Updates in HIV and AIDS: Part I

Dedication A Tr i b u t e t o D r R o b e r t C . Moellering Jr (1937–2014)

Robert C. Moellering Jr, MD

This issue of Infectious Disease Clinics of North America is dedicated to the memory of Dr Robert C. Moellering Jr, an outstanding teacher, clinician, researcher, mentor, friend, and colleague, who served as the first Consulting Editor of this series from 1986 to 2012. He died on February 24, 2014, after a long illness. Under Dr Moellering’s leadership, Infectious Disease Clinics of North America became the “go-to” source for reviews and updates on the newest advances in clinical infectious diseases and therapies. A renowned clinician and researcher, he attracted world leaders in infectious diseases as authors and ensured that the most relevant issues of the time were presented. Dr Moellering was given numerous prestigious opportunities, yet retained the role of Consulting Editor for 26 years. This fact speaks volumes about who he was and what he valued. Born in Lafayette, Indiana, Dr Moellering attended Valparaiso University before moving to Boston to attend Harvard Medical School, where he earned his MD degree cum laude in 1962. He continued training in Boston as a medical intern, resident, and fellow in infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital where he joined the staff and Harvard Medical School faculty in 1970. He served as chairman of the Department of Medicine at the New England Deaconess Hospital from 1981 until its merger with Beth Israel Hospital in 1996. In 1998, he was named Physician-in-Chief and Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He also served as President and CEO of Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Dr Moellering was Shields Warren-Mallinckrodt Professor of Medical Research at Harvard Medical School from 1981 to 1998 and from 2005 onward; from 1999 to 2005, he assumed the Herrman Blumgart Professorship of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr Moellering’s research focused on mechanisms of antibiotic action and bacterial resistance to antimicrobial agents; he and his colleagues made major advances in the investigation, treatment, and prevention of infectious diseases, including bacterial endocarditis and other serious infections. His work resulted in over 400 publications in Infect Dis Clin N Am 28 (2014) xiii–xiv http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.idc.2014.07.002 0891-5520/14/$ – see front matter Ó 2014 Published by Elsevier Inc.

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journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, and Clinical Infectious Diseases, and led to the development of therapies and laboratory tests that are now used worldwide. His work on the pharmacokinetics of vancomycin, including development of a dosing nomogram, immediately preceded the wide use of this agent with the rapid emergence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus as a major nosocomial pathogen. He was also the first to show the clinical effectiveness of penicillin-gentamicin combination therapy for enterococcal endocarditis, which became the standard of care for this infection. “He was an internationally recognized authority on antibiotics, including how they work, how resistance to them develops, and how to use them wisely in treating patients,” said George Eliopoulos, MD, who worked alongside Dr Moellering for many years. He held numerous leadership positions in the fields of infectious diseases and microbiology and was the recipient of numerous awards. Dr. Moellering was a Fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, Master of the American College of Physicians, an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, and was elected to membership in the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians. In addition to his role as Consulting Editor of Infectious Disease Clinics of North America, he served as Editor-in-Chief of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy and on the editorial boards of several important journals in the field. Awards included an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Valparaiso University, the Garrod Medal from the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, the Feldman Award and the Maxwell Finland Award from the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the Hoechst-Roussel Award from the American Academy for Microbiology, and in 2006, the Maxwell Finland Award for Scientific Achievement from the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. In 2008, he was the recipient of the Alexander Fleming Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and in 2009, he received the Yen Memorial Award from the International Society for Chemotherapy. While internationally recognized for his ground-breaking and prolific research, Dr Moellering valued and cherished his role as teacher and mentor to hundreds of medical residents and fellows over the past four decades. He spent many hours every week attending resident morning report and professor rounds and was intimately involved with student teaching. Despite many demands on his time, Dr Moellering took time to get to know each person and to make him or her feel important in their role as a physician. At the celebration of his retirement as Chairman of the Department of Medicine, Dr Moellering offered that “Teaching.is the most important thing we do. Imparting knowledge to the next generation of physicians is incredibly important. It’s a privilege we are given in the academic setting. Not only does it give you a tremendous sense of satisfaction in that you’ve done something worthwhile, but it gives you some immediate gratification because you can watch students who go on to successful careers.” We are most grateful for his mentorship and are inspired to try to contribute to the next generation of infectious disease physicians even a fraction of what he did for the current one. Helen W. Boucher, MD, FACP, FIDSA Division of Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases Tufts Medical Center 800 Washington Street, Box 238 Boston, MA 02111, USA E-mail address: [email protected]

A tribute to Dr Robert C. Moellering Jr (1937-2014).

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