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In Memoriam
In Memoriam: Kenny Ates
April 22, 2009
It is with great sadness I must communicate the passing of Kenny Ates. Kenny was the face of Radiology at the front desk on the afternoon shift at Moffitt/Long. While working at the front desk, Kenny received many compliments. He was reliable, kind, and compassionate. Kenny has worked in the Radiology Department since 1971 and was dedicated to the department and to the patients we care for. We will miss him very much.
Recently Kenny took some time off to care for his mother. Please keep her and his family in your thoughts during this time.
Kathleen Knoerl
Operations Director
In Memoriam: Gordon Gamsu, M.D.
January 14, 2009
Dr. Gordon Gamsu passed away the evening of January 13, 2009 at New York Hospital. Dr. Gamsu joined our faculty as an Assistant Professor in 1972. He served as Chief of Chest Radiology from 1973-1995. He was also our Residency Director from 1977-1993. Dr. Gamsu was an outstanding teacher, researcher and clinician who was awarded the AUR Gold Medal in 1974. He served as president of both the Society of Thoracic Radiology and the Fleischner Society. Dr. Gamsu left us and joined the New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical School in 1995. His recent position was Vice Chair and Director of Outpatient Radiology. The funeral services will be private but there will be a celebration of his life to be held in New York in late February.
In Memoriam: Sheldon Wolff, PhD
June 5, 2008
Dr. Sheldon Wolff, a UCSF scientist whose research led to major insights in understanding the human effects of nuclear radiation, died of pulmonary fibrosis at his home in Mill Valley on May 24 after a long illness. He was 79.
Dr. Wolff was widely honored for his discovery that the body's genetic machinery possessed natural mechanisms for repairing cell damage caused by exposure to extremely low levels of radiation. Those "repaired" cells, he found, then showed less damage after exposure to higher levels of radiation, and also to chemicals that ordinarily cause genetic mutations.
He was born in Peabody, Mass., and received his bachelor's degree in 1950 from Tufts College in Medford, Mass., and his master's degree in 1951 from Harvard.
He joined the biology division of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee after earning his doctorate from Harvard in 1953, and began his studies of radiation-induced cell damage there. He was recruited to become a professor of cell genetics and radiology at UCSF in 1966 - a post he held for the rest of his career, while continuing his pioneering radiation studies.
He was also the director of the laboratory of radiobiology and environmental health at the medical center in San Francisco.
During those years, Dr. Wolff served on many scientific committees for the National Institutes of Health, and for nine years he chaired the U.S. Department of Energy's Health and Environmental Research Advisory Committee. He was also an adviser to the European Community's research program on low-dose radiation - a program run by the United Nations through the International Atomic Agency.
Already a professor emeritus at UCSF, Dr. Wolff served from 1996 to 2000 as vice chairman and chief of research at the Radiation Effects Research Foundation in Hiroshima, Japan.
Among his many honors was the prestigious 1973 Ernest Orlando Lawrence Memorial Award, given by the U.S. Department of Energy to a scientist who has "helped elevate American physics to world leadership" and for laying the foundation for studies on genetic repair mechanisms following low-level exposure to radiation.
He also won the 1982 Environmental Mutagen Society Award and the 1992 Failla Lectureship and Gold Medal from the Radiation Research Society, of which he had been president. In 1998, he and the organization he served in Hiroshima received the first Leonard Sagan "BELLE" award for their work studying the biological effects of low-level exposure to radiation. Dr. Sagan, another noted San Francisco expert in the field, had died the year before.
Surviving are Dr. Wolff's wife of 53 years, Frances; two sons, Victor of Mill Valley and Roger of Salt Lake City; a daughter, Jessica of Carlsbad (San Diego County); and three grandchildren.
Those who wish to remember and honor Dr. Wolff with a charitable donation, may make contributions in Dr. Wolff's memory to the Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis, Suite F No. 227, 1659 Branham Lane, San Jose, CA 95118-5226.
Reprinted with permission of the San Francisco Chronicle.
In Memoriam: Bruce H. Hasegawa, PhD, 1951-2008
On
May 22, 2008 the nuclear medicine and medical physics communities lost
an extraordinarily brilliant scientist, talented teacher, devoted
mentor and above all a dear and true friend. Dr. Bruce Hasegawa died at
the age of 56 at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF)
Medical Center within a few days of suffering a massive stroke. His
untimely death is truly a great loss to the many students and scholars
that he mentored and the many colleagues he had assisted and
collaborated with during his scientific journey. During his short, yet
productive, life Bruce imparted a tremendous legacy that would not only
touch the lives of many colleagues but also impact the lives of many
patients who would unknowingly come to benefit from Bruce’s research
successes.
Bruce was born on June 21, 1951. He grew up on an almond farm,
affectionately referred to by Bruce as “the nut farm”, on the outskirts
of Fresno, CA. Coming out of the Clovis school system with perfect SAT
scores, Bruce entered California State University at Fresno majoring in
physics and mathematics. After earning his Bachelor’s Degrees, he
continued on to obtain a Master’s Degree in mathematics at Cal State
Fresno. When his advisor told him that he was destined to have a great
future in finite Abelian group theory, he became depressed and decided
to apply his background in physics and mathematics to medicine. In
1974, he entered the graduate program in Physiology and Biophysics at
the University of Washington in Seattle. He left the University of
Washington without completing his degree and eventually returned to
Fresno and taught undergraduate mathematics, physics and biology at his
alma mater. In 1978 Bruce set out once again to earn his PhD. His
career started taking shape as he worked towards his Master’s Degree in
Radiology Sciences at the University of Colorado Health Science Center
(HSC) in Denver. His project involved development of scintillation
camera systems. From Colorado he would venture further East to
eventually earn a PhD in Medical Physics, under the mentorship of Dr.
Charles Mistretta, at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. After
earning his PhD in 1986, Bruce moved to Cedars Sinai Medical Center in
Beverley Hills, CA as a Director of Medical Imaging Physics. Although
the position was financially rewarding, Bruce strived for research
opportunities and intellectual stimulation. The Hollywood lifestyle was
not too appealing to Bruce so after 3 months he left Beverly Hills and
joined the Radiology Department at the University of California San
Francisco (UCSF) as an Assistant Professor in Residence. He rose
through the academic ranks to the position of Professor in Residence
and Director of the Physics Research Laboratory. He joined the Nuclear
Engineering Department at University of California-Berkeley (UCB) as an
Associate Professor in Residence in 1997 and advanced to the position
of Professor in Residence. He was deeply involved through his teaching
and research with the joint UCSF/UCB Graduate Program in
Bioengineering, and was a Co-Chair of the joint UCSF/UCB Graduate Group
in Bioengineering for several years.
Throughout his educational and career journey Bruce left a trail of
significant contributions to the field of medical imaging. He published
nearly 200 publications and conference proceedings and 13 book
chapters. While at the University of Colorado HSC in the early 1980’s
Bruce sought to improve upon earlier multi-pinhole collimator work by
evaluating a 12-pinhole collimator for cardiac SPECT imaging [1]. This
work was ahead of its time, and it wasn’t until the last several years
the multi-pinhole SPECT would be successfully applied in small animal
imaging and again under evaluation for human applications. Above all
Bruce is perhaps best known for his pioneering work on multimodality
imaging, combining CT with SPECT to provide an overlay of radiotracer
functional distribution on an anatomic image [2-5]. Using equipment
borrowed from GE, Bruce placed a single head SPECT camera in close
proximity to a CT ring. Using the same patient bed he took sequential
scans with the CT and SPECT and then developed the algorithms to
co-register the images. This new concept was rapidly accepted by all
major equipment manufacturers as dual modality, SPECT/CT, cameras were
marketed and sold throughout the world. This technology revolutionized
the way we view and interpret images, and it led to the future
development of PET/CT and PET/MR instruments. Bruce and colleagues had
even initiated work on a SPECT/MR device.
It is interesting to note that Bruce was not the lead or senior author
on three of the initial four SPECT/CT publications. He modestly
minimized his credit for the discovery and development work and
graciously shared the authorship with members of his group and other
colleagues. Bruce was the recipient, unfortunately posthumously, of the
2008 Edward J. Hoffman Award from the SNM Computer and Instrumentation
Council. When he first learned that he was going to be the recipient of
this award he responded “isn’t there someone more deserving of this
award than myself?”. Bruce never sought accolades or recognition for
his scientific contributions. He was happy working quietly amongst his
colleagues and he would always promote a colleague or student before
himself. Though his journey was cut short we will long remember Bruce
for his dedication to the field, his scientific insight, his
collaborative spirit, his humble acceptance of his own successes and
his gracious nature of assigning credit and authorship.
Bruce was an incredible educator and mentor. He constantly sought
opportunities to encourage young students to pursue scientific careers.
His “down-to-earth” lectures on complex engineering problems and his
modest account of his own career path inspired many to pursue graduate
studies in Physics and Bioengineering. He would make time for every
student and colleague who would call or drop by his office. He gave
freely of his time. As an educator, Bruce was dedicated to the
improvement of the Medical Physics curriculum in order to better
prepare students for the medical imaging field. He initiated and
organized graduate Bioengineering courses and made them available to
students at both UCSF and UC Berkeley. Bruce’s ability to explain
complex problems in lay terms with added humor made him an excellent
and oft sought after lecturer and writer. His textbook entitled "The
Physics of Medical X-Ray Imaging", subtitled "The Photon and Me: How I
Saw the Light", is a primer and an essential reference for researchers
in the medical imaging field [6].
As a mentor, Bruce was truly devoted to helping others develop
successful careers of their own. Over the years, Bruce served as a
professional and research advisor to more than forty graduate students,
researchers and faculty members. Through his guidance, many of these
young investigators developed distinguished careers in both academia
and in private industry. He was always happy to take a step back to
provide visibility and credit to his junior colleagues. He spent hours
of his own time critically reading other investigator’s grants and
papers, and took clear joy in the success of his colleagues. These
actions are clearly the sign of a truly caring person.
Behind his brilliant mind lay a simple man who appreciated life’s
simple pleasures. Bruce was genuine, kind, generous, humble, sensitive
and thoughtful. Bruce enjoyed good food, classical music, opera and
even rock and roll. Bruce often demonstrated his appreciation for
faculty colleagues and staff through simple gifts of food, flowers or
candy and the occasional dim sum or jerk chicken lunch. He was always
available to talk and was always available to share in the celebration
of the successful achievements of others.
Travel was a big part of Bruce’s life. It started with family outings
with his Cousin Dr. Ernie Kazato, with whom he hiked throughout the
Western United States. With no family of his own Bruce would spoil his
nieces, Sarah and Rebecca, and nephew Michael with trips of their
choosing that included Hawaii and Japan. Around the holidays he would
spend time with his family, brothers Craig and Ted and Ted’s wife
Marilyn. Food was always a cornerstone of the celebration and Bruce
made sure that there was always plenty to share. Although he rarely
spoke of his family connections, when he did relay stories one could
tell that he had a great deal of appreciation and affection for his
family.
Bruce’s untimely departure is painful for all of us, as we lost a
remarkable scientist, colleague and warm-hearted friend. We will always
cherish the legacy of his brilliance, the impact of his work in the
imaging field and the positive influence he had on the lives of his
students, post-docs colleagues, and more importantly the lives of
patients. These wonderful memories of Bruce will be sustained in all of
us forever.
Dr. Hasegawa’s family has generously requested that donations in
Bruce’s memory be made to the UCSF-Dr. Bruce Hasegawa Memorial Fund, PO
Box 45339, San Francisco, CA 94545-0339.Please reference on the check:
“Memorial Fund for Dr. Hasegawa (B2511)”
1. Hasegawa, B., et al., Single-photon emission tomography with a 12-pinhole collimator. J Nucl Med, 1982. 23(7): p. 606-12.
2. Lang, T.F., et al., Description of a prototype emission-transmission
computed tomography imaging system. J Nucl Med, 1992. 33(10): p. 1881-7.
3. Liew, S.C. and B.H. Hasegawa, Noise, resolution, and sensitivity
considerations in the design of a single-slice emission-transmission
computed tomographic system. Med Phys, 1991. 18(5): p. 1002-15.
4. Lang, T.F., et al., Prototype Emission-Transmission CT Imaging
System. . Conference Record of the 1991 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium
and Medical Imaging Conference, 1991. 3: p. 1902-1906.
5. Reilly, S.M., et al., A Computer Simulation of Simultaneous
Emission-Transmission CT. Conference Record of the 1990 IEEE Nuclear
Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference, 1990. 2: p. 1212.
6. Hasegawa, B.H., The Physics of Medical X-Ray Imaging. 2nd ed. 1991, Madison: Medical Physics Publishing Company.
UCSF Radiology Physics Laboratory website.
Ella Jones, Henry Van Brocklin, and Robert Gould
In Memoriam: J. Randall Forbes, M.D.
July 17, 2008
J. Randall Forbes, beloved member of the UCSF Radiology family, passed
away on Tuesday, July 15, 2008. Randy was truly an exceptional human
being. He was a dedicated husband to his wife Alex, and father to his
two wonderful and accomplished children Tucker and Maddie. Loved and
cherished as a friend by a collection of people so extensive in number,
diverse , interesting and accomplished in all walks of life, that if a
person's wealth is measured by the people whose lives you touch, he
was truely one of the richest people one could have ever meet. In
addition to his remarkable skills as a compassionate caring physician,
Randy was an exceptional artist, photographer and writer. The breadth
of his talents were inspiring to all who knew him.
Randy trained as a radiology resident and musculoskeletal fellow at
UCSF after attending Stanford University as an undergraduate and
receiving his medical degree from Harvard Medical School. Upon leaving
UCSF in 1994, he joined a private practice in Monterey based at
Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula.
UCSF and the Department of Radiology can count themselves as fortunate
to have had such an exceptional man spend several of his far too few
years sharing his time with us. He will be greatly missed.
A service in memory of Dr. Randy Forbes will be held in the late
afternoon on Monday, August 18 at the Stanford Memorial Chapel on the
campus of Stanford University, one of the many places where JR left his
mark. His family suggests that, in lieu of flowers, donations may be
made in Randy's memory. Plans for the service and for the fund are
underway. Please check back here for more details: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/randyforbes
Dennis Orwig, M.D.