David G. Marsh, professor of medicine, died at Stella Maris Hospice on Sunday morning, Marsh 29, his 58th birthday.

Marsh received his doctorate from the University of Cambridge in his native England in 1964 and followed with a postdoctoral fellowship at the California Institute of Technology with Dan H. Campbell, a leading immunologist of the day. He came to Hopkins in 1969 as an assistant professor of medicine and became a full professor in 1989.

Among the numerous awards Marsh received were a Research Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health, a Howard Hughes Investigatorship and a Special Recognition Award from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. His research was funded continuously by numerous NIH grants.

Fundamental contributions to allergy research and treatment, most recently in the genetics of allergy and asthma, are attributed to his body of publications, totaling 207 journal articles, reviews and book chapters. His unique contribution to allergen research led to the development of allergoids (chemically modified allergens) that are used in allergy treatment throughout much of Europe. At a recent international symposium, he was introduced as "the father of the genetics of allergy."

Since January 1996, Marsh had battled glioblastoma, with both conventional and experimental treatments. Focusing his knowledge and abilities on his disease, he worked with doctors to direct his treatment and continued to work with his research group as much as possible.