During the centennial year of Mayo Clinic’s Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Dr. Mark Warner has been writing weekly updates that contain brief descriptions of articles or vignettes that highlight the department’s development, remarkable personnel across the spectrum of the department (e.g., respiratory therapists, nurse anesthetists, anesthesiologists, scientists, and administrators), and contributions to the specialty’s advances and recognition. Within these updates, an Anesthesia History Mystery Photo contest has been occurring. Each week, Dr. Warner provides a photograph of a past or current member of the department. Readers can then guess who the individual is and be placed in a drawing for a Starbucks gift card. The following week, Dr. Warner announces the winner and gives a brief bio on the past week’s mystery individual. These individuals are usually chosen because their past or previous studies/work relate to the topic of the update. Below you can read the bios of these individuals and learn of their impacts at Mayo Clinic.
Martin Abel (Centennial Celebration Mystery Photo Update #13)
Martin Abel, M.D., earned his medical degree at the University of Witwatersrand. After training in anesthesiology at Charing Cross Hospital in London and a fellowship in cardiovascular anesthesiology at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City, he moved to Rochester as a Special Clinical Fellow in Cardiovascular Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine. He joined the staff in 1982. Martin introduced the use of intraoperative echocardiography into our practice and has been a long-serving member of the American Society of Echocardiography’s Intraoperative Council and ASA’s Transesophageal Echocardiography Task Force. He chaired our Rochester Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Anesthesiology for 12 years and moved in 2017 to become chair of our department in Jacksonville. In that capacity, he has nearly doubled the size of the department and led to the major growth of its clinical and academic activities.
Martin is a master clinician, recognized with multiple department clinician and teacher of the year awards. He is one of only three Rochester-based department members to have received the Mayo Clinic’s Distinguished Clinician Award (2005). The other two from Rochester were Sait Tarhan (1993) and Mary Ellen Warner (2010). Two of our Arizona-based department members have received this award, Joel Larson in 2005 and Terry Trentman in 2018. Roy Cucchiara received this award for his work in our Florida department in 2005.
Interestingly, 3 of the 5 recipients of the Mayo Clinic Distinguished Clinician award across the institution in 2005 were anesthesiologists from each site of our department (Abel, Cucchiara, and Larson). That year was very special for the department as it was also in 2005 that we had members who served as either the president, president-elect, or immediate past president of 6 of the 8 major anesthesia subspecialty societies. To my knowledge, no other department in the country has ever achieved that distinction.
Pauline Bisel (Centennial Celebration Mystery Photo Update #15)
Pauline Bisel, CRNA, was one of twelve children and grew up in the country 30 miles north of Dublin. Following her elementary and secondary education she completed a two-year program on the care of children at St. Clare’s Dietetic Hospital in Co. Meath. On completion of this she worked for several years at St. Mary’s Hospital for children in Baldoyle, Dublin. Most of the patients were children who had post poliomyelitis complications.
In her early twenties she decided to become a Catholic nun, joining a community in New York State involved in the care of the elderly. After two years in this endeavor, she realized she could not spend her life living with all women! She returned home to Ireland and after a short while travelled to England where she attended the Chelmsford School of Nursing in Chelmsford, Essex. While there she met and married her husband Steve who was serving in the United States Air Force.
Upon returning to the United States, she worked for several years in various hospitals in different states gaining experience in multiple specialties including intensive care. During this time, she and Steve were blessed with two daughters.
In 1979 Pauline applied to the Nurse Anesthetist program at Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, MN. As she drove to her interview in Rochester, she recalled first reading about Mayo Clinic in a book she discovered in her uncle’s house when she was 9 or 10 years old. At that time Mayo Clinic and Rochester, Minnesota was a very long distance away. The mere thought she could be there one day was absurd. At this interview she recalls meeting the esteemed Dr. Peter Southorn who impressed her with his warmth and sincerity.
She entered the Nurse Anesthetist program in September 1979 and upon graduating stayed on as staff anesthetist at St. Mary’s Hospital. The first two years were in Cardiac Anesthesia where she was very fortunate to be involved in pediatric cardiac anesthesia under the tutoring and mentoring of Drs Beynan and Raimundo. Pauline’s love for taking care of children was clearly met. In 1987 Dr. John McMichan invited her to join the anesthesia group going to Scottsdale, Arizona. It was a department of three MDs and one CRNA. This move created unique challenges. The local anesthesia providers were not welcoming CRNAs. However, over time and due to the excellent health care Mayo Clinic provided to the community, acceptance was gained. Even though challenging this was also a very exciting time.
After eleven years Pauline stepped down from administrative duties to be a full-time clinical anesthetist. For several years she travelled to Mexico and Haiti with a small Mayo group who were part of International Medical Assistance. This was a very rewarding experience. Pauline retired in 2013 after thirty-two years on staff. In retirement she continues aiding her neighbors to the south by being part of a small group of Mayo Clinic Colleagues offering mobile medical clinics in Ensenada, Mexico.
Curtis Buck (Centennial Celebration Mystery Photo Update #25)
Curtis Buck, R.R.T., CRNA, began his Mayo Clinic career at St. Marys Hospital in its front lobby as a “bellboy” (honest, that was the job title) in 1971. After high school, he completed a 2-year nursing degree at Rochester Junior College (currently the Rochester Community and Technical College). Curt worked in the existing 3rd Alfred Surgical ICU at St Marys Hospital for two years, then joined our nascent Mayo Respiratory Therapy program’s second class. He worked as a respiratory therapist at St. Marys Hospital until 1979 before matriculating into our Mayo Clinic Nurse Anesthesia program. He completed his anesthesia training in 1981.
Curt spent most of his 11 years in our operating rooms in the old General Section (currently the Multispecialty Division) at St. Marys Hospital. Contemporaries in the General Section at the time included nurse anesthetists John Ahle, Christine Hendricks, Mary Marienau, Don Nelson, John Carter, Dan Schnell, Gloria Davis, Jack Hostak, Jan Miller, Margaret Sinclair, Bev Ondler, Pauline Bisel, Linda Buck, and many others. In 1992, Bernie Gillis, our director of Respiratory Therapy and a great nurse anesthetist, was severely injured in a car accident. Given Curt’s background as an RT, he was asked to temporarily fill in as director of Respiratory Therapy. As with many “temporary” Mayo appointments, this one turned out to be permanent. Curt held the position for 22 years. During those 22 years he worked with colleague intensivists such as Drs. Brad Narr, Mike Murray, Dan Brown, Rolf Hubmayr, Dan Diedrich, and many others.
Our Rochester Respiratory Therapy Division excelled under Curt’s vision and leadership. Curt and Dr. David Warner expanded our department’s small Perioperative Outcomes Group and created our robust Anesthesia Clinical Research Unit (now part of our Perioperative Information Management, Implementation, and Analytics Program, PRIISM). Brad Narr and Curt worked together to integrate our respiratory therapists into our new Preoperative Evaluation Clinic. Under Curt’s leadership, our respiratory therapists advanced the practice of respiratory care by first implementing therapist-driven ventilation protocols and then independent management of ventilation for many patients. Our Respiratory Care Division is now considered one of the most active and progressive in the country, with full credit to Curt and his respiratory therapy colleagues for their remarkably successful and innovative clinical initiatives and growth.
Robert Chantigian (Centennial Celebration Mystery Photo Update #23)
Robert Chantigian, M.D., attended Temple University. Not content to be a typical college student, he was engaged in the university for a decade and graduated with not one but three degrees (B.A. in Mathematics, B.S. in Pharmacy, and M.D.). He came to Mayo in Rochester for his residency training in 1979, joining an incoming group of new residents that included Steve Rettke, Mary Ellen Warner, and Mark Warner. Amazingly, these four individuals have spent a cumulative 165 years in the department. By the time you read this Update, Bob will have retired as his last workday as a consultant is Wednesday, February 14th, a Valentine’s Day that many of us will associate with Bob’s retirement date.
After completing his residency program, Bob trained in obstetric anesthesia at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and then in pediatric anesthesia at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. He joined the staff of Brigham and Women’s Department of Anesthesiology from 1983 through mid-1985 before returning to Rochester. Upon his return he became the department’s Director of Obstetric Anesthesia, serving in that capacity for 10 years and remaining a mainstay in that area for two decades.
Bob is a remarkable teacher and clinician. He has been awarded 10 Teacher of the Year Awards from the residents and student nurse anesthetists and is a member of the Mayo Fellows Association Teaching Hall of Fame. In 2013, the department recognized him with its Commitment to Education Award. He also earned Distinguished Clinician Awards from residents and colleagues.
In 1992 Brian Hall and Tony Jones wrote the first edition of their best-selling board examination preparation book, Anesthesia: A Comprehensive Review. They published a 2nd edition in 1997 before Tony left Mayo to become chair of the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. With Tony’s move, Bob joined Brian in producing editions 3 through 6 in 2003, 2010, 2015, and 2019, respectively. Their text is one of the best-selling in the U.S. over three decades and has become an anesthesia library staple (please link to “Hall Chantigian Anesthesia book review 5th edition” here). They currently are working on the book’s 7th revision. They believe it will be available at the end of this year.
Roy Cucchiara (Centennial Celebration Mystery Photo Update #17)
Roy Cucchiara, M.D., after medical school at Louisiana State University, he interned at Charity Hospital in New Orleans. He moved to Rochester and completed his residency and a fellowship in neuroanesthesia in 1973. He subsequently served two years in the U.S. Army at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC before returning to Rochester.
Upon his return to Rochester, he joined one of the country’s most prestigious and influential neurosurgical and neuroanesthesia practices, working (over a period of time) with luminary neuroanesthesia colleagues such as Jack Michenfelder, Joe Messick, Gerry Gronert, Ron Faust, Leslie Milde, and Bill Lanier. His surgical colleagues were also internationally recognized and included Collin MacCarty, Ross Miller, Thor Sundt, Burt Onofrio, Ed Laws, PJ Kelly, Ross Miller, Rick Marsh, and Fred Meyer. Together, they brought huge recognition to Mayo Clinic and were prolific contributors to our understanding of neuroanesthesia and neurosurgery.
Roy was a trainee’s dream educator. He could speak to any topic and always had time to teach anyone. He was an excellent educator, whether one-on-one at the bedside, in the classroom, or in front of 1,000 ASA members during his prolonged run of outstanding refreshers courses on neuroanesthesia at ASA annual meetings. He was an exceptional oral examiner for the ABA. One of his favorite philosophies was that you could be “good and slow or good and fast” . . . and no one was faster or better than Roy with assessing, inducing, and caring for neurosurgical patients with complex morbidities. His extraordinary clinical skills carried through his career. In 2005 Mayo Clinic honored him with one of only five Distinguished Clinician Awards throughout the institution that year.
He was chair of our Rochester Department of Anesthesiology from 1988 through 1991, then subsequently served as chair of the anesthesia department at the University of Florida (1993-1997) and interim chair of our Mayo Clinic Florida department (2003-2004) during his stellar career.
Neil Fienglass (Centennial Celebration Mystery Photo Update #11)
Neil Fienglass, M.D., earned his medical degree from Vanderbilt University. He trained in anesthesiology as well as critical care medicine at the University of Florida. After a one-year cardiothoracic anesthesia fellowship at Texas heart Institute with Arthur Keats, he moved to Rochester in 1987. In 1988, he transferred to Jacksonville, initiated intraoperative echocardiography services and chaired the Section on Cardiac Anesthesia at Mayo Clinic Florida. In 1998, he became one of the nation’s first board-certified echocardiographers in anesthesiology.
Bernard Gilles (Centennial Celebration Mystery Photo Update #8)
Bernard Gillies, M.D., was born in 1930 in North Dakota and served in the US. Army infantry during the Korean War. He subsequently became an outstanding nurse anesthetist in our department. He was very involved in much of the early pulmonary physiology research in our department and served as the nurse anesthetist partner to Alan Sessler as they developed the St. Marys intensive care units during the 1960s and 70s. Bernie and Alan built our respiratory therapy program and Bernie served as our clinical director for respiratory therapy for more than 20 years.
James Harper (Centennial Celebration Mystery Photo Update #5)
James Harper, M.D., served in the U.S. Army Special Forces (1967-1970) and then attended medical school at the University of Arizona. He joined our Rochester staff in 1982 and moved to Jacksonville to start our Florida department. He was chair of the department for 8 years.
Virginia Hartridge (Centennial Celebration Mystery Photo Update #6)
Virginia Hartridge, M.D., earned her M.D. from the Woman’s Medical College in Philadelphia. She served as an officer in the U.S. Army from 1942 through 1946 and while a medical student from 1946 through 1950. She transferred to the U.S. Navy after medical school and served as one of a small handful of navy women physicians on active duty. In 1953 she joined Mayo Clinic as an anesthesiology fellow and came on staff in 1956. She worked primarily in obstetric, general and orthopedic surgery, all at St. Marys Hospital, until her retirement in April 1982. Mary Ellen and I were privileged to share her retirement dinner with her on top of the Hilton Hotel in San Francisco at the annual meeting of the IARS, the last anesthesia meeting that she attended.
Virginia served as the director of our nurse anesthesia training program from 1956 through 1976. Like many other trainees who interacted with Virginia and as a young intern on an orthopedic surgical service, I knew her to be tough as nails. But as a young colleague during her last year on staff, I also knew her to be kind and gracious. Upon her death in 2001, she left most of her considerable estate to the Rochester Area Foundation to support women in domestic abuse situations and single mothers who struggle to raise their families. Her endowed fund continues to make an impact on these two areas today.
David Hatch (Centennial Celebration Mystery Photo Update #7)
David Hatch, M.D., was a fellow at Mayo Clinic in Rochester in 1967 and 1968. During his time with us, he was involved in cardiac anesthesia, caring primarily for children, and in our fledgling intensive care units with Alan Sessler. Kai Rehder convinced David to stay longer with a six-month opportunity in pulmonary research and he became Kai’s first research fellow. Upon returning to London, he became Consultant at Great Ormand Street Hospital and the world’s first professor of pediatric anesthesia. David made many major contributions to our understanding of the perioperative care of children, especially those cardiopulmonary defects.
Tony Jones (Centennial Celebration Mystery Photo Update #12)
Keith “Tony” Jones, M.D., earned his M.D. at the University of Alabama, Brimingham (UAB) in 1982. After completing his anesthesiology residency in Rochester, Tony trained with Kai Rehder in the physiology of smooth muscle, with emphasis on mechanisms that are responsible for smooth muscle hypersensitivity and asthma. In 2006, Tony, Evelyn, and his children moved back to Birmingham where he was appointed to a named professorship and installed as chair of UAB’s Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine. He has subsequently held many major leadership roles within the UAB Health System and its Heersink School of Medicine. He also has been at the forefront of leadership in U.S. anesthesiology as a member of the FAER Board of Directors and chair of the Board of Directors of the IARS. You may read more about Tony at Keith A. Jones, MD | AMGA and Meet medicine leadership in 2022, a series: Get to know Tony Jones, M.D. - Heersink School of Medicine News | UAB.
Tim Lamer (Centennial Celebration Mystery Photo Update # 28)
Tim Lamer, M.D., after college and medical school at the University of Wisconsin, he moved to Rochester in 1983 to start our residency training program. He completed his residency as well as a Pain Medicine fellowship in Rochester and has been in the department ever since. He first split his time between the Pain Medicine Clinic and the operating rooms in Rochester. In 1991, Dr. Jim Harper recruited Tim to move to Jacksonville and help develop our Mayo Clinic Florida Pain Medicine practice and a fellowship program.
Tim was a leader in our Florida department during his 16 years in Jacksonville, starting as chair of the Pain Medicine Division and Director of the Pain Medicine fellowship program. In 1997 at the conclusion of Jim Harper’s term as department chair, Tim stepped into that role and served as chair until 2001. During that time period, Tim led the integration of the St. Luke’s private practice anesthesiology group into the Mayo department, opened an outpatient surgical center, and started what is now one of the country’s largest and most successful liver transplant anesthesia teams. He subsequently dedicated his remaining time in Jacksonville to the growth of our pain medicine practice, expansion of our fellowship program, and study of innovative techniques in pain medicine. The Pain Medicine Division became the Department of Pain Medicine in 2004 with Tim as its chair.
In 2007, Tim returned to Rochester and has dedicated his professional efforts to Pain Medicine both internally and externally. Tim has served on the editorial boards of Pain Medicine, the Pain Physician, and Clinical Journal of Pain. For the former, he is the current Section Editor on Neuromodulation and Minimally Invasive Surgery. He is a past president (2019-2020) of the American Academy of Pain Medicine. In addition, Tim has received numerous Teacher of the Year awards and was recognized in 1990 as our Rochester department’s Distinguished Clinician.
Ronald Mackenzie, D.O. (Centennial Celebration Mystery Photo Update #19)
Ronald MacKenzie, D.O., attended Alma College. After graduation from the University of Health Sciences Osteopathic School of Medicine 1967, he was a resident in anesthesiology at Detroit Osteopathic Hospital (2 years), Cleveland Clinic (1 year), and here in Rochester (1 year). He served many leadership roles in the department over his 43 years as a consultant, including chair of the former GYN/ENT (also known as the former South or current Jacobson) Division during Alan Sessler and Roy Cucchiara’s times as department chair. In addition, he served as Vice-Chair of the department during Duane Rorie’s time as chair. Ron also led Mayo Clinic’s Equipment Committee for a number of years. He was an excellent teacher and was recognized multiple times by the residents as Teacher of the Year.
Ron was a wonderful advocate for young colleagues, nurse anesthetists, nurses, and just about all people in general. I don’t believe I ever met anyone who did not like Ron. Ron was a leader by example. He served as president of both the Minnesota Society of Anesthesiologists and the American Society of Anesthesiologists. Personally, for Mary Ellen and me, Ron was a gracious friend and colleague throughout our careers. I started my first two weeks in anesthesia in July 1979 with him, one-on-one in old OR 16 at Methodist Hospital. He ended his career working day-by-day with Mary Ellen as they created and led the evolution of our creative new practices on Gonda 7. He worked clinically until age 77, stopping only to assist his beloved wife, Nancy, as they matured together.
Ron passed away far too early for us all on August 21, 2022.
Mary Marienau (Centennial Celebration Mystery Photo Update #2)
Mary Marienau, PhD, MS, RN, received a nursing diploma from Allen Memorial Hospital School of Nursing (1971), a B.A. degree (1976) from the University of Northern Iowa, a certificate in Nurse Anesthesia from the Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences Nurse Anesthesia Program (1979), an M.S. degree (1986) from Winona State University, and a Ph.D. degree (2011) from the University of Minnesota. Early in her career she was a nurse at health facilities in Waterloo, Iowa. Dr. Marienau was appointed a staff anesthetist in the Department of Anesthesiology at Mayo Clinic in 1979 and advanced to a supervisory role in 1982. She became director of the Nurse Anesthesia Program at Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences in 1997 and director of the Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice Program at the school in 2017. Dr. Marienau advanced to the rank of assistant professor of anesthesiology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science in 1998. She has been active in professional associations and served as an officer and board member of the Council on Accreditation for Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs. She is the recipient of several awards, including the Outstanding Educator Award from Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences and the Outstanding Professional Achievement Award from the Minnesota Association of Nurses Anesthetists. Dr. Marienau retired from Mayo Clinic in July 2020.
John McMichan (Centennial Celebration Mystery Photo Update #4)
John McMichan, M.D., received the degrees of M.B.B.S. (1966) and Ph.D. (1976) from Monash University, Australia. He completed an internship at Alfred Hospital (1967-1968), a Royal College fellowship (1970) and surgical residencies at St. Vincent's Hospital and Alfred Hospital (1971-1972) in Melbourne. In 1973 he was appointed a clinical assistant in surgery at Alfred Hospital. Dr. McMichan entered the Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education in 1976 as a fellow in anesthesiology and was appointed a Mayo Clinic consultant in anesthesiology and critical care in 1981. He advanced through the academic ranks to become associate professor of anesthesiology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in 1986. During his career at Mayo, he served as director of the St. Marys Hospital Surgical and Respiratory Intensive Care Unit (1981-1987) and the Mayo Graduate School Critical Care Training Program (1985-1987). He transferred to Mayo Clinic in Arizona in 1987 and to serve as head of the Section of Anesthesiology (1988-1992). Dr. McMichan retired from Mayo Clinic in December 1999.
Florence McQuillien (Centennial Celebration Mystery Photo Update #22)
Florence McQuillen, CRNA, graduated from the Central School of Nursing at the University of Minnesota in 1925. She received her anesthesia education at the Minneapolis General Hospital in 1926. John Lundy invited Florence to join his staff at the Mayo Clinic in 1927. She worked closely with Lundy as chief nurse anesthetist, cared for the patients of the Mayo brothers, and served as a clinical instructor for new nurse anesthetists.
In 1936, Lundy asked Florence and Dr. Lloyd Mousel, a new resident, to select papers for presentation at a staff, resident, and nurse anesthetist journal club. Attendees were initially asked to review the papers and prepare reports for the journal club, an additional task that they resented. Within a year, Florence suggested to Lundy that an abstract for each paper be prepared by either her or our Mayo Section on Publications to reduce the burden on the attendees. This proved popular and in 1937 Lundy and Florence began publishing these abstracts in a new format, Anesthesia Abstracts. The journal Anesthesia Abstracts was produced from 1937 through 1966 and was widely read. It’s successor publication, Survey in Anesthesiology, was published through 2017. Florence also prepared abstracts for the fledgling Anesthesiology from 1940 through 1947.
In 1948 Florence resigned from Mayo Clinic and became the first AANA Executive Director (formerly Executive Secretary), a position she held until her retirement in 1970. In her 22 years as Executive Director, she was influential in virtually all areas of the AANA’s growth and expansion. Under her guidance, the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare officially recognized the AANA’s authority to grant accreditation for nurse anesthesia programs and to grant certification for nurse anesthetists/nurse anesthesiologists. She also instituted the AANA’s voluntary continuing education program, which made the AANA the first professional nursing organization to recognize the need for continuing professional education; this eventually led to the adoption of a mandatory CE program. Florence received the AANA Award of Appreciation in 1970 and the Agatha Hodgins Award of Outstanding Accomplishment in 1981.
Leslie N. Milde, M.D. (Centennial Celebration Mystery Photo Update #24)
Leslie N. Milde, M.D., was born in Rochester, NY and attended the University of Rochester. She served as the chief pulmonary function and senior clinical research technician in the Cardiovascular Research Institute of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) for five years before entering the UCSF School of Medicine in 1973. She completed her anesthesiology residency and critical care fellowship in 1981 at Massachusetts General Hospital, serving as an editor of the widely read MGH Handbook on Clinical Procedures of the MGH while in training. She subsequently moved to Rochester as a neuroanesthesia research fellow with Jack Michenfelder. She joined our staff in 1982 and rapidly rose to the rank of Professor of Anesthesiology in 1993, becoming our department’s first woman to attain that high rank.
Leslie was a champion of anesthesia education, receiving Teacher of the Year awards and serving as the anesthesiology residency’s program director. She served 16 years as an oral examiner for the American Board of Anesthesiology. She was very involved in leading the development of neuroanesthesiology, serving as treasurer of the Society for Neuroscience in Anesthesiology and Critical Care and a long-time editor of the Journal of Neurosurgical Anesthesiology. She also was chair of the American Society of Anesthesiology’s Committee on Experimental Neurosciences and a member of its Subcommittee on Neuromuscular Transmission.
Leslie moved to Arizona in 1994 and served as chair of our Mayo Clinic Arizona (MCA) Department of Anesthesiology from 1997 through 2003. While in Arizona, she made major contributions to the evolution of MCA as a member of the MCA Board of Governors and its Executive Committee and the MCA Executive Operations Team, serving as the Executive Operations Team for six years. In that role she led an Academic Development course for women physicians and an administrative course for administrative interns. She was the leader of Public Relations for MCA during that time period. She subsequently sat on the Board of Governors for the institution and was part of the group to redefine its administrative structure. She chaired a task force to integrate the three existing geographically-define Mayo Clinic internet entities into the one institutional internet site we have today. While on the Mayo Clinic Board of Governors, she simultaneously was a physician member of the Board of Trustees. An endowed travel grant for an anesthesiology resident research winner in MCA has been named in her honor. Although retired in 2010, she continued to provide anesthesia care through 2017 as a supplemental consultant.
Sheila M. Muldoon (Centennial Celebration Mystery Photo Update #21)
Sheila M, Muldoon, M.D., graduated medical school at the University College in Dublin in 1963. After initial postgraduate training at Mater Hospital in Dublin, she moved to Rochester and started her anesthesiology residency in 1966. During her training, she earned an M.S. degree in anesthesiology and physiology from the University of Minnesota while advised by Dr. Richard They. She was a staff member of our department from 1969 through 1977. While in Rochester, she worked clinically in our growing Respiratory Care Service. She received multiple research grants, including from the NIH, and worked closely with former department chair Dr. Duane Rorie and researchers Drs. Gertrude Tyce and Paul Vanhoutte.
In 1977 Sheila moved to the Washington, D.C. area and was one of the very first women appointed to the new Uniformed Services University for Health Sciences (USUHS) faculty. During her time at USUHS she identified growing military concerns about exertional heat illnesses, including the potential of unrecognized malignant hyperthermia (MH) in military personnel (add link to Muldoon Exertional Heat Illness and MH 2009 here). She established what was to become one of the country’s leading MH testing and research laboratories, now designated as the “Sheila Muldoon Malignant Hyperthermia Diagnostic Center.” The center was one of a handful of muscle testing centers in the U.S. and provided testing services similar to those in our Mayo Rochester laboratory that was led by Drs. Jerry Gronert, Denise Wedel and Margaret Weglinski. Dr. Muldoon was very active in the evolution of Malignant Hyperthermia Association of the U.S. (MHAUS) and its MH Hotline. Dr. Muldoon became chair of the USUHS Department of Anesthesiology in 1987, a position she held until 2001.
William C. Oliver, Jr., M.D. (Centennial Celebration Mystery Photo Update #16)
William “Bill” Oliver, Jr., M.D., attended school at the University of Alabama. He was probably the biggest booster ever of Coach Bear Bryant (and later Nick Saban) and the University of Alabama football team. He was a nice guy, regardless. Ha!
After graduating medical school in Birmingham, Alabama in 1983, he moved to Rochester as resident in our department. Bill went on to become one of our most respected and beloved anesthesiologists. He was legendary in his devotion and dedication to children with complex congenital heart disease. Even though personally limited at times by flare ups with cystic fibrosis, he had prodigious levels of energy and tenacity when it came to caring for “his kids.” His compassion was boundless. He received the honorary Humanitarian Award from the Mayo Alumni Association for his dedication to children who have congenital and chronic diseases. He trained many of us in pediatric cardiac anesthesiology and earned the academic rank of Professor of Anesthesiology. Sadly, Bill passed away at age 62 in 2018. Fittingly and not surprisingly, he was on call for the postoperative intensive care unit and its complement of congenital heart disease children that evening.
Thomas Seldon (Centennial Celebration Mystery Photo Update #20)
T. Harry Seldon, M.D., received his M.D.C.M degree in 1929 from Queen's University in Ontario. After completing an internship at Toronto Western Hospital (1929-1930), he was in private practice in Sharlot Lake, Ontario (1930-1936). He entered the Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education in 1936 as a fellow in anesthesiology and received the M.S. degree in anesthesiology from the University of Minnesota in 1940. That same year, Dr. Seldon was appointed a Mayo Clinic consultant. In addition to an interest in general anesthesia, he was very involved in the department’s growing work in orthopedic and plastic surgery. He also led the institution’s blood transfusion service.
Dr. Seldon was very involved in the evolution of the science and specialty of anesthesiology. He was president of the American Association of Blood Banks and the Minnesota Society of Anesthesiologists. He was especially active in the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).
- Member of the Board of Trustees, 1948-1976
- Chair of the Board, 1955-1957
- Editor (in-chief) of the IARS’s Current Researches in Anesthesia and Analgesia (which became Anesthesia and Analgesia . . . Current Researches in 1957 and then Anesthesia and Analgesia in 1979), 1955-1976
- Harry documented the early history of the IARS in 1971 on the 50th anniversary of Anesthesia and Analgesia.
- Recognized in 1983 by the IARS Board of Trustees when it established the T. H. Seldon Memorial Lecture in his honor.
- This keynote lecture opens the IARS Annual Meeting and brings renowned experts to spark important conversations on anesthesiology and beyond
Dr. Seldon retired from Mayo Clinic in March 1970 and died in Rochester’s Charter House on October 22, 1991.
Alan Sessler (Centennial Celebration Mystery Photo Update #1)
Alan Sessler, M.D., received the degrees of A.B. (1953) from Dartmouth College and M.D. (1957) from Tufts University. He completed an internship and residency at Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital in Hanover, New Hampshire (1957-1959), and served in the United States Navy (1959-1961). In 1961, Doctor Sessler entered the Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education as a fellow in anesthesiology. He was appointed a Mayo Clinic consultant in anesthesiology in 1962, and later served as head of the Section of Respiratory Intensive Care (1971-1977) and as chair of the Department of Anesthesiology (1977-1989). He advanced through the academic ranks to become professor of anesthesiology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in 1978. Doctor Sessler was a member of the Mayo Clinic Board of Governors (1989-1993) and was the first dean of Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education (1989-1994). He was active and received honors in a number of professional associations. He was a fellow of the American College of Anesthesiologists, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and the Royal College of Anaesthetists in England. Doctor Sessler retired from Mayo Clinic in June 1995 and died March 18, 2020.
Gary Sieck (Centennial Celebration Mystery Photo Update #26)
Gary Sieck, M.D., together with his twin brother Jerry, were the first in the family to attend college. Gary is a University of Nebraska Corn Husker through and through, earning his undergraduate degree in Lincoln and PhD in Physiology & Biophysics in Omaha. After a postdoctoral fellowship at the UCLA Brain Research Institute, Gary was appointed to the faculty in the Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology at UCLA and the Department of Pulmonary Medicine at City of Hope Medical Center. In 1987, Gary transitioned to the faculty in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California.
He finally saw the light and returned to the Midwest, coming to Rochester in 1990 and joining our department as well as the Mayo Clinic’s Department of Physiology & Biomedical Engineering. From 1991-2002, Gary served as our Vice-Chair for Research. In 2002, he became Chair of the Department of Physiology & Biomedical Engineering, serving in that role until 2014.
Gary’s research focuses on cardiopulmonary physiology with an emphasis on neural control of breathing muscles. His research has been continuously funded by NIH grants since 1976. He has published extensively. Throughout his career, Gary has been incredibly active in education and mentorship. He has mentored more than 350 students and fellows. Many of his trainees have gone on to successful careers in biomedical research. In fact, two of his former PhD trainees are currently department chairs in our institution, Y.S. Prakash in Physiology & Biomedical Engineering and Carlos Mantilla in, of course, Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine.
Gary has received numerous honors for his research accomplishments, including recognition as a named professor and a Distinguished Mayo Investigator. Outside of Mayo, he has received the Rodarte Award for Scientific Distinction from the American Thoracic Society (ATS), the Distinguished Service Award from the Association of Chairs of Departments of Physiology (ACDP), the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and the Distinguished Advocate Award from the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE).
He has served as a member of the ATS Board of Directors, a member of the National Council of the American Lung Association, President of the American Physiological Society (APS) and President of the Association of Chairs of Departments of Physiology. He is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the International Union of Physiological Sciences (IUPS). In his spare time (ha!), Gary has served as Editor-in-Chief of both the Journal of Applied Physiology and of Physiology.
Peter Southorn (Centennial Celebration Mystery Photo Update #14)
Peter Southorn, M.D., attended undergraduate and medical school at University College in London. After extensive anesthesia training in London, he moved to Rochester in 1973 for a one-year fellowship. He returned to University College as a staff member before making his definitive trip across the Atlantic to join our Mayo staff in 1976. During his career he made major contributions to the evolution of our critical care activities, led enhancement of our intraoperative and ICU patient monitoring capabilities, and was very involved in the development of our solid organ transplant services. Peter played major roles in Mayo’s medical school (admissions committee) and the Mayo Alumni Association (executive committee member). A quiet leader, he was a founding member of the American Society of Critical Care Anesthesiologists (currently named the Society of Critical Care Anesthesiologists) and president of the Minnesota Society of Anesthesiologists.
To many of us, Peter is best known for his gracious demeanor, crooked surgical hat, ready smile, and willingness to help on any project. Peter, Alan Sessler, and Kai Rehder wrote our department’s history in “Art to Science.” That book will be revised in 2025 at the conclusion of the Centennial Celebration.
Sait Tarhan (Centennial Celebration Mystery Photo Update #27)
Sait Tarhan, M.D., graduated from the Istanbul Medical School and trained in pulmonary medicine. After completing his training, he served in the Turkish Army on the country’s eastern front. After completing two years of service, he moved to the U.S. in 1958 and worked as a pulmonologist in the Cincinnati, Ohio area for 4 years. He then moved to Rochester, trained in our department, and joined the staff in 1965. He spent most of his career working in our cardiac anesthesiology section and served as our St. Marys Hospital Division chair from 1975-1983.
Sait became one of the world leaders in cardiac anesthesia. Joining forces with Drs. Emerson Moffit, he published a seminal paper on myocardial infarction after general anesthesia (please link to Tarhan Moffit paper here). This JAMA paper led to an understanding of the impact of patient risk on perioperative outcomes and in decisions about scheduling patients for elective surgery. For more than 3 decades, this paper and a subsequent confirmatory paper by Petter Steen and Sait (please link to Steen Tarhan paper here) guided the world on surgical decision-making and perioperative management of patients with previously documented myocardial infarctions.
For his remarkable contributions to our understanding of patient risk factors and perioperative outcomes, Sait was recognized around the globe with honorary memberships in national societies (e.g., the Japanese Society of Anesthesiologists, the Association of Anaesthesiologists and Reanimatologists of the Republic of Kazakhstan). He received numerous awards, including the Recognition Award for Outstanding Contributions as a Pioneer of Cardiovascular Anesthesia by the World Association of Cardio-Thoracic and Vascular Anesthesia.
Sait never met anyone that he didn’t befriend and welcome. He was revered outside of the institution and admired within it. He received the Mayo Clinic’s Distinguished Clinician Award in 1993 in recognition of his lifetime of outstanding clinical care and his role in attracting and caring for many international patients who came to Mayo Clinic.
Richard Theye (Centennial Celebration Mystery Photo Update #9)
Richard “Dick” Theye, M.D., was from Ft. Wayne, Indiana, a graduate of Indiana University, and trained in anesthesiology in Indianapolis. After a stint in the U.S. Navy and a short time in private practice, he moved to Mayo Clinic and rapidly established his interest in clinical research, specifically pulmonary gas exchange, cardiac output, and regional oxygen uptake measurement during anesthesia. He became the first department staff member to be assigned dedicated research time and was instrumental in the research training of Jack Michenfelder and Kai Rehder. He served as department chair from 1971 through 1976 and was a director of the American Board of Anesthesiology. Sadly, he passed away from ALS in 1977 just as he was in the prime of his career.
Jeff Ward (Centennial Celebration Mystery Photo Update #3)
Jeff Ward served as the education coordinator for our Respiratory Therapy training program for more than 3 decades. During that period the program trained more than 350 respiratory therapists. Shirley Johnson partnered with Jeff during most of his time as overall education coordinator. Shirley served as the program’s clinical coordinator. Paul Didier and Dave Plevak were the medical directors of the program during most of Jeff’s time in his leadership role.
Denise Wedel (Centennial Celebration Mystery Photo Update #10)
Denis Wedel, M.D., received undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Minnesota. After her Rochester residency, she served as a regional anesthesia fellow at Virginia Mason Clinic in Seattle. She joined our staff in 1982. She recently retired as an emeritus professor. Denise was responsible for re-invigorating the use of regional anesthesia in our Rochester practices and became one of the leading voices for regional anesthesia and its safe use internationally. She served as president of both the American Society for Regional Anesthesia and the International Anesthesia Research Society. She also was a long-serving editor for regional anesthesia and pain medicine in Anesthesia & Analgesia. She published extensively in regional anesthesia as well as malignant hyperthermia. She and protégé Terre Horlocker published the seminal recommendations on neuraxial anesthesia and the management of anticoagulants, impacting and improving the safety of patient care worldwide.