Abstract
J. Wesley Alexander, MD, ScD, internationally renowned pioneer in transplantation, died July 7, 2018. He was 84 years old. Dr. Alexander was raised in a small town in west Texas and received his undergraduate degree at Texas Technological University in Lubbock. He received his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston in 1957 and a Doctor of Science degree from the University of Cincinnati in 1964. He completed his internship and surgical residency at Cincinnati General Hospital in 1964. During this time, he first developed interests in surgical infection and was greatly influenced and encouraged by his department chairman at that time, Dr. William A. Altemeier. Following two years of duty with the United States Army, upon Dr. Altemeier's recommendation, Dr. Alexander completed a fellowship in immunology with Dr. Robert Good, a leading immunologist at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Alexander returned to Cincinnati in 1967 to join the University of Cincinnati faculty as an assistant professor. He was named a professor in 1975 and became the inaugural holder of the William A. Altemeier Professorship in Research Surgery in 2000. He was appointed professor emeritus in 2008.
Throughout his career, Dr. Alexander maintained active interest in surgical infection, and also in nutrition and their interrelationships, and played key roles in development of burn and surgical infectious disease programs at the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Alexander was named the first director of the Division of Transplantation at the University of Cincinnati in 1967, a position he held until 1999.
Among his most notable awards were the Harvey Stuart Allen Distinguished Service Award from the American Burn Association (1994), the George Rieveschl Award for Distinguished Scientific Research from the University of Cincinnati (1996), the Daniel Drake Medal from the College of Medicine (1997), and the Distinguished Service Award from the Cincinnati Surgical Society (2005). Dr. Alexander was active in many professional organizations, serving as president of the American Burn Association (1984–1985), the Surgical Infection Society (1986–1987), and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons (1988–1989), and as a member of the board of directors of the Halsted Society (1981–1991). Dr. Alexander received National Institute of Health research grant funding for more than 35 years and his research efforts resulted in seven US patents between 1991 and 2001 and more than 700 published scientific articles.
Dr. Alexander is survived by his wife Maureen Alexander, six children, 19 grandchildren, and 13 great grandchildren.