- Email: [email protected]
Dedication to George Casarett
Int. J. Radiation Oncology
Pergamon
Biol. Phys., Vol. 31, No. 5, pp. xxix-xxx. 1995 Copyright 0 1995 Elsevier Science Ltd Printed in the USA. All rights reserved 0360-3016/95 $9.50 + .oo
0360-3016(95)00055-O
l
Dedication DEDICATION
TO GEORGE
CASARETT
penetrating knowledge and understanding of radiation’s mechanism of action from cellular to tissues and organs to whole organisms, both animals and man. I became his student much asthe multitude of residents we have trained in radiation oncology. George was a bear-like figure of enormous strength. He was much like the recent folk hero of the Gulf WarGeneral Schwartzkopf-cool and in command. At regional and national meetings, I soon learned he and his colleagues researched hard and conferenced unendingly, inspired by their classified and secret radiobiological findings-their conversations started at the end of day with a flow of ideas and experiences and continued into the night often ending in the early morning hours. He was a stickler for details; his writing style was one of long sentenceswith many modifiers but were sentences carefully thought through, and he resisted any word or phrase changes. We never argued, for he could reference every concept and I learned. My friendship metamorphosed into admiration and we became confidants for each other. George and I began an active collaboration in the 1960s when he accepted a secondary appointment in Radiation Oncology and directed our Division of Radiation Biology and laboratory investigations in radiation pathophysiology. Our active collaboration led us to Fox’s Delicatessen where our weekly meeting over his favorite luncheon of “3 Tootsies” (small sandwiches of corned beef, pastrami, and chopped liver) led to our paradigm for clinical radiation pathology and eventually into a two-volume work. These “tablecloth’ ’ renderings were considered by some as having no scientific basisuntil Travis and Fowler published their radiation-induced lung pneumonitis and fibrosis syndromes based upon experimental findings using breathing rates that produced “roller coaster” curves virtually identical to our paradigm. Recent molecular biology studies further confirm Casarett’s insights with new evidence showing a perpetual cascadeof cytokines during the latent period before the clinical or pathological manifestations of acute and late effects in different organs. The immediate induction of events that required weeks to months to appear were apparent in the gene expression, which was immediate and ongoing. Quantitation of these molecular biological events recapitulates the clinical pathological courses predicted. Our scholarly efforts translated into numerous National Cancer Institute research grants: first, for radiation research training in medi-
George W. Casarett, Ph.D.
To see what everyone else has seen but to think what no one else has thought Albert St. George
George’s distinguishing trait was that he was both a scientist and a scholar. He began his career after graduating from the University of Toronto in the early 1940s at the University of Rochester, doing radiation research as part of the Manhattan Project, a highly classified work for the Atomic Energy Commission related to the biological effects of nuclear warfare. He devoted his academic life to the investigation of radiation pathophysiology in many vital organs, surrounded by graduate students whose theseshe monitored and whom he nurtured until their Ph.D. status was achieved. He rose rapidly from instructor to full professor in a decade. When I first met George after my arrival in Rochester in 1958, the Manhattan Project was declassified and as we learned about the fascinating work of the Department of Radiation Biology and Biophysics (RBB), it became apparent that the ionizing radiation beam was a unique noninvasive instrument that could probe into cells, in vitro and in vivo, from simple to the most complex systems in all living species-plants, animals, and man. Of all the RBB faculty, George, for me, proved to have the most xxix
xxx
I. J. Radiation
Oncology
0 Biology
l Physics
tine and second, for the clinical experimental radiation research center grant that is currently in its twenty-third year at the University of Rochester Cancer Center. George was an extremely kind and gentle person and yet he handled, by contrast, tough assignments. In the last decade of his career, he was constantly sought to chair critical national governmental committees on radiation protection, and radiological factors affecting decisionmaking in nuclear warfare. He was on a NASA committee on space radiation hazards for astronauts on neutrons and chaired an interagency committee on radiation research and policy coordination. His lifetime bibliography includes hundreds of peer-reviewed publications, chapters, and review articles. George’s passion was hunting in the fall-with bow and arrow as well as rifle-for deer and pheasant. His cabin in the Adirondacks, which he built himself, was a summer retreat for his family. He was self-reliant in the woods, except for his generator, which demanded his divided attention and was a distraction from the serenity of the lake and mountains. Despite his large size, George moved with grace and agility. When we sailed, he literally seemed to float and bounce with ease as he handled the lines and sheets; he was a wonderful dancer, light of foot. George Casarett died as he lived-courageously and with few demands of others. Personally caring for George, providing and guiding his lung cancer treatment during his last year, I observed that he fully accepted irradiation without fear. He kept detailed notes about his daily symptoms as though it was what it proved to be-his final experiment with a known outcome. George was not a
Volume
31, Number
5, 1995
religious man, but he was extremely devoted. His devotion to his wife, Mariann, and his daughters, Lesli and Vi&i, was always evident in his conversation. His eyes would twinkle when he told of their accomplishments and this in turn was reflected in their devotion and loving care. Vicki, in particular, was like a Florence Nightingale to the very end. It is always difficult if not impossible in a few chosen words to summarize a man’s life. For George, I would choose “creative intelligence.” Creative intelligence in its various forms is what makes a man. “A creative individual is capable of more wisdom and virtue than collective man” (John Stuart Mill). Discipline and focused awareness contribute to the act of creation-these George had. Another definition of creative intelligence: “. . . to see what everybody else has seen but to think what nobody else has thought” (Albert St. George). His concepts were original and imaginative. For those who have known him and whose lives he touched and embraced, his love of teaching and learning will continue to inspire us. Although George the scientist, the scholar, the devoted husband, father, friend, colleague is gone, his insights, his thoughts, his writings, his ideas live on. In words of H. G. Wells, “the past is but the beginning of a beginning.” A George Casarett Fellowship at the University of Rochester Cancer Center for the research study of radiation biology and its integration into medicine-namely, radiation oncology, is a fitting memorial to the future.
Philip
Rubin,
M.D.
Editor-in-Chief
Pergamon
Biol. Phys., Vol. 31, No. 5, pp. xxix-xxx. 1995 Copyright 0 1995 Elsevier Science Ltd Printed in the USA. All rights reserved 0360-3016/95 $9.50 + .oo
0360-3016(95)00055-O
l
Dedication DEDICATION
TO GEORGE
CASARETT
penetrating knowledge and understanding of radiation’s mechanism of action from cellular to tissues and organs to whole organisms, both animals and man. I became his student much asthe multitude of residents we have trained in radiation oncology. George was a bear-like figure of enormous strength. He was much like the recent folk hero of the Gulf WarGeneral Schwartzkopf-cool and in command. At regional and national meetings, I soon learned he and his colleagues researched hard and conferenced unendingly, inspired by their classified and secret radiobiological findings-their conversations started at the end of day with a flow of ideas and experiences and continued into the night often ending in the early morning hours. He was a stickler for details; his writing style was one of long sentenceswith many modifiers but were sentences carefully thought through, and he resisted any word or phrase changes. We never argued, for he could reference every concept and I learned. My friendship metamorphosed into admiration and we became confidants for each other. George and I began an active collaboration in the 1960s when he accepted a secondary appointment in Radiation Oncology and directed our Division of Radiation Biology and laboratory investigations in radiation pathophysiology. Our active collaboration led us to Fox’s Delicatessen where our weekly meeting over his favorite luncheon of “3 Tootsies” (small sandwiches of corned beef, pastrami, and chopped liver) led to our paradigm for clinical radiation pathology and eventually into a two-volume work. These “tablecloth’ ’ renderings were considered by some as having no scientific basisuntil Travis and Fowler published their radiation-induced lung pneumonitis and fibrosis syndromes based upon experimental findings using breathing rates that produced “roller coaster” curves virtually identical to our paradigm. Recent molecular biology studies further confirm Casarett’s insights with new evidence showing a perpetual cascadeof cytokines during the latent period before the clinical or pathological manifestations of acute and late effects in different organs. The immediate induction of events that required weeks to months to appear were apparent in the gene expression, which was immediate and ongoing. Quantitation of these molecular biological events recapitulates the clinical pathological courses predicted. Our scholarly efforts translated into numerous National Cancer Institute research grants: first, for radiation research training in medi-
George W. Casarett, Ph.D.
To see what everyone else has seen but to think what no one else has thought Albert St. George
George’s distinguishing trait was that he was both a scientist and a scholar. He began his career after graduating from the University of Toronto in the early 1940s at the University of Rochester, doing radiation research as part of the Manhattan Project, a highly classified work for the Atomic Energy Commission related to the biological effects of nuclear warfare. He devoted his academic life to the investigation of radiation pathophysiology in many vital organs, surrounded by graduate students whose theseshe monitored and whom he nurtured until their Ph.D. status was achieved. He rose rapidly from instructor to full professor in a decade. When I first met George after my arrival in Rochester in 1958, the Manhattan Project was declassified and as we learned about the fascinating work of the Department of Radiation Biology and Biophysics (RBB), it became apparent that the ionizing radiation beam was a unique noninvasive instrument that could probe into cells, in vitro and in vivo, from simple to the most complex systems in all living species-plants, animals, and man. Of all the RBB faculty, George, for me, proved to have the most xxix
xxx
I. J. Radiation
Oncology
0 Biology
l Physics
tine and second, for the clinical experimental radiation research center grant that is currently in its twenty-third year at the University of Rochester Cancer Center. George was an extremely kind and gentle person and yet he handled, by contrast, tough assignments. In the last decade of his career, he was constantly sought to chair critical national governmental committees on radiation protection, and radiological factors affecting decisionmaking in nuclear warfare. He was on a NASA committee on space radiation hazards for astronauts on neutrons and chaired an interagency committee on radiation research and policy coordination. His lifetime bibliography includes hundreds of peer-reviewed publications, chapters, and review articles. George’s passion was hunting in the fall-with bow and arrow as well as rifle-for deer and pheasant. His cabin in the Adirondacks, which he built himself, was a summer retreat for his family. He was self-reliant in the woods, except for his generator, which demanded his divided attention and was a distraction from the serenity of the lake and mountains. Despite his large size, George moved with grace and agility. When we sailed, he literally seemed to float and bounce with ease as he handled the lines and sheets; he was a wonderful dancer, light of foot. George Casarett died as he lived-courageously and with few demands of others. Personally caring for George, providing and guiding his lung cancer treatment during his last year, I observed that he fully accepted irradiation without fear. He kept detailed notes about his daily symptoms as though it was what it proved to be-his final experiment with a known outcome. George was not a
Volume
31, Number
5, 1995
religious man, but he was extremely devoted. His devotion to his wife, Mariann, and his daughters, Lesli and Vi&i, was always evident in his conversation. His eyes would twinkle when he told of their accomplishments and this in turn was reflected in their devotion and loving care. Vicki, in particular, was like a Florence Nightingale to the very end. It is always difficult if not impossible in a few chosen words to summarize a man’s life. For George, I would choose “creative intelligence.” Creative intelligence in its various forms is what makes a man. “A creative individual is capable of more wisdom and virtue than collective man” (John Stuart Mill). Discipline and focused awareness contribute to the act of creation-these George had. Another definition of creative intelligence: “. . . to see what everybody else has seen but to think what nobody else has thought” (Albert St. George). His concepts were original and imaginative. For those who have known him and whose lives he touched and embraced, his love of teaching and learning will continue to inspire us. Although George the scientist, the scholar, the devoted husband, father, friend, colleague is gone, his insights, his thoughts, his writings, his ideas live on. In words of H. G. Wells, “the past is but the beginning of a beginning.” A George Casarett Fellowship at the University of Rochester Cancer Center for the research study of radiation biology and its integration into medicine-namely, radiation oncology, is a fitting memorial to the future.
Philip
Rubin,
M.D.
Editor-in-Chief