The Legacy of Ken Moser Lives on at UCSD

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Behind every great medical program is an invisible presence, a pioneering spirit who established its course and mapped a road to excellence now well traveled by colleagues and new trainees. The physicians in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine are following in the footsteps of Kenneth M. Moser, MD, the “gentle giant” who still serves as that invisible yet powerful presence guiding the division as a model of care for the larger pulmonary hypertension community. The contributions to this issue by members of the UCSD team serve as reminders of Dr Moser's continuing influence among those who trained under him and benefited from his mentorship.

Although Dr. Moser died in 1997 after more than 30 years at the pulmonary division, his work as one of the original faculty members and his role as the founder and leader of the division continue to inspire the staff today. Widely recognized for his work in pulmonary vascular diseases, he was a world-renowned authority on acute and chronic thromboembolic disease. He was instrumental in establishing UCSD as the world's leading referral center for pulmonary thromboendarterectomy surgery and one of the country's models for the management of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.

After earning his medical degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1954, Dr Moser completed his residency at Georgetown University and was later recruited by Eugene Braunwald, MD, to direct the pulmonary division at UCSD. Widely consulted for his medical opinion, he was a consummate teacher and an exponent for new and future developments in pulmonary disease care. Presenting a case to him—in private or at his famed “Professor Rounds”—was a memorable experience because of the way he challenged trainees and older physicians alike.

Those who knew him best remember him primarily as a staunch defender of academic medicine and the special role that medical schools like UCSD play in nurturing and developing tomorrow's leaders. In his biography in Who's Who in America he summed up his views this way: “Participating in academic medicine and research is like being a member of a relay team engaged in a race of infinite length. Two forces keep one running through the often difficult terrain: the goal of improving health, and the privilege of passing the baton to many others who will seek the same goal.” As the legacy of Dr Moser continues to thrive and the achievements of UCSD as a premier center for pulmonary care are more widely appreciated, it is clear that he succeeded in passing the baton to his colleagues.