Winter 2008/2009 - University of Utah - School of Medicine

Mark A. Johnston, M.D., 1990
I recall thinking that each of these
individuals had directly helped literally
thousands of patients during their
careers and that the cumulative service
of this one medical school class was truly
remarkable. In a time when language
is characterized by hyperbole and style
seems often to be more important than
substance, witnessing this ceremony was
both an inspiration and a reminder of
the importance of committing oneself to
activities of true value.
Organizations, like individuals,
face decisions about their priorities and
commitments. Alumni associations in
particular must be concerned about
whether their activities meaningfully
serve the needs of alumni, students and
their institution.
Being asked in 1990 by Dean
Samuelson to serve on the newly formed
Alumni Board for the School of
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Alumni President’s Message
It was my great pleasure this past September to attend
the awards ceremony honoring the University of Utah School of
Medicine graduates from the Class of 1958. It was wonderful to hear
a recounting of the professional and personal accomplishments of these
50-year graduates.
Medicine, I have had a special opportunity
over nearly 20 years to witness
the commitments and priorities of
the University of Utah SOM Alumni
Association and to gauge its growth. In
the earliest days, there were no full-time
staff members, no student programs,
no alumni services, no CME programs,
no Web site and no regular newsletter
to connect alumni. There was, however,
a vision that the Association should be
committed to creating specific services.
There was also a remarkable succession
of physicians who volunteered their
time to bring about the many programs
and resources that now characterize the
organization.
With an ongoing commitment to
improving the programs and services
provided by the Alumni Association, a
strategic planning initiative was begun
in early 2008. A variety of new programs
and program enhancements are
in the offing including an expansion of
web services to connect alumni with
classmates, streaming of CME and
Grand Rounds programs, and an expansion
of the HOST program for students
to connect them with Alumni through-
out the nation. We are also considering
programs to improve our connection
and service to house staff who train at
the University of Utah.
As always, we encourage your
contact with us and any suggestions
you have on how we might better serve
our mission to support the School of
Medicine, alumni, faculty and students.
Mark A. Johnston, M.D., 1990
President, Alumni Board
University of Utah School of Medicine
jmresearch@qwest.net
Penicillin, Miracle Drug of the
Century, Herald of a New Era
George Gee Jackson, M.D. ‘47, Professor of Medicine Emeritus
INTRODUCTION
The Twentieth Century was a period of
remarkable progress in medical education,
knowledge, objective diagnosis
and miracle products and procedures
that completely changed the nature of
hospitals and the practice of medicine.
First and paramount among them was
the discovery of penicillin, christened
in the press as the miracle drug of the
century. The achievement was paramount
as a force changing the discipline
of medicine because it immediately
salvaged innumerable lives by the cure
of prevalent acute and chronic infectious
diseases. In addition, its development,
which initiated discovery of the series
of natural molecules with antibiotic
activity, enabled some of the most miraculous
landmark achievements of the
latter half of the 20th Century—organ
transplantation, insertion of synthetic
joints and prostheses, invasive diagnostic
and radical surgical procedures, immunosuppressive
chemotherapy, selective
gene replacement, in vitro tissue, organ
cultures and others.
Coupled with the carryover contributions
from the 19th century—ether
anesthesia, opiates, foxglove and early
vaccines, and turn of the Century,
X-ray images, the art of medical practice
progressively transitioned to the art and
science of medicine. The discovery of
penicillin was the herald of things to
follow. The accessible house call physician
and large charity hospitals with
a high proportion of beds for people
with infections transitioned to a more
science based discipline, specialization
and smaller private hospitals. Life
expectancy increased dramatically and
concomitantly diseases associated with
aging—cancer, type 2 diabetes, and
chronic degenerative diseases increased
proportionately. Accuracy of diagnosis,
vastly better understanding of pathophysiology
and increasing ability to intervene
with specific treatment validated
in double blind clinical investigations
characterized the changes. Many believe
the last half of the 20th Century was
the golden age of medicine; combining
the art of the personal, caring, compassionate,
wise physician counselor with
time to spend with the patient and the
knowledge and technology developed in
the science of medicine.
THE SERENDIPIDITY
OF DISCOVERY BY THE
PREPARED MIND
In 1928 Sir Alexander Fleming was a
47 year old physician lecturer of Scotch
birth working at St. Mary’s Medical
School of London University. His research
focus was on the properties of the
staphylococcus and the effects of natural
products of the body that inhibited
and/or killed it. Of particular interest
was the cellular production of lysozyme.
Agar plates were seeded with a lawn
of hemolytic Staphylococcus aureus and
its growth, or lack thereof, observed in
relation to exposure to various products.
Sir Fleming was not known to keep
an overly tidy lab; a fortuitous feature in
the discovery of penicillin. Returning
from a long holiday many petri plates
used in a forgotten experiment were
found to be contaminated with mold.
They were discarded to be disinfected.
However, it is reported that some of
them were retrieved for a discussion of
his work with a visitor to the laboratory.
The lack of bacterial growth around a
contaminating mold on one or more
of the plates was the observation that
piqued the curiosity of an inquisitive
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