Dr. Allan Douglas Kirk, MD, PhD, is Chair of the Department of Surgery in the Duke University School of Medicine and Surgeon-in-Chief for Duke University Health System. He is also the David C. Sabiston Jr. Professor of Surgery and a professor of immunology and pediatrics. Kirk is a transplant surgeon and physician, specializing in kidney and pancreas transplantation. He is internationally recognized for work in transplant immunology, pioneering the use of costimulation pathway blockade to prevent organ rejection in transplant patients. This collection contains 1 oral history interview conducted on June 12, 2019 by Dr. Justin Barr as part of the Dr. David Sabiston Oral History Project. In this interview, Kirk discusses his early life; education; background in music; how he came to be a transplant surgeon; memories of Dr. David Sabiston from his time as a student and resident; becoming a surgeon; his interest in immunology as it related to the field of transplantation; Dr. Robert Anderson taking over as Chair of the Department of Surgery; Kirk's and Sabiston's shared military experience; Kirk's relationship with Sabiston after leaving Duke; and how Sabiston helped shape Kirk's time as Chair of the Department of Surgery at Duke, as well as their different styles of leadership.
Dr. Allan H. Friedman, MD, a Master Surgeon at Duke University, has served as Deputy Director of the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center, Guy L. Odom Professor of Neurological Surgery, and Chief of the Division of Neurosurgery. This collection contains 1 oral history interview conducted on May 14, 2019 by Susannah Roberson as part of the Dr. David Sabiston Oral History Project. In the interview, Friedman discusses his early life, educational background, how he decided to become a surgeon, how he came to Duke, his residency at Duke, his career in medicine at Duke, and his memories of Sabiston.
Dr. Andrew S. Wechsler, MD, emeritus professor in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Drexel University College of Medicine, was the Stanley K. Brockman Professor and Chairman of the Department of from 1998 to 2011. Wechsler completed his Residency in General and Thoracic Surgery at Duke University Medical Center (1973) and afterwards joined the faculty (1974-1988). This collection contains 1 oral history interview conducted on June 18, 2019 by Emily Stewart as part of the Dr. David Sabiston Oral History Project. In the interview, Wechsler discusses his early life, education, decision to enter the medical profession, decision to switch from cardiology to cardiac surgery, experiences with Sabiston as a resident and faculty member at Duke, what is was like to move from the North to the South in the seventies, Sabiston's rigid but principled manner, experiences offered to him because of Sabiston's support, reestablishing the cardiac surgery program at the Durham VA, leaving Duke to become a professor and chair in the Department of Surgery at the Medical College of Virginia, and other memories of Sabiston and his wife, Aggie.
Barbara Parnell worked at Duke from 1963 to 2012. She worked for Dr. H. Newland Oldham, Professor of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Medicine, as well as holding the position of Coordinator for the Sabiston Society where she planned all of the group's meetings from the Society's inception. This collection contains 1 oral history interview conducted on April 5, 2021 by Dr. Konstantinos Economopoulos as part of the Dr. David Sabiston Oral History Project. In the interview, Parnell discusses her memories of Sabiston, her work for him, and his reputation among the residents.
Dr. Bernard M. Jaffe, MD, is a general surgeon and Professor of Surgery, Emeritus at Tulane University Medical Center. This collection contains 1 oral history interview conducted on June 24, 2019 by Emily Stewart as part of the Dr. David Sabiston Oral History Project. In the interview, Jaffe discusses, as part of the recorded interview, how he helped locate the grave of Dr. William Stewart Halsted, a role model for Dr. Sabiston, when Sabiston was a visiting professor at the medical school at the State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. There are additional notes about 2 Sabiston stories made during a phone conversation with Jaffe that were not recorded about how Jaffe met Sabiston and Sabiston's niece only calling him "Dr. Sabiston" and not "Uncle Dave".
Dr. Bruce Schirmer, MD, graduated from Duke University School of Medicine in 1978, as well as completing his residency in General and Thoracic Surgery and a fellowship in Gastrointestinal Surgery Research at Duke. He joined the faculty at the University of Virginia in 1985. This collection contains 1 oral history interview conducted by Dr. Justin Barr on November 30, 2018 and is part of the Dr. David Sabiston Oral History Project. In the interview, Schimer discusses his experiences at Duke, his time as a practicing doctor at Fort Balknap Indian Reservation, his experiences with Sabiston, and key mentors at Duke.
Dr. Carl E. Ravin, MD (1942- ) is a Duke Professor of Radiology and former Chair of the Department of Radiology (1985-2008). This collection contains 1 oral history interview conducted on May 20, 2019 by Emily Stewart as part of the Dr. David Sabiston Oral History Project. In the interview, Ravin briefly discusses his early life, education, military service during the Vietnam War, and his early career as a chest radiologist; memories of Dr. David Sabiston including the time Sabiston would not greet him because he was not wearing a white coat, as well as how Sabiston negotiated behind the scenes and controlled the environment by setting an example of how he thought the environment should operate; becoming chair of the department of surgery and changes he made; writing a chapter on imaging for Sabiston's surgery textbook; how Sabiston created an atmosphere at Duke with a superb quality of care from top rate doctors that also heavily focused on academics; Sabiston's commitment to the institution of Duke; and Ravin's relationship with Sabiston after his retirement.
Dr. Courtney M. Townsend Jr., MD, is the Robertson-Poth Distinguished Chair in General Surgery in the Department of Surgery at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB). He is a highly esteemed surgical educator who is also a Professor of Surgery, Professor of Physicians Assistants Studies, and graduate faculty in the Cell Biology Program. Townsend also served as the Editor-In-Chief of the "Sabiston Textbook for Surgery: The Biological Basis of Modern Surgical Practice" for the 16th through 20th editions. This collection contains 1 oral history interview conducted on January 20, 2022 by Taylor Patterson as part of the Dr. David Sabiston Oral History Project. In the interview, Townsend discusses his background; his decision to become a surgeon; his education and training; his time in the Navy, becoming the Editor-In-Chief for the "Textbook of Surgery" after Sabiston, as well as his experiences in that role; Sabiston's influence on the field of surgery; how Townsend shaped surgical resident education at his institution; the importance of developing a workforce that looks like the population being served; and his memories of Sabiston and his wife Agnes (Aggie) Barden Sabiston.
Dr. Craig L. Slingluff Jr., MD, is the Joseph Helms Farrow Professor of Surgery at University of Virginia (UVA) Health, where he serves as the Vice-Chair for Research in the Department of Surgery, Director of the UVA Cancer Center Human Immune Therapy Center, and Co-Chair of the Melanoma Committee of Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG). He has 20 years of experience as a surgical oncologist and as an independent investigator in cancer immunology and immunotherapy, all at UVA. This collection contains 1 oral history interview conducted on April 18, 2021 by Dr. Justin Barr as part of the Dr. David Sabiston Oral History Project. In the interview, Slingluff discusses his early life, education, why he decided to join the medical profession, how he came to Duke for his residency, his memories of Sabiston, recollections of the people he worked with at Duke during his residency and research fellowship, his decision to go into surgical oncology, and how he ended up back at the UVA.
Dani Bolognesi received his PhD from Duke in virology in 1967, and he joined the faculty at Duke as an Assistant Professor in Virology in the Department of Surgery in 1971 and became an Associate Professor of Surgery in 1972. Bolognesi held other positions at Duke: Vice Chair of the Department of Surgery (1994-1999), Professor of Virology in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology (2001-2002), Professor of Virology in the Department of Microbiology (1994-2002), Professor of Surgery (1977-2002), and Professor Emeritus of Surgery (2002-present). While at Duke, his laboratory did the early work on identifying anti-HIV activity in what would become AZT, the first drug developed against the disease. This collection contains 2 oral history interviews conducted on September 29, 1994 by Dr. James Gifford and May 29, 2019 by Taylor Patterson and is part of the Dr. David Sabiston Oral History Project. In the June 29, 1994 interview, Bolognesi discusses his educational background; working with Dr. Joseph Beard at Duke; and his research, particularly the work of the laboratory he directed. In the May 29, 2019 interview, Bolognesi discusses his early life and education; his studies and work at Duke, where he was a student under Dr. Joseph Beard; professional and personal memories of Dr. David Sabiston, including Sabiston's interest in grants; Sabiston's stoke; Sabiston's Christmas parties; translational research; the Department of Surgery; and Bolognesi's HIV research.