Thomas G. Pickering

Abstract

Dr. Thomas George Pickering, physician, clinical scientist, professor and mentor, husband, father, and grandfather, died in May 2009, from the complications of brain cancer. Tom, who studied and trained in England at Cambridge, Middlesex Hospital, and Oxford University, came to New York to explore behavioral aspects of medicine in 1972. His earliest hypertension research at Oxford focused on baroreceptor function, the autonomic nervous system, and the emerging class of cardiovascular medications, known as the β-adrenoreceptor blockers. Although he returned to Oxford from 1974 to 1976, the possibility of being able to work as both a practicing physician and a clinical investigator drew him back to New York City and Cornell University Medical College, where he spent more than 20 years in a productive career in behavioral cardiovascular medicine, clinical hypertension, and blood pressure measurement research. During the past decade, Tom moved within New York City to the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and then to Columbia University School of Medicine. Tom translated his clinical observations in medical practice to research endeavors throughout his career. Striking examples of his ability include important observations on relations among renovascular disease, cardiovascular complications, and the impact of renal revascularization,1,2 as well as his astute observations that anxiety, perceived stress, job strain, and the medical care environment itself induced hypertension in some individuals who …