A Personal Remembrance of Carl T. Brighton MD, PhD (1931-2019)

Carl T. Brighton MD, PhD, member of the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons (ABJS), renowned clinical and bench scientist, and the third Editor-in-Chief of Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research® died on July 3, 2019 at the age of 87.Carl T. Brighton MD, PhD (Published with permission from The Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons. Portrait by Benjamin McCready).I got to know Dr. Brighton when he took over as Editor-in-Chief of CORR® and invited me to join CORR’s editorial board (because of my involvement in the newly-forming field of limb lengthening and deformity correction). Dr. Brighton and I had something in common: We were both stamp collectors and we always had the latest commemorative US stamp issues to talk about at board meetings. Indeed, one of my greatest joys was discussing the meaningful aspects of life with Dr. Brighton when I got the chance to see him at various meetings. I learned from Dr. Brighton, for instance, the importance of being a good grandfather: He informed me that he had his own 800-number, so any of his four children, four in-law children, 16 grandchildren, or five great-grandchildren could call him “Collect” any time of the day or night to discuss issues that they thought were important. “My grandchildren confided things to me they wouldn’t tell their own parents,” Dr. Brighton told me at one ABJS gathering. Each summer, Dr. Brighton’s entire clan gathered for 2 weeks at their country home for a combined family vacation. What more could a grandfather ask for? The boys would line up in bunk beds in one room in the attic, and the girls in another. They’d be talking and giggling and staying up late until grandpa came up, footsteps heavy on the old wooden staircase, issuing a stern warning that brought silence to the multitudes. Ever since our talk, my wife and I have had an annual gathering of our own children and grandchildren—the highlight of our lives. Dr. Brighton graduated from Valparaiso University, in Valparaiso, IN, USA, where he majored in both chemistry and zoology. He then attended the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) School of Medicine, where he earned his medical degree in 1957. He spent the next 5 years in the US Navy at the Philadelphia Naval Hospital, completing his residency in orthopaedic surgery in 1962 before serving 5 years on active duty [3], which included a tour in Vietnam. In 1968, he joined Penn’s Department of Orthopaedic Surgery as an Assistant Professor and Director of Orthopaedic Surgery Research. As the Paul B. Magnuson Professor of Bone and Joint Surgery at Penn School of Medicine, he pioneered a method of stimulating bone healing in cases where the biological process had stopped progressing [1]. An outstanding clinical and bench scientist, he served as Chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Penn from 1977 to 1993. During his tenure, he changed the school’s orthopaedic residency program, scaling back its clinical educational requirements and adding a 1-year orthopaedic research rotation [3]. “Dr. Brighton was one of the few orthopaedic surgeons at the time who was devoted to basic science research and pushed the orthopaedic community to be more involved in basic research,” Dempsey Springfield MD told CORR. Dr. Brighton succeeded Marshall Urist MD to become CORR’s third Editor-in-Chief. During his tenure (1993-2003), Dr. Brighton recruited a deep roster of Deputy Editors and developed strong relationships with subspecialty societies [10]. The current Editor-in-Chief of CORR, Seth S. Leopold MD, recalled a phone call he received from Dr. Brighton early in Dr. Leopold’s tenure. In it, Dr. Brighton shared his observation that practicing surgeons don’t read lab-science articles, and general-interest journals didn’t sufficiently value those lines of inquiry. “I had never spoken with or met Dr. Brighton before that call,” Dr. Leopold told CORR. “I was moved by his passion for science, and by his idea that if wide-distribution journals don’t take up his charge, the next generation of discoveries won’t come, and even if they do, they won’t get the critical appraisal from readers they need in order to decide which discoveries deserve implementation.” Following that call, Dr. Leopold said he drafted an editorial on the topic [6], and since then has tried to emphasize the promotion, synthesis, dissemination, and interpretation of important laboratory science research published in CORR through such vehicles as CORR’s “From Bench to Bedside” column [8, 9], and efforts to get CORR Insights® commentaries to accompany as many basic science research articles as possible [5, 7]. After he retired from clinical practice, Dr. Brighton continued to work in the orthopaedic research lab at the University of Pennsylvania until nearly the end of this life. He sought to develop an electromagnetic “signal” to stimulate articular cartilage regeneration through natural means, rather than rely on joint replacement and other artificial techniques of restoring motion to stiff limbs [2]. Outside of the lab, Dr. Brighton enjoyed camping trips and vacations out west with his family. He also cherished his time at Christ Memorial Lutheran in Malvern, PA, USA where he served as Elder and Adult Bible Class Leader [4]. Although we “talked shop” at the ABJS meetings, our most interesting discourses centered on the eternal tension between science and religion. Dr. Brighton, the son of a Lutheran minister, was a deep believer in scripture, which guided his life. All who knew Dr. Brighton will miss this kind and thoughtful man. He is survived by his wife, Ruth Louise (Krentz), and their four children: David Brighton and his wife, Marcia; Sue Terrell and her husband, Thomas; Andrew Brighton and his wife, Trisha; Joel Brighton and his wife, Jo Ann along with 16 grandchildren and five great grandchildren [4].Dr. Brighton and his wife Ruth attending an ABJS meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 2002. (Published with permission from Colette Hohimer).

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