Seattle, Washington, October 2, 2006 - Dr. Robert G. Petersdorf, who served as chair of the University of Washington (UW) Department of Medicine from 1964 to 1979 and president of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) from 1986 to 1994, died Friday, Sept. 29, at University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle after a long illness. He was 80.

In a long career as a leader in academic medicine, Dr. Petersdorf was also dean of the School of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego, and president of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. He returned to Seattle to serve as a Distinguished Physician at the Puget Sound Veterans Affairs Health Care System, and as a special advisor to the UW dean of medicine.

Colleagues say he will be remembered for his skills and support as a mentor for younger physicians, as well as for his leadership in medical organizations.

Dr. Paul Ramsey, UW vice president for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, who was a senior fellow in infectious diseases under Dr. Petersdorf in the late 1970s, noting that he was a much-loved teacher and mentor, said, "He set high standards, listened, provided advice and advocated widely on behalf of those he supported."

"Bob positively influenced so many lives," Ramsey said, "as an academic research mentor to countless fellows; as a mentor to medical students and residents who learned from his attention to detail, exacting standards, and deep, abiding interest in advancing their skills and careers; and as an advocate for junior faculty."

"He leaves a long legacy of contributions to the art and science of medicine," Ramsey added.

Dr. Petersdorf came to the UW in 1960 as chief of medicine at Harborview Medical Center after holding positions at Yale University and Johns Hopkins University. He graduated from Brown University in 1948 and earned his M.D. degree from Yale in 1952. While at Yale as a chief resident, he and Dr. Paul Beeson, who was also to be a UW professor later in his career, wrote a paper on prolonged fever that is still considered a classic. [Beeson died in August at the age of 97.]

In 1964, Dr. Petersdorf became the second chair of the UW Department of Medicine, the largest department in the School of Medicine and at the UW. During his tenure, the department grew from 69 to 322 full-time faculty members, several new divisions were established, and general medical clinics began operating at the UW's teaching hospitals.

Dr. William Bremner, professor and chair of the UW Department of Medicine, and holder of the Robert G. Petersdorf Endowed Chair in Medicine, was a medical student, resident, and faculty member under Dr. Petersdorf. He noted that Dr. Petersdorf "contributed greatly to developing the strengths and national reputation of our school of medicine. He was an almost larger-than-life figure, but at the same time was very supportive of his students, trainees, and faculty. He will be remembered warmly and with great admiration by all who knew him."

In 1979, Dr. Petersdorf left the UW to become president of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, which is affiliated with Harvard Medical School. In 1981 he was named vice chancellor for health sciences and dean of the School of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego, where he spent five years before his appointment as president of the AAMC in Washington, D.C.

As AAMC president, he focused on key areas with long-term effects on the nation's system of medical education: increasing the number of primary-care physicians, strengthening efforts to enroll under-represented minorities, supporting the role of teaching hospitals, encouraging academic physicians to devote more time to teaching, and advocating for changes to limit the demands of residency training. He also succeeded in opening channels for better communication between medical educators and Congress, in an era when national health policies and budgets increasingly affected medical schools and their teaching hospitals.

"Dr. Petersdorf was a giant in the medical profession, whose presidency helped mold the AAMC into a national organization," said current AAMC President Dr. Darrell G. Kirch. "He was a caring physician, a keen scientist, and an inspiring teacher, and we owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude."

Dr. Jordan J. Cohen, AAMC president emeritus, who succeeded Dr. Petersdorf in 1994, added, "He was an authentic leader who could chart the course for academic medicine because of the numerous accomplishments he achieved during his very distinguished career."

He was editor of Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, a leading textbook, from 1968 to 1990 and published more than 400 papers in professional and scientific journals. He was recognized as one of the foremost infectious disease experts in the United States.

In addition to his tenure as AAMC president, Dr. Petersdorf was president of the American College of Physicians, the Association of American Physicians, and the Association of Professors of Medicine. He also chaired the Board of Governors of the American Board of Internal Medicine.

"Bob Petersdorf was one of the most influential academic physicians and teachers of the past half century," said Dr. Harry Kimball, former president and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine. "Always looking forward and often ahead of his time, his intellect, understanding and compassion touched the lives of countless physicians and future leaders of American medicine. His passing leaves a void that cannot be filled."

Petersdorf had been a member of the Institute of Medicine, a branch of the National Academy of Sciences, since 1980. Among other honors, he received the Albert Stengel Memorial Award and the Distinguished Teacher Award of the American College of Physicians, the Distinguished Internist Award of the American Society of Internal Medicine, the Kober Medal of the Association of American Physicians, and the Abraham Flexner Award of the AAMC. He was awarded honorary degrees from more than a dozen universities, including his alma mater, Brown University.

Dr. Petersdorf was also an influential advisor on national health and health care policy for many years. He was a member of advisory committees for the Centers for Disease Control, the Health Care Financing Administration, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health. He was also a member of the Special Medical Advisory Group for the Veterans Administration.

In 1995, after retiring as president of the AAMC, Petersdorf returned to Seattle, with appointments at the VA medical center and the UW medical school. At that time the UW established the Robert G. Petersdorf Endowed Chair in Medicine in his honor. That endowed chair is awarded to each successive chairman of the Department of Medicine. The first holder was Dr. Paul Ramsey, now dean.

Dr. Petersdorf is survived by his wife Patricia, whom he married in 1951; his son Stephen, UW associate professor of medicine in the Division of Medical Oncology, holder of the Endowed Chair in Cancer Care at the UW and a physician at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance; his daughter-in-law Effie, UW professor of medicine and a scientist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; his son John, a health-care manager in San Francisco; his daughter-in-law Diane; his brother Rudi of Ojai, California; and seven grandchildren: Nicholas, Andrew, Colin, Joseph, Matthew, Katherine, and Emily.

There will be a private family ceremony. A ceremony of remembrance will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, remembrances in his name for medical education may be sent to UW Medicine Development, 1325 Fourth Ave., Suite 2000, Seattle, WA 98101.

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The University of Washington School of Medicine, founded in 1946 in Seattle, is the only medical school serving the states of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. The medical school is known for both its training of primary-care physicians and for its advances in medical sciences. It consistently ranks among the top recipients of National Institutes of Health funding for research. Its faculty includes five Nobel Prize winners. The medical school is part of UW Medicine, which includes Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington Medical Center, UW Medicine Neighborhood Clinics, and UW Physicians. The UW medical school also has numerous academic, service, and research affiliates across its five-state region.

The Association of American Medical Colleges is a nonprofit association representing all 125 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited Canadian medical schools; nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, including 68 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and 94 academic and scientific societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC represents 109,000 faculty members, 67,000 medical students, and 104,000 resident physicians. Additional information about the AAMC and U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals is available at www.aamc.org/newsroom.

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