October 24 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Dr. Donald Seldin. Having recently published a biography about the iconic Dallas physician – Donald Seldin: The Maestro of Medicine – I confess that he continues to live in my mind more than two years after he passed away. For those who were privileged to study under him or know him personally, Dr. Seldin was a towering figure. It is not an exaggeration to assert that he transformed an institution, nurtured generations of physicians, and enriched his community almost without parallel in the history of modern medicine.

The legacy that Dr. Seldin leaves in Dallas began humbly enough. He arrived in the booming post-war city on a cold winter’s day in 1951. The native of Brooklyn was recruited away from Yale Medical School where he was a rising star faculty member. The start-up institution that Seldin joined at the Southwestern Medical School of the University of Texas was a far cry from the Ivy League university that he had left behind. He could not believe his eyes when he encountered the ramshackle collection of decaying former Army buildings that housed the Dallas medical school.  The physical disarray was mirrored by an exodus of faculty leaders who departed for greener pastures elsewhere. Nobody could have blamed Seldin if he turned his Kaiser automobile around and headed straight back to New Haven.

Fortunately for Dallas and Texas, the hard-headed young recruit spurned the sensible path and elected to remain at the school that would become known later as the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Soon, Seldin was chosen to lead the Department of Medicine. It was not exactly a fierce competition as he was the only remaining full-time faculty member in the department at the time. As Seldin did in every pursuit, he threw himself with abandon into building a rigorous educational program, delivering most of the lectures and patient rounds himself. He was demanding of his trainees – like a drill sergeant, he hounded his cadets, testing their knowledge and attention to detail. His critique could be biting – one of his oft-repeated lines to students was: “Here’s a dime. Go call your mother. She will know the answer to my question.”

It was tough love, but the students knew that he had their best interests, and those of their patients, at heart. Moreover, the trainees were wowed by Seldin’s intellect and encyclopedic command of medical knowledge. They knew that they were in the presence of greatness. Many of these students, virtually all Texans, were hand-picked by Seldin for career development. With little money to recruit top notch faculty, Seldin decided to grow his own. He was blessed with bright students, and he had a discerning eye that allowed him to pick out and cultivate future leaders. He often sent his protégés  to the best institutions in the country for further training before invariably they returned, one after another, to work in his department. Many became leaders not only of UT Southwestern, but of American medicine.

Seldin believed deeply that the best teachers were those who were also researchers advancing the frontiers of medical science. He practiced what he preached, running a kidney research lab that was known as one of the best in the world. He made fundamental contributions to our understanding of how the kidney works. He was a founding member of both national and international organizations devoted to the study of the kidney and co-authored one of the most respected textbooks in the field. He trained many of the leaders in the field and his former fellows became the directors of nephrology divisions around the world.

Seldin knew that building excellence in the Department of Medicine was necessary but not sufficient to create an academic powerhouse at UT Southwestern. When Harvard came calling, and he seriously considered departing, the UT System implored him to stay. Seldin’s unselfish request for remaining was neither personal support nor a promissory note for his own flourishing department, but for the System to invest in the basic science departments – biochemistry and physiology and cell biology. With the support of the UT System and campus president Charles Sprague, brilliant scientists were recruited to head these departments.  By the 1980s, UT Southwestern was beginning to accumulate Nobel prize winners making it the envy of much older and more established medical schools.

One of Seldin’s many advisory roles was to serve on the national commission that wrote the guidelines for protecting human participants in medical research. The work of that committee dealt with many of the most controversial topics of the day – among them, studies of fetuses, research on children, investigations involving mentally incompetent persons, and studies utilizing incarcerated persons. The commission’s overarching guidelines for the ethical conduct of human research, written more than forty years ago, continue to serve as the touchstone for agencies, institutions, and investigators.

With such a storied professional career, it is hard to imagine that Donald Seldin had any time for outside interests. In fact, he was a true Renaissance man, who read widely in fields as diverse as literature, philosophy, and economics. He admired modern art and built an impressive personal collection. He loved opera and orchestral work and supported local cultural organizations. He was a gourmand and an oenophile and delighted in tasting and critiquing the finest cuisine in Dallas and beyond.

Seldin’s first wife, Muriel, passed away in 1994 at the age of 75 after 51 years of marriage. Donald served as Muriel’s devoted caretaker during her long and debilitating illness. After her death, Seldin lost his verve and his own health began to decline. Magically, a former student, Ellen Taylor, reentered his life, and completely restored his joie de vivre. They were wed in 1998. Ellen and Donald traveled extensively, often with friends or family, and their marriage was an inspiring example of how the sparks of love can be kindled even late in life.

When Donald Seldin passed away peacefully on April 28, 2018 at the age of 97, he left behind a legacy that was as great as his adopted hometown. He had the rare ability to see opportunity where others saw only a hopeless cause. Seldin had the insight to see in others the potential that they themselves may not have recognized. He built a medical school, a field of inquiry, a professional discipline, and several generations of future leaders. As the 100^th anniversary of his birth approaches, may we all celebrate the good fortune that brought Donald Seldin to Dallas and allowed him to share his gifts with so many in this great city.