Fathers, Sons, and Science

Fathers, Sons, and Science

I AM JOHN Mendelson, Jack Mendelson’s oldest son. Inthis issue of Alcoholism—Clinical and Experimental

Research there are three tributes to a remarkable person—myfather, Jack Harold Mendelson. Roger Meyer and MarcSchuckit will comment on Jack’s amazing professionalachievements—his visionary science, warm collegialityand loyal friendships. I write both as his son and physician-scientist.Fathers and sons are cut from the same cloth and molded

on the same wheel. Thus, it may not be surprising that I fol-lowed Jack into medicine and biomedical research. Althoughour overlapping careers defined much of our relationship, wefollowed different paths. An oft-stated wisdom in science isthat we stand on the shoulders of giants. What is less wellappreciated is that the footprints of giants are usually deepand can result in a diminished stature for those destined tofollow. A real challenge in my career has been to develop anindependent identity in the face of my father’s outstandingaccomplishments. On more than one occasion people haveconfused us—I occasionally would get emails asking about alate manuscript review or a chapter promised for an impor-tant book. Occasionally I get credit for his work, which is aflattering confusion because he was an incredibly talentedmedical scientist and compassionate human being.Jack was fascinated with many aspects of reproductive biol-

ogy and perhaps the dynamic interaction between Jack as afather and me as a son is an interesting intersection of repro-ductive biology and emotion. Our shared genetic and environ-mental heritage has lead to overlapping careers in medicineand science. As a caring physician, Jack believed that compas-sion—and compassion was one of his bedrock values—couldimprove life and diminish suffering, silencing even bad genesand increasing our humanity. Jack worked to diminish moraljudgment and increase compassionate treatment for drug

addicts. But Jack understood that compassion was notenough. Jack pioneered ideas, first considered revolutionaryand now widely accepted in medicine, that alcoholism mustbe understood in biologic terms in order to develop effectivemedical treatments and help people. In so thinking, he rancounter to prevailing views in psychiatry. His work lead toreal progress in treating addicts although much remains to bedone—indeed, too many physicians still believe addiction is apersonality trait or character flaw. Fortunately, Jack’s passionto improve the lives of these patients by advancing biomedicalscience will never be forgotten by those of us he inspired tocontinue this work—and will eventually change how doctorsunderstand addiction.Long before I was a physician and a scientist I was Jack’s

son. In those early years my values and character wereformed. I was lucky, because Jack was a fantastic father,always enriching our lives. Some of my most compellingchildhood memories are of traveling with my parents. Jackwon dozens of awards, the proceeds of which were usuallyused for family trips to Europe. Now my own children are thebeneficiaries of his passion for experiencing life in the close-ness of his family.Jack also taught me to appreciate humor. Jack loved to

communicate through the symbolic language of jokes. Mean-ing was conveyed and shaded by varying the set up or thepunch line. For Jack, a good joke was better than almost any-thing, particularly jokes about medical school deans. He hada gift that is rarely matched. You enjoyed being with him.Jack Mendelson was more than a wonderful, humorous

father to me, he was a personal and intellectual inspiration. Imiss him terribly, but I feel comforted in knowing that his leg-acy lives on in his family and in the academic field he helpedto create.

John Mendelson, MD

Senior Scientist, Addiction Pharmacology Research Laboratory,California Pacific Medical Center Clinical Professor of Medicine, SanFrancisco, CA 94110; E-mail: john.mendelson@cpmcri.org

Copyright � 2008 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2008.00641.x

Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research Vol. 32, No. 5May 2008

718 Alcohol Clin Exp Res, Vol 32, No 5, 2008: pp 718