Our beloved colleague, David C. Seldin died on 27 June 2015 of prostate cancer. He was 58 years old. David was a distinguished professor, brilliant investigator, and a caring physician. He was a Professor of Medicine and Microbiology and the Director of the Amyloidosis Center at Boston University School of Medicine and Chief of the Section of Hematology/Oncology at Boston Medical Center at the time of his death.
David received his BA from Harvard College and his combined MD and PhD degrees from the Harvard/MIT program in Health, Science and Technology. He was a resident in Internal Medicine and fellow in Hematology/Oncology at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana Farber Cancer Institute before coming to Boston University Medical Center in 1994.
David devoted his career to clinical and translational research focusing on cancer and blood disorders, particularly light chain (AL) amyloidosis. David and his colleagues developed ALBase, the first publically available database of amyloidogenic light chain nucleotide and amino acid sequences, advancing web-based knowledge to investigators worldwide. Among other research accomplishments, he successfully made the first transgenic model of AL amyloidosis, of proven value in testing novel therapies. His work as a clinician and researcher earned him many fellowships and grants, including support from the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the Avon Foundation, the Department of Defense, the Wildflower and Gruss Foundations, the Stewart Amyloid Endowment Fund, the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Institutes of Health.
As an active clinical researcher, David served as principal or co-investigator on trials of immunomodulatory drugs, proteasome inhibitors and anti-fibril antibodies for AL amyloidosis. He and his colleagues worked on refining techniques of autologous stem cell transplantation and developing therapies for other forms of amyloidosis. Of greatest impact on his academic career were collaborations with colleagues all over the world.
David took special pleasure in working with students and young investigators. He had an extraordinary ability to critique their work respectfully and encourage them to strive for the best. He developed and was the first director of the graduate program in Molecular Medicine in the Division of Graduate Medical Sciences at Boston University, and established courses for graduate students in Cancer Biology and in Diseases of Protein Misfolding. He enjoyed training and mentoring a generation of physicians and post-doctoral and pre-doctoral fellows in the conduct of clinical, laboratory and translational research. Because of his research capability and genuine interest in students, he served on innumerable thesis committees.
Among his many honors, David was appointed the Wesley and Charlotte Skinner Professor for Amyloidosis Research. He raised the level of the Amyloid Program to a Center of Excellence within Boston University. He was a member of NIH study sections, and grant and review panels for Canada, Greece, United Kingdom, and Singapore. He appeared on a variety of “best doctor” lists over the years. He was a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Amyloidosis Foundation, and on the Board of the International Society of Amyloidosis. David also served as an Associate Editor of Amyloid, Journal of Protein Folding Disorders.
David’s life was too short, but his impact was enormous! Colleagues, students, and patients from around the world have given tributes to his brilliance, kindness, and generosity in response to hearing of his death. A few from the amyloid family include the following. Per Westermark (Sweden) commented, “David was such a nice person and as Associate Editor of very great help. He was very knowledgeable, careful and honest. His death is a great loss for the whole amyloid community”. Giampaolo Merlini (Italy) said, “We will all miss David tremendously, such a wonderful person in all respects!” Jeff Kelly (California) said, “I enjoyed David’s optimism and enthusiasm for good science and medicine—he was a breath of fresh air. His shoes are large to fill”. Laura Dember (Philadelphia) commented, “We will miss David. He made us all better people”. Dan Wright (Maryland) said, “David was such an enormously valued colleague, friend, and confidant during my years at BU and afterwards”. Stefan Schoenland (Germany) wrote saying, “We are very sad with this news and wish strength for the members of the Amyloidosis Center to cope”. Brian O’Nuallain (Harvard, Boston) said, “David was kind, helpful, and thoughtful. David and his colleagues did a lot to help me with my TTR amyloid studies”. Bouke Hazenberg (the Netherlands) wrote, “David was a kind colleague. I’m glad to have known him”. Francesca Lavatelli (former visiting scientist from Italy) said, “There are no words to say how I feel. David will be remembered with love and profound respect”. Heather Landau (NYC) commented, “David’s death was a great loss”. Merrill Benson (Indiana) called to express his condolences. Patients from all over the United States and the world wrote of David’s brilliance and compassion in caring for them and of their gratitude for the hope he gave to them and their families. His colleagues at Boston University Amyloidosis Center are very sad, but will continue the mission of finding better treatments and a cure for amyloidosis, following the example of one of the best colleagues they ever had.
His wife Dr. Elizabeth Hohmann, a specialist in infectious diseases at the Massachusetts General Hospital; his three daughters Stephanie, Maggie and Diana; his parents Florence and Ira Seldin, and his sister Judi Seldin and her husband survive David.