Gloria R. Gallo, MD

Gloria R. Gallo, MD, a founding member, friend, and colleague of the Renal Pathology Society (RPS), will be missed by many.A well-known renal pathologist with a special interest in amyloid and related disorders, Gloria passed away in 2008 following a long illness. Although she was expected to speak at the RPS Satellite Meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, on the use of abdominal fat biopsy in the detection and typing of amyloid deposits, her advancing illness prevented her attendance. This special issue of the Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine containing presentations from that meeting is therefore dedicated to her memory.Dr Gallo was born in 1925 in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. She received a BA degree from the Seton Hill College, an MS degree from the University of Southern California, and an MD degree from the Medical College of Pennsylvania. This was followed by an internship at the Philadelphia General Hospital and a residency in pathology at Bellevue Hospital, New York. In 1959 Dr Gallo became an assistant pathologist at Bellevue Hospital and in 1962 an attending pathologist and later professor at the University Hospital, New York University. During her tenure at New York University, Dr Gallo was director of the renal pathology and electron microscopy laboratory and director of the residency program and established a fellowship in renal pathology/immunopathology. Notable graduates of this program include Steven Emancipator, MD; Grace Yang, MD; and myself.Dr Gallo was a founding member and first president of the RPS. Although she received many awards during her career, one award was particularly dear. In 2006, at the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology annual meeting in San Diego, Dr Gallo received the RPS's highest honor, the Life Achievement Award, at the 30-year celebration of the founding of the RPS.Dr Gallo's literature contributions were broad and included the immunopathology of renal diseases, the natural history of human glomerulonephritis, experimental models of glomerulonephritis, and renal and extrarenal organized deposits such as amyloidosis. Dr Gallo established numerous productive collaborations during her career. Together with Michael Lamm and Steven Emancipator, she published several classic studies on immuno globulin A nephropathy. Collaborations with David Baldwin led to important publications on postinfectious glomerulonephritis. Collaborations with Blas Frangione focused on determination of the primary structure of proteins extracted from various organized deposits, addressing the question of what determines the amyloid versus the nonamyloid pathways of protein deposition disease. One of the first observations was that unlike amyloid, nonamyloidotic monoclonal immunoglobulin deposits lack amyloid P component. In work with Batia Kaplan, important differences in protein charge between fibrillar versus nonfibrillar deposits were identified. In work with Joel Buxbaum, experimental models of amyloidosis were studied, focusing on the mechanism of fibrillogenesis.However, Dr Gallo's life-long interest was organized deposits. In the 1960s, using transmission electron microscopy, a recently introduced diagnostic tool, Drs Gallo and Helen Feiner published an elegant study of deposits associated with cryoglobulinemia. Dr Gallo also pioneered ultrastructural studies on nodular glomerulopathy associated with nonamyloidotic κ light-chain deposits and immunolabeling of amyloid fibrils as well as the amyloid-like fibrils of fibrillary glomerulopathy.Dr Gallo always used the newest techniques and multiple modalities to validate her scientific studies, such as immunohistochemistry, in particular immunofluorescence performed on frozen tissue, and molecular techniques, including microextraction of proteins and primary sequence determination. As Gloria's fellow, I performed the first successful extraction and aminoterminal sequencing of the κ light chain extracted from myocardium of a patient with systemic light-chain deposition disease.In addition to Dr Gallo's scientific contributions, she was a superb diagnostician and was frequently consulted for the detection and typing of amyloid and related disorders. Gloria reached out beyond renal pathology and advocated the use of abdominal fat pad biopsy for the diagnosis and typing of amyloid. She argued that renal pathologists should provide leadership to clinicians and pathologists in the area of detection and typing of amyloid and related deposits. The recurring theme of Gloria's work was not just the validation of morphology by molecular studies but also the validation of molecular results by morphology.The pursuit of excellence, the quest for understanding, and a reaching beyond traditional boundaries are Gloria's legacy to new generations of pathologists. She will be remembered as saying “Winners lose more often than losers lose,” encouraging perseverance and determination. Gloria will be missed but remembered by many in the RPS, as a great mentor, scientist, diagnostician, colleague, and friend.

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