In Memoriam: James M. Felts, PhD

Abstract

James M. Felts, PhD, was born in Texas in 1923 and died in San Francisco, California, in 1988. He was one of the early pioneer investigators whose work contributed to a basic understanding of lipid metabolism and the relevance of that metabolism to atherosclerosis and its role in coronary artery disease and other forms of cardiovascular (CV) disease. A great friend of Jim's, Dr Albert L. Jones, MD, wrote a superb and heartfelt tribute to Jim shortly after Jim's death. 1 Jones AL. University of California: In Memoriam, 1991: James M. Felts, Physiology: San Francisco: Calisphere, University Archives, The Bancroft Library, University of California at Berkeley, CA; 1991. Google Scholar Al emphasized Jim's multiple academic and research achievements as well as the lasting effect that he had on many colleagues, fellows, and students. I was a very fortunate member of that group who spent 3 years in Jim's laboratory, 2 of those years in the Cardiovascular Research Institute at the University of California at San Francisco, with a third and final year at the Banting and Best Department of Medical Research at the University of Toronto. When I read the latest list of major deceased contributors to our current understanding of lipid metabolism and atherosclerosis in the In Memoriam page of the National Lipid Association, I realized that Jim's name was missing and it is my privilege to propose him for this recognition. I can only echo the feelings of Al Jones. Jim was a brilliant scientist, a great teacher, and an incredibly compassionate individual who always thought of others first. He inspired many careers, one of which was mine, and although not a clinician, Jim influenced and affected my career in academic medicine, in science, and in the private practice of clinical cardiology due to his incisive thinking, scientific method, and demand for excellence.