The Oncologist, Vol. 6, No. 2, 118,
April 2001
© 2001 AlphaMed Press
Robert A. Kyle: An Appreciation
Lawrence A. Solberg, Jr.
Chair, Division of Hematology/Oncology Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida
Mayo Clinic colleagues from Jacksonville, Florida, honored Robert A. Kyle, M.D. on Sunday, July 30, 2000, at a Mini-Symposium on Myeloma, at Amelia Island, Florida. The mini-symposium was part of the 10th Annual Hematology-Oncology Reviews hosted by the Division of Hematology-Oncology of the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. Dr. Kyle's presentation at this symposium is published in this issue [1].
The course co-directors, Drs. Gerardo-Colon Otero and Mark McLaughlin, and I did not choose to honor Dr. Kyle because of his scientific achievements. Numerous other distinguished scientific and medical entities already have recognized Dr. Kyle for his contributions far beyond our capacity to add. For example, of over 50 recognitions and honors bestowed upon Dr. Kyle, one was his naming by the Mayo Foundation Board of Trustees as the William H. Donner Professor of Medicine and Laboratory Medicine at Mayo Medical School from 1981-1987. He received the Waldenstrom Award for myeloma in Torino, Italy, in 1991. In 1997, he gave the Kaufmann Memorial Lectureship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Medical Center in New York and in 1999 the George P. Canellos lectureship in medical oncology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. He was principal investigator of Acute Leukemia Group B from 1971-1982 and chairman of the Myeloma Committee of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group from 1984-1996. He was chairman of our Division of Hematology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota from 1986-1991, and he has served on numerous editorial boards and the boards of scientific organizations.
We wanted to recognize and value some personal qualities that have permeated his life and career and benefited so many of us. We also wanted to officially recognize Dr. Kyle's wife, Charlene Kyle (Fig. 1
). All of us who have spouses and family know how essential their love and support are to our careers. We appreciate the extraordinary contribution of Charlene Kyle.
The two characteristics that came to our minds about Bob Kyle are his kindness and his curiosity. These characteristics, combined with his intelligence and industriousness, make him not only an excellent scientist but also an effective and unforgettable mentor for many individuals both within and outside the Mayo Clinic.
One need only look at current members of the Dysproteinemia Group in Rochester, Minnesota, to see his imprint. These colleagues include Angela Dispenzieri, M.D., Morie A. Gertz, M.D., Philip R. Greipp, M.D., Martha Q. Lacy, M.D., John A. Lust, M.D., Vincent Rajkumar, M.D., Rafael Fonseca, M.D., and Thomas E. Witzig, M.D. Dr. Kyle also has always responded to our requests from Jacksonville to help us as a visiting professor or in any other capacity we have ever asked.
We call Dr. Kyle "RAK"—pronounced "rack." One of the gifts by RAK to us flows from his immense curiosity about nearly everything. Recently, I learned of a phrase used in recruiting circles called the "Airport Test." As best I recall, this test means that if one were marooned with an individual in an airport for twenty-four hours, would it be a stimulating and exciting experience or a boring and horrible experience? Well, I can tell you this: one could be marooned in an airport with Dr. Kyle for twenty-four hours and regret that one could not stay longer when the time came to leave! The reader may be aware, for example, that Dr. Kyle has written for many years on stamps recognizing medical subjects in the Journal of the American Medical Association. He even has received recognition as a distinguished topical philatelist from the American Topical Association!
I am happy and challenged to have this opportunity to write a tribute to Dr. Kyle on behalf of my colleagues. Happy because he has helped me personally in more ways than I have ever been able to tell him. But challenged, because I have to boil down all the thoughts and interests and feelings of my colleagues. I would say this for all of us: Thank you Bob and Charlene for your help in understanding disease and for your gifts to all of us through your rich companionship, and your helping us to develop our lives and professions.
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REFERENCES
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Kyle RA. Update on the treatment of multiple myeloma. The Oncologist 2001;6:119-124.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
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