Ralph Snyderman Oral History Interviews, 1990-2019

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Restrictions apply to the December 14, 1990, March 24, 1993, April 22, 1994, and April 28, 1995 interviews. For further information consult with the Medical Center Archivist.No release forms for...
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Summary

Creator:
Snyderman, Ralph.
Abstract:
Dr. Ralph Snyderman, MD, is Chancellor Emeritus of Duke University, James B. Duke Professor of Medicine, and Director of the Duke Center for Research on Personalized Health Care. This collection contains 8 oral history interviews. The interviews conducted on December 14, 1990; March 23, 1993; April 22, 1994; and April 28, 1995 were done by Dr. James Gifford. The April 28, 1995 interview is included in the Dr. David Sabiston Oral History Project. The interviews conducted on March 6, 2003; December 16, 2003; January 16, 2004; and February 23, 2004 were done by Walter E. Campbell for the book "Foundations for Excellence: 75 Years of Duke Medicine". The interview contacted on July 22, 2019 by Dr. Justin Barr is part of the Dr. David Sabiston Oral History Project. In the interviews, Snyderman discusses his life leading up to the time he spent at the National Institutes of Health, his time at Genentech, accepting the chancellor position at Duke, Duke Medical Center's 75th anniversary, his tenure as chancellor, his background, and his memories of Sabiston.
Extent:
8 Interviews (6 transcripts, 15 audiocassette tapes) and 77.9 MB
Collection ID:
OH.SNYDERMANR

Background

Scope and content:

Includes 8 oral history interviews with Dr. Ralph Snyderman. The interviews conducted on December 14, 1990; March 23, 1993; April 22, 1994; and April 28, 1995 were done by Dr. James Gifford. The April 28, 1995 interview is included in the Dr. David Sabiston Oral History Project.

The interviews conducted on March 6, 2003; December 16, 2003; January 16, 2004; and February 23, 2004 were done by Walter E. Campbell for the book "Foundations for Excellence: 75 Years of Duke Medicine".

The interview contacted on July 22, 2019 by Dr. Justin Barr is part of the Dr. David Sabiston Oral History Project. In the interviews, Snyderman discusses his life leading up to the time he spent at the National Institutes of Health, his time at Genentech, accepting the chancellor position at Duke, Duke Medical Center's 75th anniversary, his tenure as chancellor, his background, and his memories of Sabiston.

Biographical / historical:

Dr. Ralph Snyderman, MD, Chancellor Emeritus of Duke University, James B. Duke Professor of Medicine, and Director of the Duke Center for Research on Personalized Health Care, was born in 1940 in Brooklyn, New York, to Russian immigrants Morris and Ida Snyderman. Snyderman graduated in 1961 from Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, and received his MD, magna cum laude, from the Downstate Medical Center of the State University of New York in 1965. Following graduation, Snyderman came to Duke to conduct his internship and residency in medicine and later worked as a Public Health Officer doing research in immunology at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from 1967 to 1972.

In 1972, Snyderman accepted his first faculty appointment at Duke as a Howard Hughes Medical Investigator, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Immunology. At this time, he also served as Chief of Rheumatology at the Durham Veteran's Administration Hospital. Snyderman rose through Duke's academic ranks, becoming Chief of the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology in 1974 and Frederick M. Hanes Professor of Medicine and Immunology in 1984.

Snyderman left Duke in 1987 to join Genentech, Inc., a biomedical technology firm in San Francisco, California. There, he held the position of Vice President for Medical Research and Development and served as a member of Genentech's senior leadership team. Snyderman was promoted to Senior Vice President a year later (1988). While at Genentech, Snyderman led the development and licensing of several therapeutics and supervised roughly 300 staff members working in pharmacology, clinical research, and regulatory affairs.

Snyderman returned to Duke in 1989 when he accepted the position of Chancellor for Health Affairs and Dean of the School of Medicine, a position which he held from 1989 to 2004. In this role, Snyderman oversaw the development of the Duke University Health System (DUHS), one of the nation's successful integrated health systems, and served as DUHS first President and Chief Executive Officer. Under Snyderman's leadership, Duke's medical center grew from a single campus health care entity to an integrated health system, and the medical school and hospital ranked among the top in the nation. As Chancellor for Health Affairs and CEO of DUHS, Snyderman contributed to debates on health care reform issues before Congress, the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the NIH, and national policy makers. After retiring from the position of Chancellor for Health Affairs and Dean of the School of Medicine in 2004, Snyderman resumed teaching and researching at Duke as James B. Duke Professor of Medicine (1989-2017). His laboratory focused on defining the mechanisms which regulate chemoattractant receptors activation, desensitization, and priming. Snyderman also led the creation of the Duke Center for Research on Personalized Health Care, serving as its director.

Snyderman is internationally known for his contributions in inflammation research. As an immunologist, Snyderman's research into the mechanisms of inflammation led to worldwide recognition, including the two top scientific awards in this field (the CIBA GEIGY Award, and the Bonazinga Award for Excellence in Leukocyte Biology Research) and a lifetime achievement award from the Arthritis Foundation. His research in immunology has contributed to the understanding of the precise mechanism of how white blood cells respond to chemical signals to mediate host defense or tissue damage. For over 25 years, Snyderman has served as Principle Investigator on Investigator-initiated NIH grants and has published over 350 manuscripts as well as contributed to numerous books, such as "Inflammation: Basic Principles and Clinical Correlates" and multiple editions of "Cecil's Textbook of Medicine." Snyderman's research efforts resulted in new approaches for treating those suffering from inflammation-related diseases. He has researched and spoken extensively on arthritis treatment and periodontal health. Snyderman's areas of subject expertise include immunology, inflammation, rheumatology, and medical administration.

Snyderman has held leadership roles in several important national organizations. Among other appointments, he served as Chair of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) in 2001-2002, President of the Association of American Physicians (AAP) in 2003-2004, and chaired the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) National Summit on Integrative Medicine and the Health of the Public in February 2009. Snyderman also received membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Institute of Medicine (IOM).

Snyderman has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors from the scientific and medical communities. He received the two most prestigious awards worldwide in the field of inflammation research: the CIBA GEIGY Award (1992) for lifetime achievement in the field of inflammation research, and the Bonazinga Award (1993) for Excellence in Leukocyte Biology Research presented by the Society for Leukocyte Research. Other honors include the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award (1995) from the Downstate Medical Center of the State University of New York, the Washington College Distinguished Alumni Citation (1996), the Lifetime Achievement Award (1997) from the Arthritis Foundation, the Bravewell Leadership Award (2003) for outstanding achievements in the field of integrative medicine, the Leadership in Personalized Medicine Award (2007) from the Personalized Medicine Coalition, the Frost & Sullivan's North American HealthCare Lifetime Achievement Award (2008), the Triangle Business Journal's Healthcare Lifetime Achievement Award (2009), the David E. Rogers Award (2012) from the AAMC, and the North Carolina Life Sciences Leadership Award (2014). In bestowing Snyderman with the David E. Roger Award, the AAMC referred to Snyderman as the "father of personalized medicine." Snyderman also received an Honorary Doctor of Science degree (1996) from the Downstate Medical Center of the State University of New York and an honorary degree from Washington College in 2004 for outstanding achievement in the field of medicine.

Acquisition information:
Accession A1990.033 (transferred by James Gifford, December 1990), Accession A1993.004 (transferred by James Gifford, March 1993), Accession A1994.029 (transferred by James Gifford, April 1994), No documented accession number (transferred by James Gifford, April 1995), Accession A2003.103 (transferred by Walter E. Campbell, March 2003), Accession A2004.107 (transferred by Walter E. Campbell, January 2004), Accession A2004.106 (transferred by Walter E. Campbell, February 2004), Accession A2020.052 (transferred by Mary-Russell Roberson, July 2020)
Processing information:

Processed by Archives staff: 1990; updated by Archives staff: 1993, 1994, 2003, 2004; updated by Lucy Waldrop: September 2020, February 2023

Arrangement:
Organized into the following series: Interview, November 1, 1990; Interview, December 14, 1990; Interview, March 23, 1993; Interview, April 22, 1994; Interview, April 28, 1995; Interview, March 6, 2003; Interviews, December 16, 2003 and January 16, 2004; Interview, February 23, 2004; Interview, July 22, 2019.
Rules or conventions:
DACS

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Restrictions apply to the December 14, 1990, March 24, 1993, April 22, 1994, and April 28, 1995 interviews. For further information consult with the Medical Center Archivist.
No release forms for the March 6, 2003, December 16 2003, January 16, 2004, and February 23, 2004 interviews. For further information consult with the Medical Center Archivist.

Terms of access:

Copyright for Official University records is held by Duke University; all other copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Ralph Snyderman Oral History Interviews, Duke University Medical Center Archives.