Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology. 2015; 50: 628–629
REVIEW ARTICLE
Professor Johannes Myren
ARNOLD BERSTAD Lovisenberg Diakonale Hospital, Unger-Vetlesen’s institute, Oslo, Norway
Johannes Arthur Myren (1915–1996) was born in Bremanger at the edge of the North Sea (Johs among friends). He finished upper secondary school at Firda in 1935, cand. med. from Oslo University in 1946. Licensed specialist in internal medicine in 1957 and in digestive diseases in 1968, dr. med. from Oslo University in 1956. In 1947 he married Randi Bjørnstad, born in Storelvdal in 1920. Their children are Frode, born in 1950, and Torunn, born in 1952. Publications: Injury of Liver Tissue in Mice after Single Doses of Carbon Tetrachloride, Oslo 1957 (thesis). He published a total of approximately 350 medical works, most of them in the field of gastroenterology and usually in collaboration with others. He wrote a number of articles and supplements on education and training in gastroenterology for the journal OMGE. He was co-editor for Munksgaard’s postgraduate textbooks in gastroenterology, hepatology and nephrology. In 1963–1964, Johs worked as a research fellow at the Unit of Gastroenterology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA (Prof Basil I. Hirschowitz). Back at Ullevål Hospital in Oslo, he started doing an increasing number of gastroscopies and examinations of gastric and pancreatic secretions. In 1967, he initiated the international NATO symposium “The Physiology of Gastric Secretion” held at Lysebu in Oslo. The 110 participants were snowed in, and the meeting lasted for 10 days. The participants thus came to know each other well, and Johs established lifelong friendships with persons such as Serge Bonfils (Paris), Morton I. Grossman (Los Angeles), Bengt Ihre (Stockholm), Norbert Henning (Erlangen), Karl
Johan Öbrink (Uppsala), J.N. Hunt (London) and Max Siurala (Helsinki), among others. On many later occasions, pleasant memories of this special meeting would be recalled. Especially during the initial years of specialised gastroenterology in Norway, the close contacts maintained through meetings and training courses held in the Nordic countries were of immeasurable benefit. The Scandinavian conferences on gastroenterology, which were launched in 1967, and the Scandinavian meetings on gastrointestinal endoscopy launched in 1976 deserve special mention. These meetings were held annually in the Nordic countries according to a set rotational pattern until recent years, when larger international meetings took over this role. Johs was invariably an active participant. Another scientific collaboration group that considerably influenced several Scandinavian gastroenterologists including Johs, was the European Gastro Club headed by L. Demling and W. Domschke in Erlangen and Münster. Here, Johns established friendly collaborations with Z. Maratka (Czechoslovakia), K.-F. Sewing (Germany), F. Halter (Switzerland), S. Konturek (Polen), K. G. Wormsley (England), among others. The first issue of the Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology appeared in 1966 with Johs as managing editor and Egil Gjone and Lars S. Semb (both from Oslo) as associate editors. The editorial board comprised 39 members, 19 from countries outside Scandinavia. This international journal has been of considerable importance for the development of clinical and experimental research, both within and outside Scandinavia.
Correspondence: Arnold Berstad, Professor Emeritus, Lovisenberg Diakonale Hospital, Unger-Vetlesen’s institute, Oslo, Norway. E-mail: [email protected]
(Received 9 February 2015; accepted 9 February 2015) ISSN 0036-5521 print/ISSN 1502-7708 online Ó 2015 Informa Healthcare DOI: 10.3109/00365521.2015.1018314
Johs Myren
Figure 1. Professor Johannes Arthur Myren, Painter: Ville Aarseth, 1975.
Johs was much better at writing than talking [1]. Being without a secretary for most of his time, he wrote on his own portable typewriter at professional speed and delivered manuscripts and applications well before his competitors. His contagious enthusiasm and positive attitude were among his personal strengths. As a mentor, he was very kind and helpful, almost always returning our manuscripts the following day, ‘corrected’ with his red pencil. He never explained his pedagogical philosophy (and was probably not conscious of it), but he certainly practised a very modern partnership model in which the student’s thesis was seen as a joint project. Feedback was presented in dialogue, and explorative text as a basis for discussion that aimed to foster independent thinking. Maybe as a consequence, his PhD students (Lars S. Semb, Hermod Petersen, Per G. Burhol, Arnold Berstad, Erik Schrumpf, Morten Vatn, Olav
629
Flaten, Lars Hanssen, Magne Osnes, Jan Dybdahl and Bodil Selbekk) completed their theses in a timely manner, and subsequently occupied most of the leading positions in gastroenterology in Norway [2]. In his final years, he devoted much time to the establishment of the Norwegian Association against Digestive Diseases. Having grown up on a small farm with fishing as a supplementary income, he was accustomed to being frugal with money. Although he later became a wealthy man, his personal lifestyle remained modest throughout his life. However, when it came to raising money for research and development in the field of gastroenterology, his efforts were unmatched by his colleagues, and he was undoubtedly the strongest driving force in the development of modern gastroenterology in Norway. His numerous international contacts were of major mutual benefit. He was therefore appointed honorary member of a series of international gastroenterological societies, and always brought many good ideas about the future of the discipline with him. Although he earned many accolades and honours, we remember not primarily his scientific achievements, medals and publications, but simply that ‘he was a good man’. Declaration of interest: The author reports no conflicts of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of the paper.
Copyright of Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
REVIEW ARTICLE
Professor Johannes Myren
ARNOLD BERSTAD Lovisenberg Diakonale Hospital, Unger-Vetlesen’s institute, Oslo, Norway
Johannes Arthur Myren (1915–1996) was born in Bremanger at the edge of the North Sea (Johs among friends). He finished upper secondary school at Firda in 1935, cand. med. from Oslo University in 1946. Licensed specialist in internal medicine in 1957 and in digestive diseases in 1968, dr. med. from Oslo University in 1956. In 1947 he married Randi Bjørnstad, born in Storelvdal in 1920. Their children are Frode, born in 1950, and Torunn, born in 1952. Publications: Injury of Liver Tissue in Mice after Single Doses of Carbon Tetrachloride, Oslo 1957 (thesis). He published a total of approximately 350 medical works, most of them in the field of gastroenterology and usually in collaboration with others. He wrote a number of articles and supplements on education and training in gastroenterology for the journal OMGE. He was co-editor for Munksgaard’s postgraduate textbooks in gastroenterology, hepatology and nephrology. In 1963–1964, Johs worked as a research fellow at the Unit of Gastroenterology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA (Prof Basil I. Hirschowitz). Back at Ullevål Hospital in Oslo, he started doing an increasing number of gastroscopies and examinations of gastric and pancreatic secretions. In 1967, he initiated the international NATO symposium “The Physiology of Gastric Secretion” held at Lysebu in Oslo. The 110 participants were snowed in, and the meeting lasted for 10 days. The participants thus came to know each other well, and Johs established lifelong friendships with persons such as Serge Bonfils (Paris), Morton I. Grossman (Los Angeles), Bengt Ihre (Stockholm), Norbert Henning (Erlangen), Karl
Johan Öbrink (Uppsala), J.N. Hunt (London) and Max Siurala (Helsinki), among others. On many later occasions, pleasant memories of this special meeting would be recalled. Especially during the initial years of specialised gastroenterology in Norway, the close contacts maintained through meetings and training courses held in the Nordic countries were of immeasurable benefit. The Scandinavian conferences on gastroenterology, which were launched in 1967, and the Scandinavian meetings on gastrointestinal endoscopy launched in 1976 deserve special mention. These meetings were held annually in the Nordic countries according to a set rotational pattern until recent years, when larger international meetings took over this role. Johs was invariably an active participant. Another scientific collaboration group that considerably influenced several Scandinavian gastroenterologists including Johs, was the European Gastro Club headed by L. Demling and W. Domschke in Erlangen and Münster. Here, Johns established friendly collaborations with Z. Maratka (Czechoslovakia), K.-F. Sewing (Germany), F. Halter (Switzerland), S. Konturek (Polen), K. G. Wormsley (England), among others. The first issue of the Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology appeared in 1966 with Johs as managing editor and Egil Gjone and Lars S. Semb (both from Oslo) as associate editors. The editorial board comprised 39 members, 19 from countries outside Scandinavia. This international journal has been of considerable importance for the development of clinical and experimental research, both within and outside Scandinavia.
Correspondence: Arnold Berstad, Professor Emeritus, Lovisenberg Diakonale Hospital, Unger-Vetlesen’s institute, Oslo, Norway. E-mail: [email protected]
(Received 9 February 2015; accepted 9 February 2015) ISSN 0036-5521 print/ISSN 1502-7708 online Ó 2015 Informa Healthcare DOI: 10.3109/00365521.2015.1018314
Johs Myren
Figure 1. Professor Johannes Arthur Myren, Painter: Ville Aarseth, 1975.
Johs was much better at writing than talking [1]. Being without a secretary for most of his time, he wrote on his own portable typewriter at professional speed and delivered manuscripts and applications well before his competitors. His contagious enthusiasm and positive attitude were among his personal strengths. As a mentor, he was very kind and helpful, almost always returning our manuscripts the following day, ‘corrected’ with his red pencil. He never explained his pedagogical philosophy (and was probably not conscious of it), but he certainly practised a very modern partnership model in which the student’s thesis was seen as a joint project. Feedback was presented in dialogue, and explorative text as a basis for discussion that aimed to foster independent thinking. Maybe as a consequence, his PhD students (Lars S. Semb, Hermod Petersen, Per G. Burhol, Arnold Berstad, Erik Schrumpf, Morten Vatn, Olav
629
Flaten, Lars Hanssen, Magne Osnes, Jan Dybdahl and Bodil Selbekk) completed their theses in a timely manner, and subsequently occupied most of the leading positions in gastroenterology in Norway [2]. In his final years, he devoted much time to the establishment of the Norwegian Association against Digestive Diseases. Having grown up on a small farm with fishing as a supplementary income, he was accustomed to being frugal with money. Although he later became a wealthy man, his personal lifestyle remained modest throughout his life. However, when it came to raising money for research and development in the field of gastroenterology, his efforts were unmatched by his colleagues, and he was undoubtedly the strongest driving force in the development of modern gastroenterology in Norway. His numerous international contacts were of major mutual benefit. He was therefore appointed honorary member of a series of international gastroenterological societies, and always brought many good ideas about the future of the discipline with him. Although he earned many accolades and honours, we remember not primarily his scientific achievements, medals and publications, but simply that ‘he was a good man’. Declaration of interest: The author reports no conflicts of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of the paper.
Copyright of Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
