- Email: [email protected]
Dr. Mark Eric Josephson (1943–2017)
Indian Pacing and Electrophysiology Journal 17 (2017) 25e26
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Indian Pacing and Electrophysiology Journal journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/IPEJ
Obituary
Dr. Mark Eric Josephson (1943e2017)
Dr. Mark Eric Josephson was born in New York in 1943. He studied at Trinity College before joining medical school at Columbia University of College of Physicians and Surgeons from where he graduated in 1969. He did his residency in internal medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City and went to US Public Health Service in Staten Island where, as a research associate with Dr. Anthony Damato, he developed interest in Electrophysiology and published articles on electrophysiologic basis and anatomic location of A-V nodal re-entry. He joined hospital for University of Pennsylvania for fellowship training in cardiology and did his fellowship in E.P. and finally joined the faculty in 1975, where he rose to the rank of Professor and became Chief of Cardiology in 1981. At the Hospital for University of Pennsylvania, he developed technique of map guided sub endocardial resection to treat ventricular tachycardia, a procedure which got dubbed as “Pennsylvania Peel” in honor of cardiology department's surgical innovation of Pennsylvania. Dr. Josephson transformed electrophysiology from a research tool to a clinical discipline of treatment of arrhythmia patients. My association with Dr. Mark Josephson began in 1984, when I visited his department as a part of WHO fellowship, where the clinical and research in electrophysiology was in full swing. Dr. Josephson and his wife Joan Ellen Eisenberg Josephson married in 1967 and remained together for 48 years until her death in June 2016. They have 2 children, Rachel and Stephanie and 3 grand children, Sylvie, Elan and Sydney. When I invited him in 1984 to visit India, he expressed his inability to undertake long journey with small children. After 18 years of long stay in Philadelphia, in 1992, he moved to Beth Israel Hospital as Director of Harvard Thorndike Electrophysiology Institute and Arrhythmia Service and Professor of Medicine at the Harvard University, Boston. In 2001, he became Chief of Cardiovascular medicine division, of merged Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre and Herman Dana professor of medicine. During his career both at Pennsylvania and Harvard, he trained several hundred electrophysiologists, published over 400 original articles, 200 chapters in books and reviews and is the author of internationally acclaimed textbook “Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology: techniques and interpretations” and his text book is now in its 4th edition, one of the definitive books of electrophysiology written completely by the single author Dr. Mark Josephson. Dr. Mark Josephson worked closely over the years with European cardiac electrophysiologists and pioneer Hein J.J. Wellens, Emeritus Chief of Cardiology at the University of Limburg in Maastricht Netherlands. Over more than 30 years, they together coached a high profile course “How to approach complex arrhythmias” for Peer review under responsibility of Indian Heart Rhythm Society. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ipej.2017.01.007 0972-6292
cardiologists and EP fellows. In 2000, they initiated an advanced course “Intracardiac Unknowns” which was attended by almost all electrophysiology trainees across the world for over 10 years. Dr. Mark Josephson received several awards which included NASPE Pioneer Award, The NASPE Fellowship Training Award, The Career Achievement Awards from the University of California San Francisco Medical School as well as University Medal for Excellence from Columbia University. More recently in 2013, Dr. Josephson received the American Heart Association's Paul Dudley White Award and Eugene Braunwald Academic Mentorship Award. His passing away on 11th January 2017, after prolonged battle with cancer, has taken away one of the biggest names in electrophysiology and we, members of Indian Heart Rhythm Society, share this moment of grief with the rest of the world, for the loss of a genius, a great humanist, teacher par excellence, innovator and prolific writer. May God rest his soul in peace!
Dr. Mark Eric Josephson.
26
Obituary / Indian Pacing and Electrophysiology Journal 17 (2017) 25e26
Mark Josephson and M.Khalilullah Hospital for University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1984.
Shlomo Ben-Haim and Mark Josephson At Harvard Medical School's Gordon Hall of Medicine on Sept.17, 2014.
M. Khalilullah* Director& Senior Consultant Cardiologist, The Heart Centre, 2, Ring Road, Lajpat Nagar 4, New Delhi 110024, India Former Director & Professor & Head of Cardiology, G.B. Pant Hospital, New Delhi, India
*
2, Ring Road, Lajpat Nagar 4, New Delhi 110024, India. E-mail address: [email protected]. Available online 25 January 2017
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Indian Pacing and Electrophysiology Journal journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/IPEJ
Obituary
Dr. Mark Eric Josephson (1943e2017)
Dr. Mark Eric Josephson was born in New York in 1943. He studied at Trinity College before joining medical school at Columbia University of College of Physicians and Surgeons from where he graduated in 1969. He did his residency in internal medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City and went to US Public Health Service in Staten Island where, as a research associate with Dr. Anthony Damato, he developed interest in Electrophysiology and published articles on electrophysiologic basis and anatomic location of A-V nodal re-entry. He joined hospital for University of Pennsylvania for fellowship training in cardiology and did his fellowship in E.P. and finally joined the faculty in 1975, where he rose to the rank of Professor and became Chief of Cardiology in 1981. At the Hospital for University of Pennsylvania, he developed technique of map guided sub endocardial resection to treat ventricular tachycardia, a procedure which got dubbed as “Pennsylvania Peel” in honor of cardiology department's surgical innovation of Pennsylvania. Dr. Josephson transformed electrophysiology from a research tool to a clinical discipline of treatment of arrhythmia patients. My association with Dr. Mark Josephson began in 1984, when I visited his department as a part of WHO fellowship, where the clinical and research in electrophysiology was in full swing. Dr. Josephson and his wife Joan Ellen Eisenberg Josephson married in 1967 and remained together for 48 years until her death in June 2016. They have 2 children, Rachel and Stephanie and 3 grand children, Sylvie, Elan and Sydney. When I invited him in 1984 to visit India, he expressed his inability to undertake long journey with small children. After 18 years of long stay in Philadelphia, in 1992, he moved to Beth Israel Hospital as Director of Harvard Thorndike Electrophysiology Institute and Arrhythmia Service and Professor of Medicine at the Harvard University, Boston. In 2001, he became Chief of Cardiovascular medicine division, of merged Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre and Herman Dana professor of medicine. During his career both at Pennsylvania and Harvard, he trained several hundred electrophysiologists, published over 400 original articles, 200 chapters in books and reviews and is the author of internationally acclaimed textbook “Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology: techniques and interpretations” and his text book is now in its 4th edition, one of the definitive books of electrophysiology written completely by the single author Dr. Mark Josephson. Dr. Mark Josephson worked closely over the years with European cardiac electrophysiologists and pioneer Hein J.J. Wellens, Emeritus Chief of Cardiology at the University of Limburg in Maastricht Netherlands. Over more than 30 years, they together coached a high profile course “How to approach complex arrhythmias” for Peer review under responsibility of Indian Heart Rhythm Society. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ipej.2017.01.007 0972-6292
cardiologists and EP fellows. In 2000, they initiated an advanced course “Intracardiac Unknowns” which was attended by almost all electrophysiology trainees across the world for over 10 years. Dr. Mark Josephson received several awards which included NASPE Pioneer Award, The NASPE Fellowship Training Award, The Career Achievement Awards from the University of California San Francisco Medical School as well as University Medal for Excellence from Columbia University. More recently in 2013, Dr. Josephson received the American Heart Association's Paul Dudley White Award and Eugene Braunwald Academic Mentorship Award. His passing away on 11th January 2017, after prolonged battle with cancer, has taken away one of the biggest names in electrophysiology and we, members of Indian Heart Rhythm Society, share this moment of grief with the rest of the world, for the loss of a genius, a great humanist, teacher par excellence, innovator and prolific writer. May God rest his soul in peace!
Dr. Mark Eric Josephson.
26
Obituary / Indian Pacing and Electrophysiology Journal 17 (2017) 25e26
Mark Josephson and M.Khalilullah Hospital for University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1984.
Shlomo Ben-Haim and Mark Josephson At Harvard Medical School's Gordon Hall of Medicine on Sept.17, 2014.
M. Khalilullah* Director& Senior Consultant Cardiologist, The Heart Centre, 2, Ring Road, Lajpat Nagar 4, New Delhi 110024, India Former Director & Professor & Head of Cardiology, G.B. Pant Hospital, New Delhi, India
*
2, Ring Road, Lajpat Nagar 4, New Delhi 110024, India. E-mail address: [email protected]. Available online 25 January 2017