Former dean of medical school Dr. Sherman Mellinkoff dies at 96
Sherman Mellinkoff, dean of the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine from 1962 to 1986, died July 17. (UCLA School of Medicine’s Special Collection)
Dr. Sherman Mellinkoff, who served as the dean of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA for 24 years, died of congestive heart failure July 17. He was 96.
Dr. Alan Fogelman, chair of the department of medicine, said Mellinkoff was a passionate teacher and fostered the growth of students by providing a learning environment in which they could become physicians and scientists.
Mellinkoff graduated from the Stanford University School of Medicine in 1944. He was recruited as a faculty member for the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in 1953 and served as dean from 1962 to 1986. After a yearlong sabbatical, Mellinkoff returned to UCLA to teach clinical medicine.
Michael Phelps, chair of the department of molecular and medical pharmacology, said he met Mellinkoff after Mellinkoff recruited him to work on building a positron emission tomography, or PET, scanner at UCLA. A PET scanner is a diagnostic tool that uses harmless radioactive tracers in the body to test for diseases or other abnormalities.
Phelps said Mellinkoff was a natural-born teacher who imparted his knowledge upon his students and other faculty. He was also eager to learn from his own students.
Phelps added Mellinkoff was curious about many things, whether it was medicine, science or literature.
“(Mellinkoff) had a big imagination,” Phelps said. “We could talk openly about our hopes and our dreams, things we could imagine but couldn’t do yet.”
Fogelman said he met Mellinkoff when he was a second-year medical student at UCLA. Fogelman walked into Mellinkoff’s office to ask for advice about whether he should take a year off to research pathology. Mellinkoff was genuinely interested in trying to help Fogelman make his decision, which paid off in his career, he said.
“He was a person who always tried to do the right thing and he did,” Fogelman said. “He inspired me with his dedication, his commitment to excellence and honesty.”
Fogelman said when the medical school had an opportunity to get a major endowment from a donor, Mellinkoff denied it because he thought the way the donors wanted UCLA to use the money was morally wrong.
Mellinkoff’s vision and leadership helped UCLA improve in medical education and research, vice chancellor of UCLA Health Sciences and CEO of UCLA Health, Dr. John Mazziotta said in a UCLA press release.
In 1979, the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA established the Sherman Mellinkoff Faculty Award to honor Mellinkoff’s contribution to the school. The award is given to faculty who show excellence in medical education and maintain good doctor-patient relationships.
Contributing reports by Ryan Leou, national and higher education editor.
