Alistair G.S. Philip, MD: Mentor, Teacher, Colleague, Friend

Abstract

Alistair G.S. Philip, MD, has retired as editor-in-chief of NeoReviews . From my perspective, Alistair has retired twice, once in 2004 when he was awarded emeritus status at Stanford University, and recently in 2017, when he made the decision to leave his editorial role at the journal. However, I suspect that this time, his family and golf may have finally taken the Scot from us—although not his legacy. Nonetheless, I also trust that we will still see him occasionally at our professional gatherings or hear from him from time to time through an editorial or commentary, if he thinks we need some further tutoring in some manner of our practice, which I am sure he will decide is necessary. Alistair has never deviated from a career trajectory of continuing education. He was an early immigrant from the United Kingdom, more specifically Scotland, and has maintained a bit of the manner and brogue of the Scot to this day—besides being a decent golfer. He received his medical education at the University of Edinburgh Medical School, achieving his MB, Ch.B in 1961. His Doctor of Medicine degree (MD) was also awarded in Edinburgh, in 1983, after completion of a thesis based on original research. He was an intern at Belfast City Hospital in Northern Ireland, and he served as a resident between 1962 and 1963 at the American Hospital of Paris, Neuilly-sur-Siene, France. The latter experience was evidence of the first expression of his “gene for adventure,” which ultimately would lead him to us at Stanford. Indeed, he was allured by the West early in his career, beginning in 1963 to 1964 when he was a pediatric resident at the Kauikeolani Children’s Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii. Between 1964 and 1969, he moved between various medical training experiences in Edinburgh, Boston, and Paris, …