News From Senior Physiologists 

Letters to Eugene Renkin
Silvio Weidmann writes: “I felt rather proud to get a hand-written birthday letter by a winner of the 1985 Wiggers Memorial Award. This brought my thoughts back to 1955 when in connection with a seminar I had given in Cleveland, Carl Wiggers invited me for a drink to his house and to the World Exhibition in Brussels, 1958, which we had visited together.

“Having reached 80 years of age, my laboratory activities are down to zero. Thanks to the benevolence of my colleagues I still have a desk and, equally important, a parking space in front of my former institute. In fact, my interests in Cardiac Cellular Electrophysiology has come down to listening to about one talk per week, to seep through the abstracts of some preferred journals and to have lunch once in awhile with one or the other of my former co-workers. Taking part in meetings outside Bern has become impracticable since my leg muscles refuse to let me climb a railway coach. Also, my kidneys have deteriorated; dialysis twice a week helps to a certain extent. Much of my remaining time is now filled by amateur radio (on the air since 1938, call sign HB9DI).

“Now my possible advice to junior physiologists: make efforts to get away from your home university for a few years, to work in different surroundings. This will fasten your independence when eventually returning, professionally, as well as in your family. It will also widen your circle of acquaintances, and, thus, facilitate contacts at a later stage of your career.”

Joseph C. Greenfield writes: “I apologize for not answering your letter earlier. 

“At any rate, I’m doing fine. My 70th birthday ended my tenure as a clinician at Duke; however, I have maintained my James B. Duke Professorship and have transferred my clinical activities to the Durham Veterans Administration Hospital.

“In December 1998, I closed my research laboratory, transferring most of the equipment etc., to Dr. George Cooper, who has a very active research program at MUSC in Charleston, SC.

“I am currently continuing to participate in a number of clinical research projects and am actively involved in mentoring the Cardiology fellows.

“Finally, and most important, I’m having a good time.”

Letters to Douglas G. Stuart
L. A. Geddes writes: “Thank you for the 80th birthday card and letter. In response to your letter that inquired about my activities, I am pleased to offer the following. 

“In 1991 I had to retire because of Purdue University regulations. However, I have been quite active in my 10 years of ‘retirement.’ I created and taught two new courses (Medical Device Accidents and Bioelectrodes), and I teach in one other course (Problems in the Measurement of Physiological Events).

“Since 1991 I have published 109 scientific and conference papers, three books, eight book chapters and have been issued eight US patents.

“Long before I ‘retired,’ I became an Expert Witness, specialized in medical device accidents and patent infringement. I am a Board Diplomate of the National Academy of Forensic Engineers with the rank of Fellow.

“Since ‘retirement,’ I have had six grants awarded and graduated four MS and PhD students. At present, I have one PhD student and two ongoing research projects. I have two grant applications in review.

“My hobby has always been the history of science. I continue research and publishing in this area. One of my efforts, The History of Stimulation and Electrotherapy, was a monograph published by the APS.”

Björn Folkow writes: “Thanks for letter of June 25. It found me in good health yesterday, after three weeks in our hut in Vrådal, Telemark, Norway, where we since 40-or-so-years spend summers and occasional Easter holidays. Land and seascape excellent, fishing good, mountain hikes, too, with, so far, no confrontations with bears (who visited ‘our’ island two years ago). We will return there for another three weeks in early August then for berry and mushroom picking, and to raise hell for occasional trouts.

“Still ‘active,’ though hardly in physically-exploring-rats-or-cats, but trying to ‘link-up the many loose ends’ that one has around after by now 58 years in physiology, i.e., trying to make sense of diverse findings by going from analysis-reductionism over to synthesis-integration (which, after all, is our occupation’s perhaps most important part, when all other branches concentrate on finding new building bricks that heap up as time goes by). Also teaching students, when it comes to such aspects as ‘physiology of aging’ (one has to experience itself to be a real expert), the biological mechanisms behind so-called stress disorders, exercise physiology, and so on, i.e., themes where one must operate with several balls in the air at the same time. So far the students have not thrown me out, but that day will sure enough come.

“I have an office in the department, and am the only one still using an old fine IBM typewriter (not stoneage-variant but one run by electricity, mind you) and using it just now. I had just a survey-article out of Scand. Cardiovascular Journal, named ‘Mental stress and its importance for cardiovascular disorders; physiological aspects, from-mice-to-man.’ At least the editor said that he was very pleased and I am, so far at least, not displeased over it, which perhaps tells more about my mind that about the quality of the article. Anyhow, I am busy, and am confronted by a September 30 deadline for an article to Handbook of Hypertension, which already now disturbs my sleep, but I try to get going.

“Otherwise I am in good physical shape, enjoy outdoor life, hiking, fishing, running, rowing, and in terms, play indoor-soccer, where the two teams have an average age of 68.5 years, but their mental-emotional age, while playing, is about 8.5 years. I know, because I am also the referee of the games and, as such, exposed to the wildest abuses of temperaments from ordinarily solid-old-pensioners. It takes a special talent to be both referee and active-player, but it has the advantage that all goals that I happen to make are always accepted. I am home for a stint of work, and allowing our five children and their families to also use said Norwegian hut, while lake waters are warm and pleasant. Also preparing for participation in the 16th World Congress of Psychosomatic Medicine, which will be held here in Göteborg at the end of August, and where my retired but very active friend and professor in Internal Medicine, Per Björntorp, and I, will try to run a symposium on ‘Stress and genetics in the pathophysiology of primary hypertension and the Metabolic Syndrome.’ Thus, quite a lot to do, but 50 percent of this depends on the well-known fact that the cerebral computer inherently gets sluggish along with use and years, which is experienced as if all clocks have doubled their speed in completing an hour. I, at an occasion like this, also want to send my best and warmest regards to other ‘old-timers’ friends in the US domain, like John Pappenheimer, David Bohr, Paul Johnson, Ralph Sonnenschein, Gene Renkin, Stevo Julius, Bill Manger, Gabriel Pinter, John Shepherd, Arthur Guyton, James J. Smith, and many others, though then of later vintages that with time may well outmatch those around 1920 (± 5 years). Remember, in these days of molecular biology, integrated physiology is more important that ever because if there is no one around knowing how to put the bits together, biomedicine will end up as heaps of sophisticated bricks, with no one around to make a functional building out of it.

“Thus, courage, and enjoy your work.”

Letter to Novera Herbert Spector
Juan E. Quejada writes: “The feature ‘News From Senior Physiologists’ in The Physiologist is very inspiring. I often wondered what I could share when my turn comes. And now your most pleasant letter.

“What am I doing now? Twice a month I continue my volunteer service at the hospital to monitor the ongoing longitudinal study on craniofacial and dentitional growth and development. We are on the third year of a 10-year project to develop norms for Filipino children. The information will be useful in preventive and interceptive orthodontics. Yesterday I was replaced as co-chair of the hospital’s Institutional Review Board. I continue to serve as volunteer orthodontic consultant in a private Craniofacial Center Foundation. We started as a Cleft Lip and Palate Center in 1988 in a charity hospital. Some unique findings are: clefts of the lips/palate occur in 1:400 live births; prevalence in twins and parent/child; anterior meningoceles are more common than posterior type usually found in a Caucasian population.

“On scientific or other writing: Limited to periodic reports on the research project. The poet William Cullen Bryant’s Thanatopsis ever in my mind, without feeling morbid, but as a motivation to keep the ‘computer’ between my ears active, I am collecting spiritual anecdotes. I hope to compile a year-long daily spiritual reading as ‘food for the soul.’

“On words of wisdom to pass: ‘As you go up the ladder, remember those you pass for you will meet them again when you come down.’ Get active in APS affairs soonest!

“On whereabouts: My wife (she retired as Chair of pathology at the Philippine Heart Center) and I have been empty-nesting in Quezon City (Manila suburb) since 1987. We hope to continue our yearly trips to visit seven grandchildren, all in the US. And two of them are in Oceanside, CA! Grandchildren are the best excuse for travel. Of our five children, only one lives here. He is a secular priest. The only other unmarried child is a third-year fellow in hematology-oncology at Loyola in Chicago.

“On interests: I ‘tinker’ with personal computers, ie, repair. Five years ago I completed a US-based correspondence course in PC servicing. Discarded PCs are made serviceable for use by children in low-income communities to learn computer basics.”

Letter to Edgar Folk
Jacques Leblanc writes: “The years are urging somewhat, but I continue to advance at my own pace still dreaming of tomorrows filled with enchantment and serenity. After 55 years I am still active in research and presently I am happily engaged in a sponsored project dealing with ‘Individual Variations in Response to Stress.’ I am still part of the Department of Physiology at Laval University, but without teaching responsibility. This leaves me with spare time to enjoy a hobby that I have pursued for a long time. During that period my activities sometimes alternated between painting and doing research and I found satisfaction doing either one. It was usually much easier to obtain results with painting, but will they be remembered for as long as those obtained in research? I have some doubt. I also enjoy playing bridge, golfing, fishing, and gardening.
“Above all I have the company of my wife Jeannine and of my loving family. As you can see, I am a full-time retired physiologist and as the saying goes, ‘tomorrow is another day.’” 

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