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Tribute to Robert Terry
Alzheimer’s & Dementia 1 (2005) 81
Tribute to Robert Terry Peter Davies* Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Department of Pathology, F526, 1300 Morris Park Ave., Bronx, NY USA
I wrote to Bob Terry in 1976, before publishing our findings on the cholinergic deficit in Alzheimer’s disease. I was astonished that Bob immediately saw the implications of this work in much greater depth than I, and he invited me to spend a year with him and Bob Katzman, then at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. I was aware of the great research group assembled around these two individuals and a little daunted by the prospect of working among names like Henryk Wisniewski, Mike Shelanski, and Khalid Iqbal. I need not have been concerned: these people had all left Einstein by the time I got there (July of 1977). I remember those years with great fondness—lunch with Bob Terry almost every day, often with the other greats of the group: Bob Katzman, Leon Thal, Les Wolfson, Claudia Kawas, Howard Crystal, Dikran Horoupian; sitting at a doubleⴱCorresponding author. Tel.: 718-430-3083. E-mail address: [email protected]
headed microscope with Bob moving the stage so fast I got dizzy; smoking Marlboro in the days before we both quit (almost). Bob Terry was the most constructively critical person I ever worked with. We would argue about the science of Alzheimer’s disease for hours—Bob always trying to get me to sharpen my thinking, to be more specific about what I thought and why I thought it. Those interactions shaped my career, taught me to think like a scientist, and made me want to emulate the style and the substance. When the two Bobs decided to move to the left coast, I agonized about the prospect of going with them. But, in the end, I decided it was time to try to make it on my own. There are times in all our lives when we need great mentors; I certainly consider Bob Terry in that light. But there are also times when we need to see if we can make it on our own merits, and it was time. For me, the legacy of those times will always be present. For better or worse, I learned the ropes from two greats of the field, and I’m very grateful for the chance I was given.
1552-5260/05/$ – see front matter © 2005 The Alzheimer’s Association. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2005.06.019
Tribute to Robert Terry Peter Davies* Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Department of Pathology, F526, 1300 Morris Park Ave., Bronx, NY USA
I wrote to Bob Terry in 1976, before publishing our findings on the cholinergic deficit in Alzheimer’s disease. I was astonished that Bob immediately saw the implications of this work in much greater depth than I, and he invited me to spend a year with him and Bob Katzman, then at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. I was aware of the great research group assembled around these two individuals and a little daunted by the prospect of working among names like Henryk Wisniewski, Mike Shelanski, and Khalid Iqbal. I need not have been concerned: these people had all left Einstein by the time I got there (July of 1977). I remember those years with great fondness—lunch with Bob Terry almost every day, often with the other greats of the group: Bob Katzman, Leon Thal, Les Wolfson, Claudia Kawas, Howard Crystal, Dikran Horoupian; sitting at a doubleⴱCorresponding author. Tel.: 718-430-3083. E-mail address: [email protected]
headed microscope with Bob moving the stage so fast I got dizzy; smoking Marlboro in the days before we both quit (almost). Bob Terry was the most constructively critical person I ever worked with. We would argue about the science of Alzheimer’s disease for hours—Bob always trying to get me to sharpen my thinking, to be more specific about what I thought and why I thought it. Those interactions shaped my career, taught me to think like a scientist, and made me want to emulate the style and the substance. When the two Bobs decided to move to the left coast, I agonized about the prospect of going with them. But, in the end, I decided it was time to try to make it on my own. There are times in all our lives when we need great mentors; I certainly consider Bob Terry in that light. But there are also times when we need to see if we can make it on our own merits, and it was time. For me, the legacy of those times will always be present. For better or worse, I learned the ropes from two greats of the field, and I’m very grateful for the chance I was given.
1552-5260/05/$ – see front matter © 2005 The Alzheimer’s Association. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2005.06.019