On Thursday, Jan 13 2011 our class heard that one of our Genetics professors (who was also a small group discussion section leader/preceptor) had passed away. Dr. Thomas R. Kadesch.
When I saw the email, his name sounded very familiar (we have many, many professors who teach our classes - sometimes just a lecture or two), so I googled his name and saw his picture. My first response was "he's the guy who taught me about Retinoblastoma"! He was not my small group preceptor, so I didn't know him very well. But I did remember almost everything he taught us about Rb (think of that as either the protein or retinoblastoma itself).
Rb is a pretty rare disease. But considering how many students Dr. Kadesch has taught (in just our year, that's about 165 kids), I'm sure one of us will end up diagnosing a patient with Rb. I know that if I end up being the one who diagnoses a patient with this cancer, know this: it won't be because I'm smart, or because of any inborn talent of mine. It'll be because Dr. Kadesh taught me about this disease. Him and all the other professors who lectured to us about this cancer.
Good people in the world live on through their deeds. For teachers, this is doubly true. Their impact on students continues to help the world long after they are gone. Thank you Dr. Kadesch.
My condolences to his family, friends, and my fellow students (especially the ones who had him as their group discussion preceptor).
As a side note, as I was writing up this blog post, my music playlist started playing the "Aeris Theme" (or Aerith if you played the Japanese version) from Final Fantasy VII. For those of you who know it, you'll understand why it's appropriate. For those who aren't familiar with it - give it a listen.
Even if you don't know about FF7, I'm pretty sure you'll understand why it's appropriate.
Rest In Peace Dr. Kadesch.
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