MT Sinai Remebers Dad

I regret to inform you of the passing of Dr. Yale Nemerson, Professor Emeritus of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology. Dr. Nemerson passed away at home on February 12, while recuperating from a respiratory illness. He is survived by three children, Matthew, Andrea, and David, and five grandchildren.

Born on November 15, 1931, Yale’s early interests were initially in the social sciences. In his late teens, however, he elected to attend medical school and ultimately chose hematology as his life’s work. His visionary research in the fields of blood coagulation and vascular biology has long enhanced Mount Sinai’s historic strengths in hematology and vascular medicine.

Yale was long an acknowledged expert on the role of tissue factor (TF) in thrombus formation. He pioneered the concept that blood-borne TF plays a key role in thrombus propagation, and that for clotting to occur in vasculature, TF must encounter activated platelets.Much of his research has had practical clinical significance. For example, levels of blood-borne tissue factor are now being measured for their effects on cardiovascular risk. TF levels have also been found to be elevated in Type II diabetes mellitus and pancreatic cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Elevated intravascular TF has also been reported in diverse pro-thrombotic syndromes such as myocardial infarction, sepsis, anti-phospholipid syndrome, and sickle-cell disease.

Throughout his career, Yale Nemerson published extensively in major peer-reviewed journals. He also served at the highest levels of numerous national and international organizations devoted to the study of blood coagulation and its implications in prothrombotic syndromes.Dr. Nemerson was elected member of the prestigious Association of American Physicians.

He also won numerous awards and citations for his work including the Wright Schultz Award from the International Society of Thrombosis and Hameostasis; the John and Samuel Bard Distinguished Alumnus Award in Medicine; the Shirley Johnson Memorial Lecture in Medicine (International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis), and the American Society for Quality’s Grant Medal.

Contributions in Yale's name to the American Heart Association would be a meaningful and well received acknowledgment of a life well lived in the service of science and a better understanding of human health.Please join me in offering condolences to Yale's family and friends.

Paul Klotman, Dean