In Remembrance of William Christopherson, MD

To the Editor.—The death of Dr William Christopherson (December 21, 2007) represents a genuine loss to the national and international medical community. His pioneering contributions in the field of gynecologic pathology, especially cervical cytopathology, brought worldwide recognition to him personally and to the University of Louisville Pathology Department (Louisville, Ky).In 1938, William Christopherson left Utah to enter the University of Louisville School of Medicine. Following graduation and an internship in Akron, Ohio, his academic career was short-circuited by World War II. During 1943 to 1946 he served as an Army Medical Officer with duties as a surgeon in the States and in Germany. Returning to civilian life, Dr Christopherson received training in pathology at City Hospital of Akron, Ohio. In 1948, he was appointed to the medical school faculty at the University of Louisville.One of the pivotal points in Dr Christopherson's career was his appointment as a James Ewing Fellow in Pathology at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Institute in New York City (1949 to 1950). One must assume that this experience awakened a life-long interest in oncology. Dr Chris, as he became affectionately known, returned to Louisville to duties in the Department of Pathology at the Medical School, becoming chairman in 1956. Groundbreaking research in oncology with a steady stream of publications and presentations followed. He became known worldwide for his identification and classification of the alveolar soft part sarcoma, which is known in Europe as the Christopherson tumor.In addition to research, service, and teaching roles, Dr Chris had at various times leadership roles as president of the US-Canadian Division of the International Academy of Pathology, The American Society of Cytology, and the Arthur Purdy Stout Society of Surgical Pathologists. He served as special consultant to the Cancer Control program of the National Cancer Institute and for cytopathology to The American Board of Pathologists. He served on a number of editorial boards, which included Acta Cytologica, American Journal of Surgical Pathology, American Journal of Clinical Pathology, and Oncology. His many committee assignments included Selection Committee for Senior Clinical Trainers of the US Public Health Service, the Training Committee Review Board of the National Cancer Institute, and the Advisory Committee on Communicable Disease Control of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. He also served on panels of experts dealing with uterine cancer and cytology for the World Health Organization. Dr Chris became an Honorary Life Member of the Board of Directors of the American Cancer Society in 1971, a society that he had served actively in many capacities from 1967 to 1971. During the years, Dr Chris received many awards, which are indeed too numerous to list here.Although his brilliance and work ethic were most evident to the public, Dr Christopherson's greatest attributes were his charisma and generosity. He was comfortable with persons of prestige but found greatest fulfillment in teaching students and residents. Many of the young people that he encountered were financially supported through his generosity. The many honors awarded to Dr Christopherson are reminders of his service to colleagues and his university. These include the establishment of the William Christopherson Society, the William M. Christopherson Chair in Pathology, and appointments as Distinguished Professor of Pathology and Fellow of the University of Louisville.

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