| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
Memorial |
Warren G. Magnuson Clinical Center, NIH Bethesda, MD 20892-1182
John L. Doppman, chief of the Diagnostic Radiology Department at the Warren
Grant Magnuson Clinical Research Center of the National Institutes of Health
(NIH) from 1972 to 1996, died of complications from treatment for cancer on
August 21, 2000. His 36 years of service to NIH were characterized by an
energetic, skilled devotion to clinical research and patient care that earned
him recognition by his colleagues as a keen, compassionate clinician;
enthusiastic teacher and mentor; and pillar of the clinical research
community. He is survived by his wife, Anne-Marie; sister, Catherine Hartman;
daughter, Corinna; son, John Christopher; and granddaughter,
Nicole.
|
John Leo Doppman was born June 14, 1928, in Springfield, MA. He received his undergraduate degree from Holy Cross College (summa cum laude) in 1949 and medical degree from Yale Medical School (cum laude, Alpha Omega Alpha) in 1953. After interning at Mercy Hospital in Springfield, MA, he served as a medical officer in the Navy from 1954 to 1957. On completing a residency in radiology at the Hospital of St. Raphael in New Haven, CT, he was a Fulbright fellow in radiology research at the Postgraduate Medical School at Hammersmith Hospital, London, and the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, from 1960 to 1961. He returned to St. Raphael and then joined the NIH Clinical Center in 1964 as deputy chief of the Diagnostic Radiology Department in the U. S. Public Health Service. There he remained for the rest of his career, except for 2 years as professor of radiology at the University of California, San Diego, from 1970 to 1972. He became chairman of the Diagnostic Radiology Department at the Clinical Center in 1972. He retired in April 2000 and was named scientist emeritus at the Clinical Center.
Among John's many honors were the Gold Medal from the Society of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology, the Gold Medal from the American Roentgen Ray Society, the Copeland Award from the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, and the Distinguished Service Medal, the highest award granted by the U. S. Public Health Service. He also received several NIH awards, including the Distinguished Clinical Teacher Award, the Clinical Center Director's Award, and the NIH Director's Award. He was a member of many medical societies including the American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America, American Roentgen Ray Society, Association of University Radiologists, American Pituitary Association, American Society of Clinical Endocrinology, and Society of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology, of which he was president from 1983 to 1984. He was an honorary member of the radiologic societies of England, Ireland, Germany, and Hungary, as well as of the American Society of Endocrine Surgeons. He was a founder of the international radiology meeting in Garmisch, Germany.
His career spanned the development of angiography and the genesis and rapid evolution of the cross-sectional imaging techniques of sonography, CT, and MR imaging. In his role as chairman, John promoted their quick adoption—eager to explore their clinical applications, impatient to push the limits of diagnostic imaging. During his tenure, the department was among the first in the country to have CT and MR imaging scanners, to routinely use intraoperative sonography for pituitary surgery, and to describe the appearance of entities such as pheochromocytoma and pituitary adenoma on these new modalities.
An ardent subscriber to the Latin proverb framed on his office wall "Litera scripta manet," John believed firmly in the importance of the radiology literature as a means of communicating and archiving the discipline's knowledge base. A prolific, efficient writer, he authored or coauthored 38 textbook chapters and more than 516 articles in scientific journals, his name becoming synonymous with radiology at NIH. He held several editorial positions and was for many years associate editor of the Journal of Computer Assisted Tomography. A self-admitted workaholic, John's dedication to the imaging literature was extraordinary; his wife, Anne-Marie, cannot recall a day when he did not open a radiology book or journal and recounts repeated family vacations at the shore during which John was traditionally immersed in editorial tasks, scribbling among sand-strewn manuscripts and journals.
Throughout his career, John remained a skilled general radiologist. He enjoyed the challenge of radiologic diagnosis and the opportunity to weave clinical, historic, and imaging information into the diagnostic process. For him, effective use of imaging rested on understanding the clinical diagnostic problems and the pathophysiology of the underlying diseases. In consequence, his career at NIH was marked by close involvement with clinical colleagues and development of in-depth knowledge of the clinical, pathologic, and therapeutic facets of his areas of interest. He saw the role of the radiologist as the center of a vital nexus linking image to gross pathology and physiology and clinical features. He was well aware of the increasing requirements for technical knowledge imposed on radiologists by advances in MR imaging and CT, but he chafed at what he saw as too narrow a focus on the technical at the expense of the clinical. For John, the radiologist should first be a clinician.
Likewise, his approach to research was patient-oriented: a rooting of research questions in clinical problems and a constant plowing of the fruits of research into improving efficacy of patient care and efficiency of diagnosis. John made advancement of technique subservient to the solution of clinical problem, never losing sight of the prime objective—the care of the patient. His research efforts were in close collaboration with clinicians; they were active synergistic relations with each stimulating the other and cross-fertilizing the disciplines. He became a pillar of the NIH clinical research community—a productive, innovative thinker and constant source of novel ideas and approaches. At age 72, despite serious medical problems, he would don a lead apron to teach the new guy on the block how to ablate an ectopic parathyroid adenoma or thread a barely visible microwire with a steady hand. It was through such dogged efforts and technical virtuosity that he invented and refined techniques such as petrosal venous sampling of pituitary tumors and localization techniques for small elusive endocrine tumors of the pancreas, parathyroid, and adrenal glands. Many of these techniques have become the standard of care at medical centers throughout the world. He was a pioneer also in the development of spinal angiography and endovascular treatment of spinal arteriovenous malformations. His research on the blood supply to the spinal cord led to the publication of the first textbook on this subject in 1969.
John Doppman was a warm, easily approachable person. He was fun to talk to, down to earth, and always had an ear for anyone who crossed his path. John's cheerful whistling could be heard wherever he went, usually announcing his arrival. Countless associates at the Clinical Center benefited from John's expertise because he was unstinting with his time and knowledge, guiding the training of many neuroendocrinologists and surgeons during his carrer. He would think nothing of spending many hours going over patient studies with clinicians, teaching while solving the diagnostic puzzles. The highlight of his week was endocrine rounds, during which his imaging studies and wisdom held center stage. He was a consummate academic, insightful and articulate, with a contagious curiosity that found in every case a point of interest and a question to be pursued.
For many of us John was a teacher, a colleague, a collaborator, and, most important, a dear friend. He will be missed. To help perpetuate his memory and scholarship, the John L. Doppman Memorial Lectureship has been established at the Clinical Center. Those who would like to help endow this lectureship may send a tax-deductible contribution to:
John L. Doppman Memorial Fund, Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences, One Cloister Court, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20814.
CiteULike 
Complore 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us 
Digg 
Reddit 
Technorati What's this?
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
