American Gastrointestinal Association. Our new president--Thomas A. Brasitus, M.D.

TY - JOUR

T1 - American Gastrointestinal Association. Our new president--Thomas A. Brasitus, M.D.

AU - Davidson, N. O.

N1 - Funding Information: Fortunately for Tom, Schacter was a strong mentor and a great source of personal and professional support. Schacter was also a major scientific influence in Tom's career. Working in a basic science department, Schacter exposed Tom to a rigorous training environment where opportunities to discuss ideas with outstanding graduate students and postdoctoral fellows were highly valued. Schacter introduced Tom to the techniques of steady-state fluorescence polarization, which he later adapted to the measurement of membrane lipid fluidity in various antipodal membranes and intracellular organellar structures from the small intestine and colon. Tom successfully competed for a Clinical Investigator Award (CIA) from the NIH, entitled “Pathophysiology of Intestinal Microvillus Membranes.” A series of manuscripts emerged from this interaction with Schacter, providing extensive descriptions of the lipid-protein dynamics in intestinal microvillus and basolateral membranes and which led to a mechanistic understanding of cholesterol and phospholipid speciation within different membranes. This was an extremely productive scientific period for Tom and he was able to generate sufficient data to convert his CIA into an RO-1 grant entitled “Colonic Epithelial Cell Plasma Membranes,” which was funded in 1980 and has since been continuously funded through two successive merit (R37) awards. Tom's tenure at Columbia was additionally characterized by his extensive involvement with the teaching mission of the housestaff. As an attending physician in the gastroenterology division, Tom took daily morning report from the housestaff for several years. He was widely sought as a lecturer and ward attending, the result of his encyclopedic knowledge and intuitive approach to complex clinical problems. One of the tangible results of this period was the emergence of his interests in tropical medicine. Tom assembled several case reports of strongyloidiasis and other parasites while at Columbia, and his broad-based interests in clinical gastroenterology have remained strong to this day.

PY - 2000/5

Y1 - 2000/5

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0034185691&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/s0016-5085(00)70181-8

DO - 10.1016/s0016-5085(00)70181-8

M3 - Article

C2 - 10784594

AN - SCOPUS:0034185691

SN - 0016-5085

VL - 118

SP - 945

EP - 950

JO - Gastroenterology

JF - Gastroenterology

IS - 5

ER -