John M. Goldman (30 November 1938 – 24 December 2013) was a British
haematologist
Hematology ( always spelled haematology in British English) is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of the cause, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to blood. It involves treating diseases that affect the produc ...
,
oncologist
Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''ó ...
and medical researcher.
A specialist in
chronic myeloid leukaemia, Goldman conducted pioneering research into leukaemia treatment – he was instrumental in the development of
bone marrow transplantation
Hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) is the transplantation of multipotent hematopoietic stem cells, usually derived from bone marrow, peripheral blood, or umbilical cord blood in order to replicate inside of a patient and to produc ...
as a clinical method, and later in the development of the drug
imatinib
Imatinib, sold under the brand names Gleevec and Glivec (both marketed worldwide by Novartis) among others, is an oral chemotherapy medication used to treat cancer. Imatinib is a small molecule inhibitor targeting multiple receptor tyrosine kin ...
.
He was also a prolific author of scientific papers, was involved with numerous medical charities and had a decades-long surgical career at Hammersmith Hospital
Hammersmith Hospital, formerly the Military Orthopaedic Hospital, and later the Special Surgical Hospital, is a major teaching hospital in White City, West London. It is part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in the London Borough of H ...
, London.[
]
Early life and education
Goldman was born in London in 1938 to Carl and Berthe Goldman, both Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
.[ Although he was briefly detained as an ]enemy alien
In customary international law, an enemy alien is any native, citizen, denizen or subject of any foreign nation or government with which a domestic nation or government is in conflict and who is liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured and ...
, Carl Goldman served in the British Army during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and established a successful medical practice in London; he later treated famous individuals such as Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...
and Rex Reed
Rex Taylor Reed (born October 2, 1938) is an American film critic, occasional actor, and television host. He writes the column "On the Town with Rex Reed" for ''The New York Observer''.
Early life
Reed was born on October 2, 1938, in Fort Wort ...
.[ John Goldman attended the ]Westminster School
(God Gives the Increase)
, established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560
, type = Public school Independent day and boarding school
, religion = Church of England
, head_label = Hea ...
and performed in the school choir
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...
, but was barred from singing in Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
, likely due to his Jewish background.[
Goldman attended ]Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...
, where he studied psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
and physiology
Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...
despite originally applying to study classics
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
.[ At one point during his Oxford years, Goldman and some friends drove across Eurasia to reach India; the Iranian authorities briefly arrested them during the journey, forcing Goldman's group to drug their guards with ]barbiturates
Barbiturates are a class of depressant drugs that are chemically derived from barbituric acid. They are effective when used medically as anxiolytics, hypnotics, and anticonvulsants, but have physical and psychological addiction potential as ...
to escape.[ After graduating from Oxford, Goldman trained in (and later taught) ]haematology
Hematology ( always spelled haematology in British English) is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of the cause, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to blood. It involves treating diseases that affect the produc ...
and oncology
Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''ó ...
at several medical schools and hospitals, including St. Bartholomew's Hospital
St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust.
History
Early history
Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died ...
, Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, and the University of Miami
The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...
.[
]
Medical career and leukaemia research
In 1971 Goldman joined the staff of Hammersmith Hospital
Hammersmith Hospital, formerly the Military Orthopaedic Hospital, and later the Special Surgical Hospital, is a major teaching hospital in White City, West London. It is part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in the London Borough of H ...
, London, and became a specialist in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia.[ During the 1980s, he conducted some of the first ]bone marrow transplant
Hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) is the transplantation of multipotent hematopoietic stem cells, usually derived from bone marrow, peripheral blood, or umbilical cord blood in order to replicate inside of a patient and to produce ...
s in Europe,[ and also developed precise molecular tests to detect residual leukaemia cells in the blood of patients.][ Goldman chaired the charit]
Leuka
from its inception in 1982, launching a £10 million appeal to build the Catherine Lewis Centre, a specialist leukaemia centre, at Hammersmith Hospital; the centre opened in 2002. In 1988, Goldman became a member of the blood cancer
Tumors of the hematopoietic and lymphoid tissues (American English) or tumours of the haematopoietic and lymphoid tissues (British English) are tumors that affect the blood, bone marrow, lymph, and lymphatic system. Because these tissues are all ...
charity and bone marrow transplant register Anthony Nolan
Anthony Nolan is a UK charity that works in the areas of leukaemia and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. It manages and recruits donors to the Anthony Nolan Register, which is part of an aligned registry that also includes the ''Welsh Bon ...
. He worked as a trustee and medical director for Anthony Nolan for over 20 years, helping the charity to expand its reach and resources worldwide. He also helped establish the World Marrow Donor Association in 1990,[ and served (at various different times) as the president of the International Society for Experimental Haematology, the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation, the European Haematology Association and several other medical and scientific organisations.][
From the late 1990s onwards, Goldman was instrumental in promoting the use of the anti-cancer drug ]imatinib
Imatinib, sold under the brand names Gleevec and Glivec (both marketed worldwide by Novartis) among others, is an oral chemotherapy medication used to treat cancer. Imatinib is a small molecule inhibitor targeting multiple receptor tyrosine kin ...
, working to refine and expand its clinical usage as a targeted therapy
Targeted therapy or molecularly targeted therapy is one of the major modalities of medical treatment (pharmacotherapy) for cancer, others being hormonal therapy and cytotoxic chemotherapy. As a form of molecular medicine, targeted therapy blocks ...
.[ He retired from Hammersmith Hospital in 2004, but continued to work as an advocate and benefactor of cancer research and treatment in the ]developing world
A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...
.[ During his career, he published over 700 scientific papers, and was the editor of the journal '']Bone Marrow Transplantation
Hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) is the transplantation of multipotent hematopoietic stem cells, usually derived from bone marrow, peripheral blood, or umbilical cord blood in order to replicate inside of a patient and to produc ...
'' from 1985 until his death in December 2013.[
]
Personal life
Goldman was married to Jeannine Fuller; after divorcing her, he lived with Constance Shaw. He was survived by his three children: a daughter from his marriage to Fuller, and a daughter and son from his relationship with Shaw.[ Goldman was an avid reader of history and classic literature, travelled extensively overseas, and was a passionate ]skier
Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...
.[
]
References
External links
Obituary of Goldman in ''Bone Marrow Transplantation'' (PDF)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldman, John M.
British oncologists
British medical researchers
British haematologists
British Jews
Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford
1938 births
2013 deaths
Physicians of Hammersmith Hospital