early this evening. The turn of events caught us all off guard as Dad had been gaining strength during his rehab in Baltimore. At lunch time he had a long and philosophical conversation with David and later by phone with Vivienne about the prospects for his recovery and how he might adjust to the new circumstances of living with the limitations imposed by his recent illness.The precise circumstances surrounding his death are not clear, but are probably related to the strain on his heart and lungs from the serious pneumonia of early this January. Yale's children wish to thank the many friends, doctors, nurses and helpers who comforted him during his six week fight against a tough disease.
Among Dad's last words to David over a long lunch were his satisfaction with having lived a good and satisfying life; having contributed to mankind through his research and leaving behind a strong and good family. He expressed no regrets and was looking forward, if possible to moving back to New York following his recovery.
Yale was born in The Bronx on December 15, 1931, the only child of Joseph Nemerson and Ciel Bandes. He grew up to be a champion tennis player and scholar at Bronx High School for Science, and even spent a semester as a tennis recruit at Tulane University before transferring to Bard College in Stratford-on-Hudson. There, while rooming with future actor Larry Hagman, he developed an interest in philosophy and psychology.
After taking time to travel and join the family real estate business, Yale decided to go to NYU medical school, first to be a psychiatrist and then, becoming curious after developing a bleeding disorder himself, he choose his life's passion, hematology. His internship at Lenox Hill Hospital and residency at Montefiore Medical Center led him in the direction of the laboratory and pure science where he would spend the next 44 years uncovering the inner workings of blood clotting and becoming one of the first great explorers of the role of tissue factor in this complex set of reactions.
Yale married Vivienne Black in 1957, raising her son, Matthew and together they had Andrea and David. He joined the Yale Medical faculty in 1964 and quickly rose to become a young full professor. His work on understanding the role and working of tissue factor in the 1960s - discovered through his work with a small heard of cows in a town near New Haven - proved to be a breakthrough that altered the way the fundamental mechanisms of blood clotting were regarded by the rest of the world.
As his research partner at Yale, and his friend and collaborator for decades afterward, Dr. William Konigsberg of Yale University has often noted, "from that time on Yale was 'Dr. Clot' for most of the world's hematologists."
In 1975 Yale and Vivienne divorced and he moved to Stony Brook University to build what he hoped would be one of the premier hematology departments in the world.
Budget cuts throughout New York State scuttled plans for the Long Island school's immediate expansion and he then moved to Mt Sinai Medical Scho
ol in 1977, buying a Park Avenue penthouse and marrying Andrea Buchman. Yale soon established himself into the life of a New York City medical leader, a globe trotting in demand speaker on hematological issues and a mentor to scientists at home and abroad. Yale and Andy purchased a weekend home in Great Barrington and his love of the Berkshires would remain for the rest of his life. Yale married Muriel Haim, a senior pharmaceutical executive in 1993 and then chaired the International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis Congress in New York that year and also chaired the society's board of directors. In 2000, this marriage also ended.
Throughout his marriages, Yale remained close to his children and his grandchildren and together they shared a set of houses in the Berkshires where they spent many holidays. He also remained close to his former wife Vivienne and her husband William Goodman.
In addition to his children, Yale is survived by his five grandchildren, two daughters in-law and one son-in-law. They are Matthew and Marian Chertow's Elana and Joy, Andrea and Kenton Hoover's Avram and Lilah and David and Cindy Freeman's Arlo.
A service for Yale Nemerson is planned for 2:00 PM Sunday, February 15, 2009 in his apartment in lower Manhattan at 145 Nassau Street, near City Hall. Contributions in Yale's name to the American Heart Association (https://donate.americanheart.org/ecommerce/donation/acknowledgement_info.jsp;jsessionid=TMBY5W0X352WYCQFCU1SCAQ?campaignId=&site=Heart&itemId=prod20007)would be a meaningful acknowledgment of a life well lived in the service of science and a better understanding of the workings of the human body or to the Metropolitan Opera (http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/support/gifts/memorial.aspx), one of Yale's great passions. Please call 203 444-6482 for more information.
Yale was one of the first leaders of the International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostatis with whom I had the priviledge to work. We worked together on the 1993 ISTH Congress. Yale is the first of our dedicated leaders to pass on. He will be missed by friends all over the world and by the staff here.
ReplyDeleteCathy Cole, Executive Secretary
Internation Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis
Deep saddened by the loss of your Dad. A dreamer and a passionate man of brilliance with great energy and aspirations that knew when to step down gracefully. I will miss him.
ReplyDeleteSam Waxman
To me Yale Nemerson was, above all, a great scientist. He helped me tremendously in my career and after I left Mount Sinai he continued to be a good friend. I will never forget him. My sincere condolences to his family and close friends.
ReplyDeletePeter Giesen
I am really sorry to hear those sad news about Dr. Yale Nemerson. I didn't know him but I just read that another physician worked with him on the 1993 ISTH Congress and I would like to invite physicians who are going to "ISTH 2009 XXII Congress" to visit the next link in order to share their experience of this event: http://www.symposier.com/events/viewevent/233/ISTH-2009-XXII-Congress
ReplyDeleteAndrea, David, Matthew, Vivienne,
ReplyDeleteI learned of Yale's death only today, through Rich Feldman. I am deeply saddened by the passing of one of the last of my early childhood friends (Rich being among the others) -- the son, moreover, of my parents' closest friends, who were also my godparents.
By coincidence, I had only the other day helped persuade the college-age daughter of a good friend to choose Bard -- by telling her how much Yale had enjoyed his experiences there, and of his stunning career achievements.
Best wishes to you and yours.
Marty Margulies
I would like to honor my former teacher Yale Nemerson by relating how our few months of contact provided some inspiration and strength in my own later career. I was an MD PhD student at Yale, and I wanted to work with Yale because he was an exciting physician scientist. This turned out to be unacceptable to my basic science department, and ultimately, I chose to complete my MD, but not my PhD. Yale was very supportive through this administrative education by ordeal. His example had demonstrated that one could do good basic science research even as an MD, and I found this consoling.
ReplyDeleteAs it turns out I found myself doing primarily clinical investigation. But knowing that Yale's tissue factor research had gone from being anathema and even ridiculed to being, decades later, dogma, helped me remember that paradigm shifting ideas are not always welcome. His example of tenacity and industriousness in the face of skepticism proved a good one for my career. I remain in his debt, as does every hematologist or blood research scientist interested in hemostasis and thrombosis. He did well and he did much good.
University of Rochester Medical Center
Rochester, NY