IBMTR/ABMTR

Robert A. Good, MD, PhD, 1922-2003

Robert A. Good, MD, PhD, a pioneer in bone marrow transplant, considered by many the founder of modern cellular immunology, has died at the age of 81 years.

Dr. Good was a pediatrician, microbiologist and pathologist who gained international recognition in a long and spectacular career that included one of the first successful human bone marrow transplants in 1968. A native of Minnesota, Dr. Good was 6 years old when his father died of cancer. From then on he wanted to become a physician and pursue research that would cure disease. He began teaching at the University of Minnesota in 1944, where he earned his MD and PhD degrees. He drew national recognition in 1962 when he identified the thymus as the primary source of the body?s defense mechanisms at the annual meeting of the Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology (FASEB).

Dr. Good's discoveries helped establish that immunodeficiency diseases are not rare, as once thought, but a frequent and very important basis of serious disease in mankind. His studies led to the recognition and demonstration of the T-cell and B-cell arms of the immune system and the development of useful methods of bone marrow transplantation. In 1965 he reported evidence that tonsils, widely regarded as useless, actually had an important function in developing the immune defense systems in mammals, including young humans, and he advised that they should be removed only if involved in a serious health problem.

Dr. Good was recruited to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in 1973 as President and Director of the Sloan-Kettering Institute and Director of Research at Memorial Hospital. During his tenure Sloan-Kettering became one of the original eight institutions recognized by the National Cancer Institute as a Comprehensive Cancer Center. Since 1983, Dr. Good served as Physician-in-Chief at All Children?s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, and was at the time of his death Distinguished Research Professor at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

Dr. Good received numerous awards and recognition during his 55 years in medical research. He was a founding member of the National Institutes of Medicine. He was author, co-author or editor of more than 2,000 papers and book chapters, and trained hundreds of students in immunology. At the 2000 Tandem BMT Meetings in Anaheim, he presented the ASBMT's annual E. Donnall Thomas Lecture.

Dr. Good was one of the founding members of the IBMTR and a strong supporter of the IBMTR's research program throughout his life. Dr. Good made many contributions to the IBMTR/ABMTR over the past 30 years, as a contributing team leader, a co-author on numerous IBMTR publications between 1983 and 1996, and a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee. In honor of his significant role in the development of the organization, the IBMTR Scientific Advisory Committee elected him as a Councillor and Charter Member in 1989. He will be remembered with respect, affection and gratitude.

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