TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN CLINICAL AND CLIMATOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, VOL. 127, 2016
MEMORIAL JOHN L. GOLLAN, MD, PhD 1942 – 2015
John L. Gollan, a close friend and distinguished colleague, died January 6, 2015, in hospice after an unremitting struggle with Parkinson’s disease complicated by Lewy body disease. He had retired in 2010 as Dean of the College of Medicine at the University of Nebraska owing to his illness. He continued to be involved in the Department of Medicine and his research laboratories until the last 2 years of his life. He was lovingly comforted and cared for by his wife of 47 years, Roseann. xcii
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John was immensely proud of his three successful children, Jacqueline, Dr. Timothy, and Jennifer, as well as a growing number of grandchildren. John was an outstanding clinician, a keen listener, a gracious host, and a warm, loyal friend. He was devoted to his family, academic medicine, and the discipline of liver disease. John’s life and career paths extended over three continents starting in Australia, then to Europe, and finally settling in the United States. He was born in Launceston, Tasmania, the only child of a prominent family physician. He was a natural scholar and excelled in school and particularly so in surfing. His early schooling began at the University of Tasmania, but he enrolled in medical school at the University of Adelaide, South Australia. His career choice left him with few options, since there had been eight doctors in the family during the course of the last three generations. Following graduation in 1966, he married his childhood sweetheart, Roseann, a fellow Tasmanian who had qualified as a nurse midwife. He began climbing the registrar list, including a research fellowship, culminating in 1972 as senior medical registrar and postgraduate tutor at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. During this interval, he served in a tank battalion in the Australian Defense Force. Intrigued by his earlier research in bile secretion, he obtained a position with Professor Dame Sheila Sherlock, the doyenne of liver disease at the Royal Free Hospital, where he was a research fellow from 1972 to 1976. While at the Royal Free, he received his PhD in biochemistry and was elected a member of the Royal College of Physicians. It was a seminal time for John. He made lasting friendships with hepatologists from around the world. As it happened, Professor Rudi Schmid was on sabbatical leave in London, and the result was a new position in the Department of Medicine at the University of California at San Francisco. As John put it, “I finally had a proper job.” Subsequently in 1981, he moved to Harvard Medical School, and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, to develop a program in liver disease. In 1988, he became the Director of Gastroenterology at the Brigham. It was during this time that he served on the American Gastroenterology Association (AGA) and the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) boards and became president of the AASLD and the International Association for the Study of Liver Disease (IASL). In 1999, John returned to his roots and accepted the Chair of Medicine at his alma mater, the University of Adelaide. However, the move back to Australia was a move too far, given that the children and grandchildren were all in the United States. In 2001, he accepted the Chair of Medicine at the University of Nebraska College of Medicine. By 2003, he assumed the Deanship of the College of Medicine during a time of
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rapid growth and change. He responded to the challenge with vision and no small dose of patience. John Gollan loved life and all that went with it. He was a brilliant investigator and scientist. His clinical acumen and compassionate clinical care were appreciated by all who knew him. He made friends easily, loved the challenge of leadership, and was opinionated but always respected other viewpoints. He was a good man who will be missed by his many friends and colleagues. Michael F. Sorrell, MD University of Nebraska
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MEMORIAL JOHN L. GOLLAN, MD, PhD 1942 – 2015
John L. Gollan, a close friend and distinguished colleague, died January 6, 2015, in hospice after an unremitting struggle with Parkinson’s disease complicated by Lewy body disease. He had retired in 2010 as Dean of the College of Medicine at the University of Nebraska owing to his illness. He continued to be involved in the Department of Medicine and his research laboratories until the last 2 years of his life. He was lovingly comforted and cared for by his wife of 47 years, Roseann. xcii
BK-ACC-ACCA_2016-160073-Gollan.indd 92
7/7/2016 12:47:10 PM
MEMORIAL
xciii
John was immensely proud of his three successful children, Jacqueline, Dr. Timothy, and Jennifer, as well as a growing number of grandchildren. John was an outstanding clinician, a keen listener, a gracious host, and a warm, loyal friend. He was devoted to his family, academic medicine, and the discipline of liver disease. John’s life and career paths extended over three continents starting in Australia, then to Europe, and finally settling in the United States. He was born in Launceston, Tasmania, the only child of a prominent family physician. He was a natural scholar and excelled in school and particularly so in surfing. His early schooling began at the University of Tasmania, but he enrolled in medical school at the University of Adelaide, South Australia. His career choice left him with few options, since there had been eight doctors in the family during the course of the last three generations. Following graduation in 1966, he married his childhood sweetheart, Roseann, a fellow Tasmanian who had qualified as a nurse midwife. He began climbing the registrar list, including a research fellowship, culminating in 1972 as senior medical registrar and postgraduate tutor at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. During this interval, he served in a tank battalion in the Australian Defense Force. Intrigued by his earlier research in bile secretion, he obtained a position with Professor Dame Sheila Sherlock, the doyenne of liver disease at the Royal Free Hospital, where he was a research fellow from 1972 to 1976. While at the Royal Free, he received his PhD in biochemistry and was elected a member of the Royal College of Physicians. It was a seminal time for John. He made lasting friendships with hepatologists from around the world. As it happened, Professor Rudi Schmid was on sabbatical leave in London, and the result was a new position in the Department of Medicine at the University of California at San Francisco. As John put it, “I finally had a proper job.” Subsequently in 1981, he moved to Harvard Medical School, and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, to develop a program in liver disease. In 1988, he became the Director of Gastroenterology at the Brigham. It was during this time that he served on the American Gastroenterology Association (AGA) and the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) boards and became president of the AASLD and the International Association for the Study of Liver Disease (IASL). In 1999, John returned to his roots and accepted the Chair of Medicine at his alma mater, the University of Adelaide. However, the move back to Australia was a move too far, given that the children and grandchildren were all in the United States. In 2001, he accepted the Chair of Medicine at the University of Nebraska College of Medicine. By 2003, he assumed the Deanship of the College of Medicine during a time of
BK-ACC-ACCA_2016-160073-Gollan.indd 93
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xciv
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rapid growth and change. He responded to the challenge with vision and no small dose of patience. John Gollan loved life and all that went with it. He was a brilliant investigator and scientist. His clinical acumen and compassionate clinical care were appreciated by all who knew him. He made friends easily, loved the challenge of leadership, and was opinionated but always respected other viewpoints. He was a good man who will be missed by his many friends and colleagues. Michael F. Sorrell, MD University of Nebraska
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