Jim and Mitzie Wittliff are Blanco Hometown Heroes who have had an international impact on the lives of countless people.
The most well-known and documented of the actions of the Wittliffs might be the groundbreaking and substantial work they have done in the field of medicine, including biochemistry, oncology, and endocrine biochemistry. Dr. Jim Wittliff is co-credited with developing assays which measured the estrogen and progestin receptors and collaborated on the first FDA approved kit to quantify these biomarkers. He assisted in the development of the Cancer Center at the University of Rochester Medical School in 1969, and went on to help develop another cancer center at the University of Louisville School of Medicine.
Dr. Wittliff and his students developed quality assurance programs which are used by pathologists around the world in laboratory assessments of breast cancer biopsies. In 2024, Jim and Mitzie donated the de-indentified tissues and research database of more than 5,000 samples and 30,000 patients to the University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School and the Texas Advanced Computing Center. This “treasure trove” as it has been called by experts will be used to advance research for lifesaving studies.
