SURVEY OF OPHTHALMOLOGY VOLUME 49 • NUMBER 4 • JULY–AUGUST 2004

REMEMBRANCES OF THINGS PASTDAVID APPLE AND BARRIE JAY, EDITORS

Jonas S. Friedenwald—My MentorBernard Becker, MD

Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA

I approached Jonas Friedenwald (Fig. 1) at the Feder-ation Meetings in Atlantic City in 1946 because ofour shared interest in the new field of enzyme histo-chemistry. After a 2-hour walk on the boardwalk anddiscussion of future directions, he offered me a posi-tion as a Fellow in his laboratory. Only when I arrivedin Baltimore did I realize he was an ophthalmologistand the position was at the Wilmer OphthalmologicalInstitute. Friedenwald served as my mentor for theremaining years of his abbreviated life. He influencedmy entry into the Wilmer residency program and mysubsequent career in academic ophthalmology.

In my first year we managed to develop a newhistochemical technique for B-glucuronidase, applythe PAF stain to flat preparations of diabetic retinas,and develop new technology for measuring aque-ous humor dynamics. This latter led to the develop-ment of the use of carbonic anhydrase inhibitors todecrease the secretion of aqueous humor and lowerintraocular pressure in glaucoma. Friedenwald’s fa-cility with mathematical formulations were appliedto tonometry, aqueous humor dynamics, and all re-search coming out of his laboratory.

As Friedenwald predicted in the first Proctor Lec-ture (1948) “Clinical research cannot go further with-out basic research scientists.” He emphasized theimportance of attracting basic scientists into eyeresearch, as well as the need for collaborative effortsbetween problem-oriented clinicians and laboratory-oriented basic scientists. This became the theme ofNIH when Friedenwald was on the Council of NINDBand still persists as such to this day.

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� 2004 by Elsevier Inc.All rights reserved.

ig. 1. Jonas S. Friedenwald. (Courtesy of the Alan Masonhesney Archives of the Johns Hopkins Medical

nstitutions.)

Friedenwald’s love of music, art, literature, andistory, and his expertise and profound knowledge

0039-6257/04/$–see front matterdoi:10.1016/j.survophthal.2004.04.013

JONAS S. FRIEDENWALD—MY MENTOR 463

of such diverse areas as pathology, physiology, atomicenergy, law, mathematics, philosophy, social welfare,and education resulted in a wide array of prominentfigures seeking his advice and friendship. These in-cluded Frankfurter, Oppenheimer, Verhoef, Cogan,Barany, and Kinsey among many others. Workingwith him in the laboratory and accompanying himand his wife, Louisa, to the symphony or weekendsin a mountain cabin or other informal sojourns inVirginia or Wyoming proved most stimulating. De-pending on the particular invited guests, the topics fordiscussion varied from Supreme Court decisions, theinteractions of law and medicine, art, music, or thefuture of Israeli medicine. Friedenwald, in his modestfashion, frequently offered exciting new solutionsand revelations.

As a fellow in Friedenwald’s laboratory, I becameaware that this great clinician–scientist and rolemodel had only his own funds and gifts from patientsto support his research. Friedenwald’s laboratoryconsisted of a small room in the basement of theWilmer Institute. He had one technician and onemedical student (George Koelle), and me as aresearch fellow. Koelle worked on the histochemicallocalization of cholinesterase. I was assigned the taskof developing a method for beta-glucuronidase. Theother basement laboratory was occupied by Steve Kuf-fler, with Chuy Hunt and, later, Hubel and Wiesel.Our research was entirely “hands-on.” Friedenwaldand I stomach-tubed rabbits, collected their urine,and isolated the biosynthesized glucuronides. Afterpurification, we applied them to frozen sections oftissue, which we had cut. Mentoring, to Friedenwald,

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eant working side by side plus phone calls at allours of the day and night and exchanges of longand-written letters; all of this, plus his half days ofrivate practice in order to support our research.Despite all, this kind, unassuming man, was always

oncerned with the welfare of patients in his activeractice and sensitive to the personal details of the

ives of his associates. I well recall his visiting myamily in Baltimore and St. Louis, and particularly hisrawling on the floor with our 1- and 2-year old chil-ren, or imitating a hippopotamus rolling over. His

ong hand-written letters from Jenny Lake Ranch withetailed mathematical formulations of research re-ults were interspersed with sketches and descriptionsf wildlife encountered during his long solo walks inhe mountains. Nor can I ever forget his letters to

e when his operation for recurrent diverticulitis ledo the discovery of advanced colon cancer. His majoroncern was how “painful and upsetting” this newsould be for me. In spite of severe discomfort andisability, he proceeded to lecture, attend meetings,rite papers, and direct research until his untimelynd. It was his “firm determination to squeeze asuch joy and interest, love and meaning out of the

ime still available as possible.”Mentoring reached new heights in those momen-

ous years! I was indeed fortunate and remain for-ver grateful.

eprint address: Dr. Bernard Becker, Washington School of Medi-ine, Department of Ophthalmology BX-8096, 660 S. Euclidvenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63110.