Sunday, June 23, 2013
I'm deeply indebted to Neil Kirkman for recruiting me to UNC, what turns out now to be a number of decades ago. At times like this I'm reminded of a sign that hung in the little shop on Rosemary Street owned by George, my barber for many years. It said, "inside every older person, there's a younger person . . . . wondering what happened!!!"
During his 26 years on the faculty, Neil built a widely-respected Division of Genetics and Metabolism, and he helped develop and guide newborn screening in North Carolina, setting a national standard for personalized management of patients with inborn errors of metabolism. As I told Neil at his retirement in 1991, his attention to detail in providing personalized care to his patients and counseling to their families set an extremely high standard, and in my contacts with colleagues at other centers, I came to realize that there are things they didn't do that we just took for granted. I think the comments by Dianne Frazier and others at the memorial service reflect exactly that.
Dr. Kirkman established the first satellite genetics clinics in the state; and these were also some of the first in the nation. We flew as far as Asheville in the west and Jacksonville in the east. I recall appearing on a panel at the annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics in the late 1970s discussing our experiences in setting up these pioneering clinics.
I also recall appearing with Neil back around that same time on what must have been a fledgling UNC-TV channel, being interviewed by the reigning Miss North Carolina about our genetics clinics. The other half of that show was video of three young guys standing out in a field playing old-time music. Neil got a big kick out of telling the story about how he took me to meet Miss North Carolina, and how we shared the bill with the Red Clay Ramblers.
In those early days, Neil gave single lectures on PKU during the medical students' biochemistry course, and he was proud that the students subsequently petitioned the dean to establish a separate course in medical genetics for them.
Neil also set a very high standard by being extremely supportive of the young people who worked with him. He mentored a number of graduate students and fellows who have gone on to careers in academic medicine.
Some things Dr. Kirkman taught us that you won't hear about anywhere else:
It's cool to come into the lab on Saturday and run experiments, do mouth-pipetting, incubate your samples in a water bath, or work on that darn amino acid analyzer that kept breaking down, all the while dressed in your suit trousers, a white dress shirt, and a tie.
Neil was a bit of a stickler when it came to terminology. In talking about a patient's family history, don't use the term "family member" - instead, he pointed out that the term "relative" is much more appropriate to use when discussing a genetic condition, and it's shorter.
There's a term that is commonly used in genetics that he taught us not to use: Neil would say, don't use the (commonly-used) term "non-paternity" to refer to a situation where a child's biological father is not the mother's husband, because, as Neil would point out, "non-paternity" has only been reported once in the history of civilization, and scholars differ on its interpretation.
Neil Kirkman leaves behind a wonderful legacy of pioneering patient care, teaching, and research, as well as a wonderful family of children, grandchildren, and their spouses, of whom I know he was very, very proud.
