In memoriam: A commentary on R. Bernd Sterzel

Abstract

R. Bernd Sterzel died of cancer on August 6, 2001. Although he was not yet finished with his work, he accomplished much in his professional and personal career. Bernd Sterzel studied medicine in Berlin, Zürich, and Freiburg. After completing an internship in Freiburg, he began house officer training at the New York Medical College, where he was captivated by Karl Lange, who conducted his department of internal medicine in the tradition common to American university hospitals of the time. The “chairman” was invariably a physician-scientist, usually the best clinician in the place, and often the most gifted teacher. The house staff were always “hand picked,” worshipped the “boss,” and, in addition to their clinical duties, were commonly engaged in projects that, if they were fortunate, might be presented at the yearly meeting in Atlantic City. And so it was with Bernd Sterzel, who became interested in transketolase activity in uremic patients as a cause for their neuropathy. His first two publications appeared in The New England Journal of Medicine and The Journal of Clinical Investigation, real patient-oriented, clinical research. Figure 1 Bernd Sterzel returned to Germany as a well-trained internist and nephrologist. He was influenced by another visionary mentor, Jan Brod, chief of nephrology at the University of Hannover. Jan Brod was one of those towering, inspiring persons that a young physician would never dare to disappoint, even if an 80-hour work week was necessary to meet that end. From that experience, Bernd Sterzel acquired the discipline necessary to become a successful physician-scientist. Bernd Sterzel left Germany to join the faculty of the Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut. His tenure there lasted 10 years. Together with David Lovett and others, Bernd Sterzel engaged in mesangial cell research and became interested in the forces responsible for the progression of chronic renal disease. Perhaps more important, at Yale, Bernd Sterzel became further imbued in the strongest aspects of the teaching tradition. A sabbatical in Heidelberg served as the impetus for Professor Sterzel's eventual return to Germany in 1988. Bernd Sterzel was asked to take over the largest department of internal medicine-nephrology at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany. This department was spread over two hospitals in two cities and encompassed 200 inpatient beds, outpatient clinics, and renal transplantation and dialysis facilities. The sheer size of the operation dwarfed that of many departments of internal medicine, let alone sections of nephrology, in the United States. Bernd Sterzel was suddenly responsible for 20 faculty members and 50 house officers. The research track record of this department had been negligible. Bernd Sterzel had a mission and with that mission came a mission statement. He wanted to make clear the standards, expectations, and responsibilites of his department. Each member was not only to know what was expected, but also what he or she could expect in return. Bernd Sterzel initiated a teaching and training program similar to the one he had learned to appreciate in the United States. He sent junior physicians to Yale University and the University of Vermont, not to gain some new laboratory technique, but rather to garner teaching and mentoring skills to meet his standards. Morning report, bedside case presentations, grand rounds, and similar exercises were conducted in a manner familiar to those who trained under a professor like Donald Seldin, Eugene Stead, or John Hickam. New laboratories were opened. The polymerase chain reaction and Northern blotting found their way to nephrology in northern Bavaria. As a result, funding through the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung was granted to Erlangen-Nürnberg. Young physicians came to the American Society of Nephrology annually as participants and not as spectators. Eventually, two clinical research groups, a program for renal disease prevention and the only program project grant (Sonderforschungsbereich) in Germany exclusively dedicated to renal diseases, were established in Erlangen-Nürnberg. The assets Bernd Sterzel leaves behind in Germany and now entrusts to others will require diligent attention and nurturing. Bernd Sterzel had an indomitable will. He prevailed often, accepted defeat grudgingly, albeit graciously, and compromised rarely. He did not suffer fools gladly. And, through it all, he stayed true to his standards. “Make no little plans” was his modus vivendi. His illness did not distract his attention to other matters. To the end, he was more concerned about reforming the grant review process of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, or preparing the options for a fellow or junior faculty person, than contemplating his personal matters. He met his fate head on. We will miss Bernd Sterzel. He set a new standard for nephrology teaching and research in Germany. He was true to his mentors and thereby became one himself.