorial Hospital, Baylor Medical Center, Veteran's Hospital and Children's Medical Center. He was also part of the team that treated Governor Connelly when President Kennedy was assassinated.
From 1969 – 1972, Dr. Rea was assistant professor of cardiovascular surgery at the University of Texas S.W. Medical School; from 1984-85, Dr. Rea held the position of adjunct professor of environmental sciences and mathematics at the University of Texas, while from 1972-82 he acted as clinical associate professor of thoracic surgery at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. Dr. Rea held the First World Professorial Chair of Environmental Medicine at the University of Surrey, Guildford, England from 1988 – 1998. He also served as adjunct professor of psychology and guest lecturer at North Texas State University.
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