Dr. Ernest C. Faust

Matas Library Photo Collection - no. 1607

Historic works from the library of Ernest Carroll Faust were donated to the Medical Library in 1995.

Department Head, Parasitology
William Vincent Professor of Parasitology
Field Coordinator, Tulane - Columbian Program in Medical Education, 1956 - 1961

A native of Missouri, Dr. Faust received his graduate training in parasitology in the department of zoology at the University of Illinois. During that time, he also taught biology in a high school in Montana where he collected material for his dissertation on larval trematodes in the Bitter Root Valley of western Montana.

Dr. Faust remained at Illinois as instructor in zoology for a short time. he then joined the faculty of the Peking Union Medical College where, for nine years, he taught parasitology and did experimental studies on parasites of man and animals in China. He assumed his position at Tulane in 1928, bringing with him an extensive collection of specimens and unique teaching museum of clinical parasitology, in addition to his vast experiences.

In his 28 years at Tulane, Dr. Faust was instrumental in the formation of the parasitology program and its introduction into the tropical medicine degree program. He authored several textbooks on the subject and contributed chapters to a dozen textbooks of medicine, pediatrics and therapeutics.

When he retired in 1956, Dr. Faust was appointed coordinator of a Tulane- Colombian Program in Medical Education in Colombia. Dr. Faust was widely known for his international contributions to the field of tropical medicine. he headed a number of national and international organizations, published over 300 papers and was honored on at least four occasions for his work in various aspects of tropical medicine and hygiene.

From: "A tribute to outstanding individuals from Tulane's past." Tulane Medicine, 15 (3):9, Sep/Oct, 1984.

When Ernest Carroll Faust, Ph.D. joined the Tulane Medical Faculty in 1928 as chair of the newly created division of parasitology, he was already a distinguished scientist.

In 1929, he published Human Helminthology, the first textbook on this subject in English. His 1937 work Craig and Fausts’s Clinical Parasitology (by Faust and Charles Craig), was another landmark text in the field of parasitology for decades.

Faust interests extended to protozoa during his Tulane tenure and he made notable contributions in the diagnosis and treatment of Amoebiasis. According to Tulane historian John Duffy, Dr. Ernest Carroll Faust was "one of Tulane's greatest medical scientists."

From: Duffy, John. (1984) Tulane University Medical Center : One Hundred and Fifty Years of Medical Education. Baton Rouge : Louisiana State University Press, p. 144, 156, 174, 175.

For works by Dr. Faust at Matas Library see: 

Selected publications of Ernest Carroll Faust 1919-1946. Call Number: QX 7 F27s - Matas (Books Stacks) 

Collected reprints of Ernest Carroll Faust, M.D. from Department of Tropical Medicine Tulane Medical School New Orleans 1937-1963. Call Number: QX 7 F27c 1918-39 - Matas (Books Stacks) 

Dr Faust's personal papers and corresondence are stored at the National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD. 
Finding Aid to the Ernest Carroll Faust Papers, 1918-1966

An international authority on tropical medicine, Dr. Faust came to Tulane in 1928 with an extensive collection of specimens and a unique teaching museum of clinical parasitology, amassed during an early career that took him around the world. In 1929, he published Human Helminthology, the first English textbook on the subject.

While at Tulane, Dr. Faust played an important role in the creation of the university's parasitology program. He was a prolific author, authoring or contributing to works on medicine, pediatrics, therapeutics, as well as parasitology.

In addition to his work at Tulane, Dr. Faust was a member of many international organizations, including the World Health Organization, US Public Health Service, American Academy of Tropical Medicine and many others.

A number of historic works from Dr. Faust's personal collection were donated to the Matas Library in 1995.