Dieter Koch-Weser (July 13, 1916 – July 19, 2015) was a German-American physician and social medicine and HIV/AIDS researcher based in the
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...
and
Harvard School of Public Health. He was a long-time advocate of Dr.
Albert Schweitzer's philosophy of
Reverence for Life
The phrase Reverence for Life is a translation of the German phrase: "." These words came to Albert Schweitzer on a boat trip on the Ogooué River in French Equatorial Africa (now Gabon), while searching for a universal concept of ethics for our ...
and a supporter of the
Albert Schweitzer Fellowship
The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship is a non-profit organization in the United States, that was established in 1940 as one of the many fellowships created in developed countries to support the work of Albert Schweitzer at the Hôpital Albert Schwei ...
. He was medically noted for his HIV/AIDS research in Peru and authorization of a book on the heterosexual transmission of AIDS. In public health and healthcare, he had long advocated "a shift from treating illness to preventing it."
Early life
Dieter A. Koch-Weser was born in
Kassel, Germany
Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020. ...
on July 13, 1916, to
Erich and Berta (Fortmann) Koch-Weser. Dieter's father was a Minister in the
Democratic Weimar government. After Hitler seized power in the 1930s, his family and he left Germany and moved to Brazil, where they established a thriving
coffee plantation in
Rolandia, a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
in the
state of
Paraná in the
Southern Region of Brazil.
Rolândia was settled by
German immigrants who named it after (and erected a statue to) the medieval hero
Roland
Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...
, a symbol of freedom in Germany.
Education
Dieter Koch-Weser attended medical school in
Sao Paulo, Brazil, then migrated to the United States to complete an additional medical residency with the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
, and earned his Master of Science and Doctorate (Pathology) (1951) degrees from
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
in
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...
.
After receiving his PhD in Pathology, Dr. Koch-Weser became an Assistant Professor of Pulmonology at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
where he did specialized work on
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
and
immunology
Immunology is a branch of medicineImmunology for Medical Students, Roderick Nairn, Matthew Helbert, Mosby, 2007 and biology that covers the medical study of immune systems in humans, animals, plants and sapient species. In such we can see there ...
. While in Chicago he became an American citizen.
He then moved to
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, to work as an Assistant Professor of
Internal Medicine at
Case-Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Rese ...
where he was also Director of the University Institute for Alcoholism Research. In the early 1960s he returned to
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
, Brazil for two years to be Director of the Latin-American division of the U.S.
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...
. Returning to the United States he joined the faculty at
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...
under the deanship of Robert Ebert as a Professor of Tropical Public Health. During his long tenure there, he also served as Acting Chairman of the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine while Department Head
Julius B. Richmond
Julius Benjamin Richmond (September 26, 1916 – July 27, 2008) was an American pediatrician and public health administrator. He was a vice admiral in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and served as the United States Su ...
served as
Surgeon General of the United States
The surgeon general of the United States is the operational head of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC) and thus the leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the federal government of the United States. Th ...
in the
Carter Administration
Jimmy Carter's tenure as the 39th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 1977, and ended on January 20, 1981. A Democrat from Georgia, Carter took office after defeating incumbent Republican President ...
, and then Associate Dean for International Affairs. He retired from these positions at Harvard in 1983 but continued his active affiliation with the Medical School until 1996.
Dr. Koch-Weser was a vocal advocate for the extension of access to medical care to underserved populations, and developed a particular interest in the
needs of the African nations struggling with the
AIDS epidemic
The global epidemic of HIV/AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) began in 1981, and is an ongoing worldwide public health issue. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of 2021, HIV/AI ...
. He consulted for numerous public health agencies over the decades including WHO (
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
),
UNICEF
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...
,
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
, and
NIH.
In his lifetime, he published more than fifty professional papers and over a dozen books and monographs. He was also active in many professional societies, a longstanding member of
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War and
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
, and a supporter of the
Albert Schweitzer Fellowship
The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship is a non-profit organization in the United States, that was established in 1940 as one of the many fellowships created in developed countries to support the work of Albert Schweitzer at the Hôpital Albert Schwei ...
s.
He spoke several languages fluently and estimated that over his lifetime he had visited more than 90 countries around the ever-changing world of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Career
Career at Harvard
* Professor, Department of Social Medicine,
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...
* Acting Chair, Department of Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School (during the years when Dr.
Julius B. Richmond
Julius Benjamin Richmond (September 26, 1916 – July 27, 2008) was an American pediatrician and public health administrator. He was a vice admiral in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and served as the United States Su ...
served in Washington, DC as Surgeon General in the Carter Administration)
* Professor,
Harvard School of Public Health
Professional service
* Koch-Weser served on the Editorial Board of the ''
American Journal of Public Health'' from its beginning in 1991.
Publications
* Koch-Weser DA. Book Review: Preventive Primary Medicine: Reducing the major causes of mortality By Robert Lewy. October 1980. New England Journal of Medicine 303(18):1069-1070. , Accessed June 27, 2019.
* Koch-Weser D. The Heterosexual Transmission of AIDS in Africa. Abt Books. (December 1, 1988). .
* Koch-Weser D. Rifampin, New Hope in the Fight against Tuberculosis. New England Journal of Medicine. September 1970.
* Koch-Weser D. Book Review of Rifampin in the Treatment of Drug-Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infections" by Vall-Spinosa. 1970.
Science and Brazilian development: report of a Workshop on Science and Technology to Development Workshop held April 11–16, 1966 in Itataiai, Brazil. Conducted by the Office of the Foreign Secretary Program, National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council, Brazil-U.S. Dieter Koch-Wester, Acting Chair. Health Speaker: Dr. Ernani Braga, Chairman.
Noble RD, Koch-Weser D, Noble EP. Glucose Metabolism by Mycobacterium Smegmatis: Evidence for the Pentose Cycle American Review of Respiratory Diseases. Vol. 86, No. 3 , Sep 01, 1962. (Submitted May 14, 1962).
Popper, H., Koch-Weser, D., and Szanto, P.B. Protective Effect of Vitamin B12 Upon Hepatic Injury Produced by Carbon Tetrachloride Proc. Soc. Exper. Biol. 1954
Koch-Weser D, Szanto PB, Farber E, Popper H. Further investigation on the effect of vitamin B12concentrate upon hepatic injury produced by carbon tetrachloride Translational Research, 36(5),1950 (November); pp 694–704. - https://www.translationalres.com/article/0022-2143(50)90099-0/fulltext
Publications about Dieter Koch-Weser
Willich SN, Elm S (Eds). Medical Challenges for the New Millennium: An Interdisciplinary Task 2001. Specifically see pp. vii. through xiv. and bibliography at the end.
Personal life
He had lived since 1997 in
North Andover, Massachusetts
North Andover is an affluent town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 30,915.
History
Native Americans inhabited what is now northeastern Massachusetts for thousands of years prior to European c ...
with his wife Sophie, who had already passed in 2010. During his teaching years they had lived also in
Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts
Wellesley () is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Wellesley is part of Greater Boston. The population was 29,550 at the time of the 2020 census. Wellesley College, Babson College, and a campus of Massachusetts Bay Commu ...
.
Retirement and later years
After retirement, Dieter and his wife Sophie moved in 1997 to the Edgewood Retirement Community in
North Andover, Massachusetts
North Andover is an affluent town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 30,915.
History
Native Americans inhabited what is now northeastern Massachusetts for thousands of years prior to European c ...
in 1997, where he known as "the Mayor" for his combination of friendly personality and commanding presence. Although not especially tall, Dieter could always be identified in a room by his lush, swept-back mane of white hair. He continued to work as a consultant at the
Education Development Center (EDC) in
Boston, Massachusetts, later
Newton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately west of downtown Boston. Newton resembles a patchwork of thirteen villages, without a city center. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population of Ne ...
, and served as an author and reviewer of professional publications until his final years.
Death
Dieter celebrated his 99th birthday with family, friends, former colleagues at Edgewood one week before his death. Dr. Koch-Weser was survived by his brother Jan Koch-Weser, MD, and by two daughters, Carol-Ann Koch-Weser of
Fremont, California
Fremont is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area, Fremont has a population of 230,504 as of 2020, making it the fourth List of cities and towns in the San Fra ...
and Suzanne (Koch-Weser) Anderson, a physician of
Trumansburg, New York, and was predeceased by his wife, Sophie, in 2010. He had many nephews and nieces and six grandchildren, Meghan, Evan, Danica, Collin, Duncan, and Zoe, and had only recently enjoyed the then newly born first great-granddaughter, Acadia. One granddaughter is a social worker, and their grand niece, Susan Koch-Weser, ScD, who also speaks German and Thai, is Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine in the
Tufts University School of Medicine
The Tufts University School of Medicine is the medical school of Tufts University, a Private university, private research university in Massachusetts. It was established in 1893 and is located on the university's health sciences campus in downto ...
in Boston, where she contributes also to health issues prevalent in Asian women.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koch-Weser, Dieter
Harvard Medical School faculty
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health faculty
Northwestern University alumni
HIV/AIDS researchers
University of Chicago alumni
German people of Brazilian descent
Emigrants from Nazi Germany
Immigrants to Brazil
Immigrants to the United States
Case Western Reserve University faculty
UNICEF people
World Health Organization officials
Coffee companies of Brazil
World Bank people
National Institutes of Health people
1916 births
2015 deaths
Wellesley, Massachusetts
Rochester, Vermont
Anti-war articles needing expert attention
Brazil articles missing geocoordinate data