Austin Blackburn Wiles, MD.

Abstract

Austin Blackburn Wiles’ heart betrayed his beautiful mind and eclipsed a formidable, unfinished legacy. The precipitous extinction of his light on July 19, 2022, cast an infinite void that language cannot define, nor emotions comprehend. We must remember him as a complex man who discovered wonder in a byzantine world in which he was sometimes out of place. Austin’s intellect (externalized by his comprehensive vocabulary and articulate communication) reflected an intuitive and sophisticated scientific/philosophical knowledge bank that inspired but also intimidated, setting him apart without reducing his magnetism. Dr William C. Faquin, editor-in-chief of Cancer Cytopathology, recognized Austin’s multifaceted competence in the last few years, and this culminated in his recent appointments as editor of CytoSource and as a member of the editorial advisory board earlier this year. Austin exemplified the pathologist who is a physician first and a laboratory specialist second. He was fellowship-trained in surgical pathology, cytopathology, and forensic/autopsy pathology. He attributed his orientation and success as a physician to his mother, a nurse practitioner, who taught him the scientific method and “to listen to his patients.” His expertise in interventional cytopathology and patient care distinguished him in his ability to target lesions by using ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy, to which he applied remarkable diagnostic acumen and, more importantly, empathy and kindness. He epitomized the physician–pathologist in the clinical realm, especially at the ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration clinic at Virginia Commonwealth University Hospital, where he also provided both didactic and hands-on training to numerous fellows and residents in pathology, endocrinology, and otolaryngology. He was a gifted communicator of these precepts, especially as faculty in the Immersive Cytopathology Experience courses sponsored by the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology and at the 2018 American Society of Cytopathology annual meeting. Similar kindness and respect were extended to deceased patients under his investigative care. As the director of autopsy pathology and medical director of decedent affairs, he was an important resource for clinicians and families. In 2021, he was a guest editor of the America Journal of Surgical Pathology: Reviews and Reports issue that focused entirely on autopsy pathology. In the days before his untimely death, Austin participated in a philosophically based podcast, Body Without Organs, which underscored his perspective on life and death with philosophy as a modulator of science. His mind was often in the realm of philosophy, in which he related to philosophers who may be unfamiliar to us but were inspirational to or reflective of himself. In a personal communication regarding the distinguished French philosopher Michel Foucault, Austin referenced how “the titan behaved so personably. He resisted becoming a demagogue. He was always interested and interesting. He held his own opinions but did not force them on others. There were no big or small people to him. It is amazing to see an example of this kind of a genius.” While discovering these attributes in the philosophical world, Austin demurely ignored how accurately they mirrored his very soul. One of the unrealized rewards that acknowledged how special Austin was as a cytopathologist and human being was his imminent relocation to become the director of cytopathology at the University of Michigan under the mentorship of Dr Liron Pantanowitz, with whom he identified deeply. This lost opportunity is a regrettable desecration of filaments in the tapestry of Austin’s aborted professional trajectory. Austin could multitask with frenzied energy: rowing, running, and cycling; caring for sick cats; helping friends; reading voraciously; and being a loving husband, son, brother, and friend. He could investigate, document, and construct expositional narratives that embraced art and science with creative thinking. His curriculum vitae is replete with invited talks, special events, and publications that show his ability to embrace concepts that align or synergize with the practice of medicine as a clinician, leader, and mentor. He was a born teacher and cared deeply for the evolution and success of his residents and the medical students whom he inspired. His leadership abilities were transformative: Generosity lived in his noncompetitive, always helpful spirit. He received many accolades during his tenure as an attending pathologist, but his receipt of the 2022 Saul Kay Award for outstanding teaching by the graduating residents was a very special moment for him. Among all myriad things, Austin was a lover. Of life, of people. Gabrielle Zevin wrote in her remarkable novel, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow: “And what is love, in the end? Except the irrational desire to put evolutionary competitiveness aside in order to ease someone else’s journey through life?” Austin, to the last syllable of your recorded time, you eased the way for so many of us. And that is how we shall remember you.