Miller School Colleagues Remember Longtime Endocrinologist Dr. Lawrence M. Fishman
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Richard Westlund
February 1, 2021
Miller School Colleagues
Remember Longtime
Endocrinologist Dr. Lawrence
M. Fishman
Lawrence M. Fishman, M.D., touched the lives of thousands of
patients, students, trainees and colleagues in a 41-year
career as an endocrinologist with the University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine and the Veterans Administration
Medical Center in Miami. After retiring in 2008, he continued
to serve as professor emeritus before his death on January 27
at the age of 87.
“Dr. Fishman was a warm, compassionate human being and a great
endocrinologist with a sharp, penetrating mind,” said Ronald
B. Goldberg, M.D., professor of medicine, biochemistry and
molecular biology in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes
and Metabolism and the Diabetes Research Institute. “Everyone
listened to his opinions with great care. As a teacher, he was
one of the best.”
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February 1, 2021
Dr. Lawrence M. Fishman
Adrenal disease was Dr. Fishman’s primary clinical interest.
“He led an active research program at the VA Medical Center,
and continued to stay on top of things after his retirement,”
said Dr. Goldberg, who met Dr. Fishman in 1980 and remained
friends through the decades. “Two months ago, he listened to
one of our lectures and complemented me on the presentation.”
Roy E. Weiss, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Department of
Medicine, remembers Dr. Fishman as “an inspiration for all of
us in academic medicine: an ultimate educator, clinician and
scientist driving for excellence and the pursuit of knowledge.
He never stopped learning, teaching and caring.”
Reflecting that dedication to medical education, Dr. Fishman
endowed an annual lecture series presented by the Lawrence M.
Fishman Visiting Professor in Endocrinology, Diabetes and
Metabolism. On February 3, Samuel Klein, M.D., the William H.
Danforth Professor of Medicine and director of the Center for
Human Nutrition at Washington University School of Medicine,
will deliver a the 2021 remote grand rounds lecture on
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February 1, 2021
“Physiological and Clinical Implications of Nonalcoholic Fatty
Liver Disease?”
Supporting bioethics
Dr. Fishman was an early supporter of UM’s Institute for
Bioethics and Health Policy,
said Kenneth W. Goodman, Ph.D., professor of medicine, founder
and director of the institute, and co-director of the
university’s Ethics Programs. “Larry Fishman was a medical
rara avis,” said Dr. Goodman. “He wed scientific brilliance
with a commitment to social issues – and he did so with
gentleness, grace, and generosity.”
Under Dr. Fishman’s guidance, the Miami VA was one of the
first sponsors of UM’s “Florida Bioethics: Debates, Decisions,
Solutions” conference in 1993 and has continued the annual
sponsorship since then. Dr. Fishman also was an early
supporter of the Miller School’s Dialogues in Research Ethics
and led the first dialogue in 1992. He also developed and
delivered a course in Jewish medical ethics for Temple Beth Am
in Pinecrest with Dr. Goodman.
“In addition to medical and research ethics, Dr. Fishman’s
interests included gun control and nuclear disarmament,” said
Dr. Goodman. “He believed physicians should commit themselves
to public health and safety and what used to be
uncontroversial moral stances.”
Early career
Dr. Fishman was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1933. His
father was a doctor who passed away, along with his sister,
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February 1, 2021
when he was 12 years old. He enrolled at Harvard, where he
earned his bachelor’s degree. He then spent a year as an
Adenauer Fellow at the University of Munich, before returning
to Harvard and earning his medical degree in 1960. He
completed an internship and residency in medicine at the Peter
Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, followed by three years as a
clinical associate at the National Institutes of Health in
Bethesda, Maryland.
In 1967, Dr. Fishman was recruited by William Harrington,
M.D., to be chief of the Diabetes and Endocrinology Section at
the VA and assistant professor of medicine in the newly formed
Diabetes and Endocrinology Division at the University of Miami
School of Medicine. After joining the faculty, he pioneered
the lecture-seminar format for the teaching of pathophysiology
– a format still in use today.
Building the VA research program
While maintaining an active clinical practice, along with
teaching, Dr. Fishman was appointed associate chief of staff
for research at the Miami VA Medical Center in 1975, and held
this position until 2003.
Working with then-Dean John Clarkson, M.D., Dr. Fishman was
instrumental in the creation of a joint UM/VA HIV/AIDS
Research Initiative, funded by UM and the South Florida VA
Foundation for Research and Education that he headed.
Together with Jay Skyler, M.D., then director of the medical
school's endocrinology division, Dr. Fishman was one of the
primary architects of the University of Miami/VA General
Clinical Research Center, then one of only three such VA-
affiliated centers in the nation.
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February 1, 2021
Dr. Fishman was a reviewer for several journals and served on
the editorial board of the Annals of Internal Medicine. He was
a member and chair of several committees of the Endocrine
Society, including terms on the Postgraduate Committee and as
Planning and Program Co-Chair for the Society's Annual and
Postgraduate Meetings in Miami.
Over the years, Dr. Fishman and his laboratory made
contributions in clinical and basic adrenal endocrinology
resulting in more than 120 publications. One of his early
studies involved evaluating the incidence of a newly described
disorder, primary aldosteronism, in patients with
hypertension. He also helped develop a model for understanding
the interactions between the adrenal cortex and the adrenal
medulla, and studies of the effects of various steroid
hormones on cells in tumors of the adrenal medulla often
associated with severe hypertension.
Dr. Fishman and his colleagues also had a continuing interest
in comparative adrenal endocrinology, and collaborated with
researchers at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric
Science to study the biochemistry of the Atlantic whale
adrenal, as well as the effects of unusual agents found in
marine sponges on the adrenal gland.
Throughout his academic career, Dr. Fishman was active in
mentoring students and trainees. He was elected to several
terms in the Faculty Senate and School Council, as well as
serving as an extra-departmental faculty representative in
various chair and dean searches.
After Dr. Fishman had taught for more than 40 years and became
a professor emeritus, UM celebrated his achievements, creating
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February 1, 2021
the Suzanne R. and Dr. Lawrence M. Fishman Endowment Fund and
Lawrence M. Fishman/Jay S. Skyler Visiting Professor Program.
In a 2009 announcement of the program, Dr. Fishman said, “I am
very grateful to the University and the medical school for my
professional life. I have been very blessed in a professional
way and have some wonderful colleagues. I have had the
opportunity to take care of patients, to teach, and to do
research in a stimulating and developing medical center.”
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