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In Memoriam: Tucker Collins, MD, PhD, 1952–2007
Cardiovascular Pathology 17 (2008) 126 – 127
Obituary
In Memoriam: Tucker Collins, MD, PhD, 1952–2007 Frederick J. Schoen a , Myron I. Cybulsky b , Michael A. Gimbrone, Jr.a a
Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA b Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Tucker Collins, MD, PhD, the pathologist-in-chief of Children's Hospital-Boston and the S. Burt Wolbach Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School, died on June 8, 2007. An enthusiastic scientist and scholar, Tucker studied and made important contributions to understanding molecular mechanisms in vascular biology and cardiovascular disease. A member and a strong supporter of the Society for Cardiovascular Pathology, as well as other pathology societies, he was also a dynamic leader, a dedicated educator, and a highly valued and well-liked colleague.
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Tucker Collins, MD, PhD, 1952–2007. 1054-8807/08/$ – see front matter doi:10.1016/j.carpath.2007.09.002
Tucker was born in Lorain, OH. He received his bachelor of arts from Amherst College in 1975 and completed his MD and PhD degrees at the University of Rochester School of Medicine in 1981. He then trained as a resident in anatomical pathology at the Brigham and Women's Hospital under the late Dr. Ramzi Cotran and became one of the first research fellows in the Brigham Department of Pathology's newly established Vascular Research Division in the early 1980s, working with Dr. Jordan Pober. He joined the faculty of Harvard Medical School and the Department of Pathology at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in 1985, and advanced through the academic ranks to professor of pathology in 1998. Following a national search in 2001, Tucker succeeded his former chair and mentor, the late Ramzi Cotran, as pathologist-in-chief of Children's Hospital-Boston, and he was also named the S. Burt Wolbach Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School. During his 6-year tenure as department chair, he led the Children's Hospital Department of Pathology through a period of unprecedented growth in clinical services and research programs. Initially as a postdoctoral fellow and then as an independent investigator in the Vascular Research Division at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Tucker was a pioneer in studying the molecular biology of vascular endothelium. His seminal contributions included some of the first wellstudied examples of “activation” of endothelium by proinflammatory cytokines, the cloning of human plateletderived growth factor A and B chains, as well as the first description of the transcriptional regulation of these molecules in human endothelial cells, the functional dissection of VCAM-1 and E-selectin promoters, and the exploration of the central role of the NF-κB transcription factor family and other transcriptional regulators in endothelial homeostasis. Most recently, Tucker's research focused on characterizing the molecular mechanisms of transcriptional regulation and gene expression by a
F.J. Schoen et al. / Cardiovascular Pathology 17 (2008) 126–127
subfamily of zinc finger transcription factors, the SCAN family, which plays a role in development and disease. Toward the end of his life, he had also been working on a project designed to understand the pathogenesis of a coronary arterial disease that limits the success of pediatric heart transplants. He was a Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences and an established investigator of the American Heart Association, and he received a MERIT Award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and an honorary doctor-of-science degree from Amherst College. Tucker generated intriguing hypotheses on the roles that various transcription factors may play in the pathogenesis of vascular diseases. Collaborating with him to test these hypotheses using in vivo models was a pleasure. Tucker was straightforward and had clear goals. His infectious enthusiasm for science not only led to important new insights in vascular biology but also provided immense stimulation to his trainees, many of whom are now successful scientists around the world. He effectively established very fruitful collaborations with investigators in carrying out fundamental transcription factor research, as well as in vivo studies on arterial injury and atherogenesis. These collaborations contributed to his success as a scientist, teacher, mentor, and role model. Tucker was an effective teacher and mentor in the Harvard Medical School community. For more than a decade, as the associate master of the Peabody Society, he
127
provided critical academic and career guidance and personal support to hundreds of medical school students. He served as director of the general pathology course in the core undergraduate medical curriculum, and his leadership in medical education assumed a national and international role as a coeditor of the sixth edition of Robbins Pathologic Basis of Disease. He also authored numerous definitive reviews and book chapters. His leadership in pathology as a discipline was further realized as a member and chair of Pathology A Study Section, as a member of the editorial boards of the American Journal of Pathology and other key journals in the field, as a founding member of the North American Vascular Biology Association, and as past president of both the American Society of Investigative Pathology and the New England Society of Pathologists. Tucker also led a rich personal life, centered on his wife, Mary Whitley, and their daughter, Caroline. An accomplished sailor, he fulfilled a lifelong dream when he successfully completed the Marion-to-Bermuda Race in 2003 onboard his 41-ft sailboat Sapphire. Following diagnosis and surgery for an aggressive brain tumor in January 2007, Tucker's life remained full, and he remained active, personally and professionally, up to the day of his death. Those who were privileged to have known Tucker will remember him with fondness for who he was, with respect for all he contributed, and with admiration for his enthusiastic approach to all that he did.
Obituary
In Memoriam: Tucker Collins, MD, PhD, 1952–2007 Frederick J. Schoen a , Myron I. Cybulsky b , Michael A. Gimbrone, Jr.a a
Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA b Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Tucker Collins, MD, PhD, the pathologist-in-chief of Children's Hospital-Boston and the S. Burt Wolbach Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School, died on June 8, 2007. An enthusiastic scientist and scholar, Tucker studied and made important contributions to understanding molecular mechanisms in vascular biology and cardiovascular disease. A member and a strong supporter of the Society for Cardiovascular Pathology, as well as other pathology societies, he was also a dynamic leader, a dedicated educator, and a highly valued and well-liked colleague.
}
Tucker Collins, MD, PhD, 1952–2007. 1054-8807/08/$ – see front matter doi:10.1016/j.carpath.2007.09.002
Tucker was born in Lorain, OH. He received his bachelor of arts from Amherst College in 1975 and completed his MD and PhD degrees at the University of Rochester School of Medicine in 1981. He then trained as a resident in anatomical pathology at the Brigham and Women's Hospital under the late Dr. Ramzi Cotran and became one of the first research fellows in the Brigham Department of Pathology's newly established Vascular Research Division in the early 1980s, working with Dr. Jordan Pober. He joined the faculty of Harvard Medical School and the Department of Pathology at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in 1985, and advanced through the academic ranks to professor of pathology in 1998. Following a national search in 2001, Tucker succeeded his former chair and mentor, the late Ramzi Cotran, as pathologist-in-chief of Children's Hospital-Boston, and he was also named the S. Burt Wolbach Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School. During his 6-year tenure as department chair, he led the Children's Hospital Department of Pathology through a period of unprecedented growth in clinical services and research programs. Initially as a postdoctoral fellow and then as an independent investigator in the Vascular Research Division at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Tucker was a pioneer in studying the molecular biology of vascular endothelium. His seminal contributions included some of the first wellstudied examples of “activation” of endothelium by proinflammatory cytokines, the cloning of human plateletderived growth factor A and B chains, as well as the first description of the transcriptional regulation of these molecules in human endothelial cells, the functional dissection of VCAM-1 and E-selectin promoters, and the exploration of the central role of the NF-κB transcription factor family and other transcriptional regulators in endothelial homeostasis. Most recently, Tucker's research focused on characterizing the molecular mechanisms of transcriptional regulation and gene expression by a
F.J. Schoen et al. / Cardiovascular Pathology 17 (2008) 126–127
subfamily of zinc finger transcription factors, the SCAN family, which plays a role in development and disease. Toward the end of his life, he had also been working on a project designed to understand the pathogenesis of a coronary arterial disease that limits the success of pediatric heart transplants. He was a Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences and an established investigator of the American Heart Association, and he received a MERIT Award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and an honorary doctor-of-science degree from Amherst College. Tucker generated intriguing hypotheses on the roles that various transcription factors may play in the pathogenesis of vascular diseases. Collaborating with him to test these hypotheses using in vivo models was a pleasure. Tucker was straightforward and had clear goals. His infectious enthusiasm for science not only led to important new insights in vascular biology but also provided immense stimulation to his trainees, many of whom are now successful scientists around the world. He effectively established very fruitful collaborations with investigators in carrying out fundamental transcription factor research, as well as in vivo studies on arterial injury and atherogenesis. These collaborations contributed to his success as a scientist, teacher, mentor, and role model. Tucker was an effective teacher and mentor in the Harvard Medical School community. For more than a decade, as the associate master of the Peabody Society, he
127
provided critical academic and career guidance and personal support to hundreds of medical school students. He served as director of the general pathology course in the core undergraduate medical curriculum, and his leadership in medical education assumed a national and international role as a coeditor of the sixth edition of Robbins Pathologic Basis of Disease. He also authored numerous definitive reviews and book chapters. His leadership in pathology as a discipline was further realized as a member and chair of Pathology A Study Section, as a member of the editorial boards of the American Journal of Pathology and other key journals in the field, as a founding member of the North American Vascular Biology Association, and as past president of both the American Society of Investigative Pathology and the New England Society of Pathologists. Tucker also led a rich personal life, centered on his wife, Mary Whitley, and their daughter, Caroline. An accomplished sailor, he fulfilled a lifelong dream when he successfully completed the Marion-to-Bermuda Race in 2003 onboard his 41-ft sailboat Sapphire. Following diagnosis and surgery for an aggressive brain tumor in January 2007, Tucker's life remained full, and he remained active, personally and professionally, up to the day of his death. Those who were privileged to have known Tucker will remember him with fondness for who he was, with respect for all he contributed, and with admiration for his enthusiastic approach to all that he did.