Class of 1978
Class Notes
View All Notes for Class of 1978One of the rewards of a career in business journalism is learning the details of how people make their living. Whether manufacturing little fuses for household appliances or saving lives, people doing what they love, and doing it better than anyone else, is fascinating.
So I was particularly happy to get an email from Dr. Jon Keeve with a shoutout to fellow physician Keith McCrae for recognition in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine for a breakthrough in treating a rare bleeding disorder. (“He would be too modest to tell you himself,” Jon wrote.)
About 15 years ago Keith, who practices at the Cleveland Clinic, saw a patient with symptoms of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT), which impacts more than one in 5,000 people worldwide. There was little information about the disease at the time, and treatment options were limited and could have had a significant impact on quality of life, according to the clinic.
“Dr. McCrae began searching for new options and found that the cancer drug thalidomide had shown positive outcomes in a few patients with similar symptoms,” according to a press release from the clinic. He treated his patient with a low dose of the drug and the symptoms completely stopped within two to three weeks. Other patients showed similar positive response.
Thalidomide primarily treats multiple myeloma and can have serious side effects, so Keith and his team trialed a drug with a similar chemical structure called pomalidomide, an FDA-approved drug for the treatment of bone marrow cancer. A pilot study showed the drug to be safe and effective in treating HHT—so effective that the trials have stopped and the treatment is now in use.
“Finding a therapeutic agent that works in a rare disorder is highly uncommon, so this is a real success story,” said Dr. Andrei Kindzelski, program officer in the division of blood diseases and resources at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, which funded the study.
Congratulations, Keith, and thank you, Jon, for bringing our attention to a true hero.
In other news, Class Notes correspondent-at-large Steve Strauss reports that Rob Portman, retired U.S. senator, has “found work in his home state of Ohio” as a new director of Cincinnati-based Proctor & Gamble. “Since his career involved cleaning up a lot of messes, he may have something positive to contribute at a company that manufactures cleaning product,” Steve notes. Congrats, Rob!
Peter Wasserman just published his first book, The Eye Files, a political thriller about a plot to foil the kidnapping and murder of the U.S. president by placing a sociopathic look-alike in his place. Enter Dr. Zach Webster, a Washington, D.C., eye surgeon who notices a suspicious difference in the president’s eye exam and becomes a target.What ensues is“a nonstop thrill-ride from Maine to California to the top of the Eiffel Tower,” according to an early review. Way to go, Peter!
Happy New Year—send news!
—Anne Bagamery, 13 rue de Presles, 75015 Paris, France; abagamery78@gmail.com; Rick Beyer, 1305 S. Michigan Ave., #1104, Chicago, IL 60605; rickbeyer78@gmail.com
Obituaries
View All Obituaries for Class of 1978Laurel Bates Preston ’78
Laurel Bates Preston ’78 died at home in Medina, Washington, on April 19 after a three-year battle with cancer. Laurel came to Dartmouth from Timonium, Maryland, and lived in New Hamp her first year.
Eric “Bolo” Olin ’78
Eric “Bolo” Olin ’78 died in Connecticut on June 4, 2022, due to complications from cardio-vascular disease “that were deepened by a penchant for cigars and Diet Coke,” according to his brother, Dirk ’81.
Bill Cunningham ’78
Bill Cunningham ’78 died on March 21 in Boonton Township, New Jersey. Bill came to Dartmouth from Islip, New York, and lived in Lord his first year.
