Northwestern University Medical School Research Articles

Herman Louis Kretschmer: From Urologic Pathology to Presidency

Herman Louis Kretschmer was born on April 22, 1879, in Chicago, Illinois, where he would spend most of his life. 1 The President-Elect – Herman Kretschmer. JAMA. 1943; 122: 508 Crossref Scopus (0) Google Scholar He graduated from the Northwestern University School of Pharmacy in 1900 and magna cum laude from Northwestern University Medical School in 1904. Kretschmer completed his internship at Alexian Brothers Hospital. 2 Herman Louis Kretschmer. JAMA. 1951; 147: 522 Crossref PubMed Google Scholar

HF02-14 HERMAN KRETSCHMER: FROM GENITOURINARY PATHOLOGY TO PRESIDENCY

You have accessJournal of UrologyCME1 May 2022HF02-14 HERMAN KRETSCHMER: FROM GENITOURINARY PATHOLOGY TO PRESIDENCY Alice Cheung Alice CheungAlice Cheung More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1097/JU.0000000000002540.14AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookLinked InTwitterEmail Abstract INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Herman Kretschmer (1879-1951) was a urologist who made significant contributions to genitourinary pathology and academic urology. METHODS: A thorough literature review was performed. RESULTS: Herman Kretschmer was born in Chicago, where he grew up and later graduated from the Northwestern University School of Pharmacy in 1900. He continued his studies at Northwestern University Medical School where he graduated magna cum laude in 1904. After graduation, he completed an internship at Alexian Brothers Hospital before traveling abroad to Vienna to study under Otto Zuckerkandl from 1906 to 1907. Kretschmer studied “essential hematuria” while in Vienna, and his work was eventually published in the first volume of the Zeitschrift for Urologie. Kretschmer made many contributions to pathology in the genitourinary tract and firmly believed that every urologist should be a close student of pathology. He had over 285 scientific publications under his name, many with a focus on genitourinary pathology. His publications included work on bladder leiomyoma, prostate cancer and diethylstilbestrol, acute and chronic epididymitis, and prostatic sarcoma. A strong dedication to academic medicine led Kretschmer to serve in a wide variety of academic societies, including holding the titles of Chairman of the Section of Urology of the American Medical Association, President of the American Board of Urology, and President of the American Urological Association. He earned himself several awards and honors throughout his career, while also finding time to give back to his community. The preservation of the Pasteur monument in Convalescent Park in Chicago was due in part to Kretschmer’s philanthropic efforts. He passed away in his Chicago home on September 23, 1951 and was commemorated fondly in an obituary published in JAMA. CONCLUSIONS: Herman Kretschmer devoted his life to the study of genitourinary pathology and was the exemplification of an interdisciplinary academic physician. His involvement and participation in academic urology helped shape the urologic societies present today. Source of Funding: none © 2022 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 207Issue Supplement 5May 2022Page: e210 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2022 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.MetricsAuthor Information Alice Cheung More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement PDF DownloadLoading ...

Editorial introductions.

Editorial introductions.

Editorial introductions

Editorial introductions

In memory of Gaston Vantrappen, 1927‐2020

Gaston Vantrappen passed away on February 11, 2020, in the presence of his wife and family. As the youngest of his mentees, I want to reflect on the significance of his life for the field of Neurogastroenterology and Motiliy. With the passing away of Gaston Vantrappen, the world lost a truly remarkable clinician, mentor and researcher, and a man with great leadership qualities. His dedication to Gastrointestinal Motility, as it was called in his pioneering days, and the way he led the field with innovative concepts, techniques, and approaches continue to resonate up to this day. His passion remains a source of inspiration to all those who had the privilege of working with him. Gaston Vantrappen was born in Welle, Belgium, on October 27, 1927. After obtaining his Medical Doctor Degree at Leuven University in 1953, he specialized in internal medicine at Leuven University Hospital Saint Raphael and Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago. He was appointed staff member in Internal Medicine at Leuven University Hospitals in 1962 and professor of Medicine in 1965 at Leuven University. In 1978, he became chief of the newly created service of Gastroenterology, and in 1979 he became chairman of Internal Medicine in the Leuven University Hospitals. Gaston Vantrappen was a true pioneer of motility research. He was among the first to perform esophageal manometry, and he set the standard for achalasia therapy using pneumatic dilations. In the 1970s and 1980s, achalasia patients came from all over the world to be treated by Prof. Vantrappen. He was also the first to describe the migrating motor complex in man and to demonstrate that its absence was associated with small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. His team unraveled the role of motilin as a trigger for human interdigestive motility and also pioneered ambulatory esophageal manometry and intestinal luminal EMG recording, developed, and validated the first gastric emptying breath test in the 1990s and established erythromycin and other macrolides as prokinetics acting through the motilin receptor. He was internationally very active, contributing with multiple abstracts and presentations to European and International Motility meetings and to Digestive Disease Week of the American Gastroenterology Association. He organized international motility meetings in Leuven in 1975 and 1986, and in Bruges in 1992. He founded the European Society of Neurogastroenterology and Motility in Leuven in 1982, together with Martin Wienbeck, David Wingate, and others. His legacy comprises not only the European Motility Society and his accomplishments in clinical research, but also large numbers of national and international internists and gastroenterologists who trained with him, and the very successful gastroenterology clinical and research unit he created in Leuven. In the motility field, he mentored several researchers who made significant contributions, such as Jan Hellemans, Jozef Janssens, Theo Peeters, Yvo Ghoos, Karel Geboes, Georges Coremans, Gilbert Ghillebert and Inge Depoortere in Belgium, and Salvatore Cucchiara, Raymond Jian, Jiande Chen, Anna Accarino, Daniel Sifrim, Apostolos Mantides, and Vito Annese, among others, internationally. We now had to say goodbye to an exceptional clinician and academic, who is one of the true big contributors to our field. His impact is perpetuated through his research, through the gastrointestinal motility bastion which the Leuven group continues to be, and through the large numbers of privileged clinicians, gastroenterologists and researchers who trained with him.

Editorial introductions

Editorial introductions

Evangelia Kranias: The Mother of Phospholamban.

After a sheltered childhood, Evangelia (Litsa) Kranias defied her parents’ wishes and boarded a ship from Athens to the United States, having been accepted at the University of Chicago and cautioned that how she performed would determine whether other foreign undergraduates would be admitted. “When I think about it, I am amazed at the courage and determination of that 18-year-old Greek girl!,” says Kranias. “My mother wrote to me every other day and I did the same. She often said, ‘If we were to lay down our letters, they would form a bridge between Athens and New York.’” Kranias has kept that bridge intact throughout her career, directing the molecular cardiology group of the Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens while maintaining multiple positions at the University of Cincinnati—Director of Cardiovascular Biology in the Department of Pharmacology and Cell Biophysics, codirector of the Cardiovascular Center of Excellence, and Hanna Professor of Cardiology. Evangelia Kranias Shortly after joining the faculty in Cincinnati, Kranias recognized the importance of the recently discovered PLN (phospholamban) molecule in the regulation of calcium cycling through the sarcoplasmic reticulum and in the overall regulation of cardiac function. Kranias and John Solaro soon provided the first evidence that PLN is phosphorylated in the intact heart in “fight or flight” situations.1 After generating a series of genetically altered mouse models, her laboratory revealed that, rather than stimulating contractility, PLN inhibits the calcium pump in the sarcoplasmic reticulum and this inhibition is relieved when the molecule is phosphorylated under β-agonist stimulation.2 Surprisingly, PLN-deficient mice exhibited enhanced myocardial performance without changes in heart rate, raising the possibility of PLN as a target to improve calcium cycling and improve function in patients with heart failure. In the clinical arena, Kranias’ laboratory showed that heart failure is associated with …

Editorial introductions

Editorial introductions

Editorial introductions

Editorial introductions

The Long and Winding Road (Apologies to the Beatles).

The Long and Winding Road (Apologies to the Beatles).

Apologia pro vita mea: an intellectual odyssey. Part One

This is a narrative in a dialogue form in which the author, now an octogenarian, describes his intellectual evolution from a published laboratory researcher to engagement in the full-time clinical practice of psychoanalysis and psychodynamic psychotherapy. He reviews the development of his ideas through his many publications and offers commentaries on the nature of the origin, environment and content of his thinking at the time each of these were written. In the current article, part one of several projected articles, he covers the period from 1953, when he received his medical and research training and published his first papers, through 1965, when he resigned his positions of Chief of Psychiatry at the Veterans’ Research Hospital in Chicago and co-director of the Psychiatry Resident Training Program at the Northwestern University Medical School and entered full-time clinical work while continuing teaching psychodynamic psychotherapy at Northwestern University.

Editorial introductions

Editorial introductions

Cancer-Focused Research

Cancer-Focused Research

Kevin Delgado Barron, MD (1929–2013)

Dr. Kevin Delgado Barron died on October 28, 2013, at his home in Loudonville, New York, in the company of his family. He was 84. Dr. Barron was born in St. John's, Newfoundland, British Dominion, Canada, in 1929, third son of John A. Barron and Mercedes Delgado. He attended medical school at Dalhousie Medical School in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. After concluding his internal medicine clerkship at Victoria General Hospital in Halifax and Queen Mary VA Hospital, Montreal, Canada, and a brief stint in 1952 as ship's doctor on coastal steamer the SS Kyle , he completed his neurology residency at Montefiore Hospital, New York, followed by a fellowship in neuropathology. Subsequent academic appointments included instructor at the Neurological Institute at Columbia University Medical Center, New York; associate in neurology, psychiatry, and pathology at Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago; and section chief of neurology service and director of the electron microscope laboratory and the neuropathology research service at the VA Hospital, Hines, Illinois.

Society of Surgical Oncology Distinguished Service Award: Honoring David P. Winchester, M.D.

It is a distinct honor and singular privilege for me to introduce the Society of Surgical Oncology’s inaugural Distinguished Service Awardee, David P. Winchester, M.D. (Fig. 1). Let me walk you through this remarkable man’s life, and you will readily see why he was chosen to be the first recipient of one of our Society’s highest honors. David was born and raised in Illinois by his mother, Virginia, and father, Allan. In 1959 he received his Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. While in college David married his high school sweetheart, Marilyn, and started a long-term partnership that is still going strong, now for more than 55 years (Fig. 2). This in itself is somewhat remarkable considering that 55 years ago his surprise choice of an ideal honeymoon destination for Marilyn and him was St. Louis, Missouri. David graduated in 1963 from Northwestern University Medical School and then did his internship at Evanston Hospital in Evanston, Illinois. Following his surgical internship, David served in the U.S. Army and was deployed to Vietnam in 1966 as a Captain in the Medical Corps. This was certainly a harbinger of a life committed to both service and improving the lives of others. David returned home to complete his general surgery residency at Northwestern University Medical Center, followed by a surgical oncology fellowship at the University of Texas MD Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute. David has been an attending surgeon for 40 years at Evanston Hospital, where he has also served in many leadership positions, including Head of Surgical Oncology and Chief of the Division of General Surgery. In 1995 he was chosen to be Chairman of the Department of Surgery at Evanston Northwestern Health Care, and he remained in that leadership position until 2007. During that time, David was a Professor of Surgery at Northwestern University Medical School and currently holds that same academic title at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. David’s academic accomplishments during the early part of his career are extraordinary and what you would envision for a leading figure in academic surgery. David has authored or co-authored more than 200 peer-reviewed publications and also has ten book chapters and five books to his credit. He has been a member of numerous editorial boards of both surgical and oncology journals including: Cancer, the Journal of Surgical Oncology, the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics, and, of course, our Society’s journal, the Annals of Surgical Oncology. David has had bestowed upon him numerous awards, medals, named lectureships, and an endowed chair in his name, the David P. Winchester, MD, Chair of Surgical Oncology, with the first chair holder being his accomplished son, David J. Winchester, MD. One of David’s proudest academic achievements is being awarded on multiple occasions (1990, 1993, 1998, 2006, and 2007) the Outstanding Faculty Teacher of the year in the Department of Surgery at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine recognizing his enduring dedication to education and surgical training. David has had a long-term commitment to the mission and values of the Society of Surgical Oncology for decades and has served on its Executive Council for 10 years, named Secretary in 1993 through 1996 and served as our President in 1997–1998. While most individuals would have sat on their laurels, David was just getting started, and, therefore, it is what he has accomplished following his term as SSO president that truly distinguishes this surgical leader. First let me quickly summarize his tenure at the American College of Society of Surgical Oncology 2013

H. Royden Jones, Jr., MD (1936–2013)

H. Royden Jones Jr., MD, died of pancreatic cancer on June 4, 2013. He was 76 years old. A native of New Jersey, he graduated from Tufts University and received his medical degree in 1962 from Northwestern University Medical School. This was followed by residency training in internal medicine and neurology at the Mayo Clinic. After service in the US Army Medical Corps as Chief of Neurology at the 5th General Hospital in Bad Cannstatt, Germany, he returned to the Mayo Clinic for fellowship training in clinical neurophysiology. He spent the greater part of his career at the Lahey Clinic, which he joined in 1972, and where he was appointed to the Jaime Ortiz-Patino Chair in Neurology in 1996. He was also a clinical professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Jones was an outstanding physician who was much loved by his patients, an extraordinarily influential clinical educator, and a well-known clinical investigator.

In focus in Prague: intermediate filaments

‘‘Intermediate Filaments in Health and Disease’’ were the focus of the scientific program of the 55th Symposium of the Society for Histochemistry in Prague, Czech Republic. Various aspects of intermediate filaments (IF) and associated proteins were presented and discussed with emphasis on imaging and sample preparation methods including both light and electron microscopy and specific labeling techniques. The Symposium was organized in cooperation with BMBS COST Action Nanomechanics of Intermediate Filaments Networks (NANONET) and took place in the Conference Center of the Institute of the Molecular Genetics, Academy of Science of the Czech Republic. Pavel Hozak as the local organizer together with his dedicated team did put together a very exciting and representative program. Robert D. Goldman (Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, USA) presented the ‘‘Robert Feulgen Lecture’’ sponsored by the Society of Histochemistry and communicated ‘‘Recent Insights into Cytoskeletal and Nucleoskeletal Intermediate Filaments Networks.’’ Ueli Aebi (M.E. Muller Institute for Structural Biology, University of Basel, Switzerland) presented the ‘‘EMBO Lecture’’ and gave a critical appraisal of ‘‘IF Research—Quo Vadis?’’ Nam-On Ku (Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea) contributed the ‘‘Histochemistry and Cell Biology Lecture 2013’’ and reviewed ‘‘Keratin Function in Simple Type Epithelia’’ (Yi and Ku 2013). In the Session on ‘‘Regulation of IF Assembly and Dynamics in Vivo and in Vitro,’’ Harish C. Pant (Laboratory of Neuronal Cytoskeletal Protein Regulation Section, NINDS, NIH Bethesda, USA) presented an update on the topographic regulation of neuronal IF proteins in health and disease (Binukumar et al. 2013). In the Session on ‘‘IF Structure, Mechanical Properties and Mechanotransduction,’’ Ohad Medalia (Ben-Gurion University, Beer-Sheva, Israel) reviewed structural aspects of lamins and of the nuclear lamina organization as they classically relate to the shape of the nuclear envelope and the nucleus as well as the more recently recognized involvement of lamins in various nuclear functions such as DNA replication and repair, regulation of gene expression, and signaling. A comprehensive and critical appraisal of laminopathies caused by mutations of lamin A, and associated proteins were also presented (Zwerger and Medalia 2013). In the Session on ‘‘IF Associated Proteins and Regulatory Crosstalk in a Cell,’’ Gerhard Wiche (Max F. Perutz Laboratories, University of Vienna, Austria) presented a most comprehensive perspective on plectin-intermediate filament partnership in skin, skeletal muscle, and peripheral nerve. He gave an overview of the structural features and functional properties of plectin and discussed most recent progress in defining the role of its isoforms in stress-prone tissues and the implicated diseases (Castanon et al. 2013). In the same session, Yassemi Capetanaki (Biomedical J. Roth (&) Department of Integrated OMICS for Biomedical Science, WCU Program of Graduate School, Yonsei University, Seoul 120-749, Korea e-mail: jurgen.roth@yonsei.ac.kr

Jay Donald Ostrow: The yellow giant

Jay Donald Ostrow: The yellow giant

Things I Didn’t Learn in Medical School

Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Illinois. rfragen@yahoo.comIn Things I Didn’t Learn in Medical School: Tough Lessons from a Lifetime of Practice , Dr Gary Fanning speaks directly to readers about the behavior he recommends for physicians to maintain the respect of the public. Although we should have learned some of his moral principles in grade school, high school, or certainly by college, his many illustrative stories depict physicians, other healthcare workers, and/or patients who either did not learn them or chose to ignore them. He says the book pertains mainly to those entering the medical profession or other healthcare professions, but others can learn from his experiences as well. Each of the 14 chapters in the book begins with excellent and relevant quotes from famous people.The “Introduction” and “Who Am I” chapters offer a description of Gary Fanning’s background, providing insights into where he is coming from when he stresses his philosophies concerning hand washing, alcoholism, drug use, and infidelity, the latter in a chapter entitled “Ignore Your Gonads.” His family, his mentors in school, and especially his Episcopalian minister influenced his ideas. Many readers will recall experiences similar to his and accounts of similar untoward incidents. For example, training hospitals in which operating room pharmacies have not implemented programs to confirm that returned drugs and controlled substances are what they are supposed to be may lose a resident a year to a drug problem.I am especially glad he wrote a chapter about respect for fellow human beings. He includes respect for patients’ rights to accept or refuse a prescribed treatment. He reminds us that we are not gods and should treat those nonphysicians with whom we work with respect as well as our fellow physicians even when we disagree with them. As an anesthesiologist for more than 50 yr, I too have observed too many incidences of disrespect.He strongly opposes government telling physicians how to practice medicine or interfering with the doctor–patient relationship, nor does he have any love for insurance companies. Dr Fanning says the practice of medicine is a business, and physicians should be fairly compensated for their work. Therefore, physicians in training should have some courses in economics. In the chapter on “Medical Original Investigations,” he includes valuable stories to illustrate his points.In the chapter entitled “Medical–Legal Issues,” he tells of his own experiences with lawsuits, offers ideas about how the system can be improved, and concludes with some worthwhile advice. When I was an intern, a philosophical internist told me the way to avoid lawsuits was first to know what you are doing and second to be kind to people. Dr Fanning lists five recommendations, the first two of which are what I was told more than 50 yr ago. The next three are to document, to trust your lawyer, and to remember it is all about money.Finally, Dr Fanning suggests that there is more to life than medicine and suggests ways to expand one’s horizons and enjoy life. Taking care of oneself is the first step toward having a full and meaningful career and life. Much of the advice is pretty basic in the chapters “There’s More to Life than Medicine” and “Take Care of Yourself,” but repetition never hurts. Dr Fanning’s stories are interesting but often tragic, sad, and/or humorous. As an anesthesiologist in the practice longer than Dr Fanning, I can especially relate to and enjoy his anecdotes, but I am sure any reader can gain insights and pleasure from this book.Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Illinois. rfragen@yahoo.com

Editorial introductions

Current Opinion in Anesthesiology was launched in 1988. It is one of a successful series of review journals whose unique format is designed to provide a systematic and critical assessment of the literature as presented in the many primary journals. The field of anesthesiology is divided into 15 sections that are reviewed once a year. Each section is assigned a Section Editor, a leading authority in the area, who identifies the most important topics at that time. Here we are pleased to introduce the Section Editors for this issue. SECTION EDITORS Thomas K. HenthornThomas K. HenthornDr Henthorn is Professor and Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Colorado Denver, USA. He earned his medical degree and completed his residency training at Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago, USA. He also completed postdoctoral research fellowships in clinical pharmacology at Northwestern and the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. His areas of research interest are in pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and drug metabolism. Dr Henthorn has served on the editorial board of the journals Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics and Anesthesiology and reviews manuscripts for several anesthesiology and pharmacology journals in addition to having served on research review committees for the NIH and VA Merit Review. Dr Henthorn also chairs the Subcommittee on Anesthetic Action & Biochemistry for American Society of Anesthesiologists and serves on the Committee on Research and Subcommittee on Drug Disposition. In addition, he is President of the International Society for Anaesthetic Pharmacology and has recently served on the FDA's Anesthetic and Life Support Drugs Advisory Committee. Karen J. SouterKaren J. SouterKaren J. Souter MB BS FRCA, is the Vice-chair for Education and Residency Program Director in the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, USA. Dr Souter received her medical degree from St Bartholomew's Hospital at the University of London, UK in 1985; and completed her anesthesiology subspecialty training with the British Army and latterly at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, UK. She undertook a fellowship in neuroanesthesiology at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada in 1997 and 1998 and then practiced as a consultant neuroanesthesiologist at the University of Southampton until 2001. In 2002 Dr Souter moved to the University of Washington in Seattle where she has developed her career as a medical educator with a particular interest in graduate medical education. In 2011 she received the ACGME ‘Parker J Palmer Courage to Teach’ award in recognition of her work related to resident education. She has published a number of journal articles and book chapters related to neuroanesthesia and anesthesiology in remote locations. Dr Souter is an active member of many professional societies, including the Society for Education for Anesthesia, the American Society of Anesthesiologists, the Association of University Anesthesiologists and she serves as a council member for the Association of Anesthesiology Core Program Directors.