>> OKAY, CAN EVERYONE TAKE A
SEAT SOMEWHERE IF YOU'RE
COMFORTABLE.
I'M GIVEN AN AGENDA THAT IS
REALLY JAM-PACKED, SO WE'RE
ALREADY 9 MINUTES LATE SO WE
HAVE TO SOMEHOW TRY TO CATCH UP.
SO THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE.
BUT THE CHIEF GUEST OF THIS
EVENING IS DR. KRAEMER, AND WE
ARE HERE TO CELEBRATE THIS
ILLUSTRIOUS INNOVATIVE, CARING
AND EXPANSIVE CAREER HE HAS
GIVEN TO US IN THE LAST 50 YEARS
OR SO AT NIH.
SO IT'S A GREAT PLEASURE FOR ME
TO BE INTRODUCING YOU.
I MET KEN DURING MY INTERVIEWS
WHEN I WAS LOOKING FOR A
POSITION HERE, AND THAT'S WHEN I
SORT OF LEARNED ABOUT HIS WORK
AND WHAT HE HAS DONE.
IT WAS INSPIRING BECAUSE IT'S
ONE OF THOSE THINGS, A VERY IN
DEPTH ANALYSIS OF WHAT SEEMS TO
BE A SMALL QUESTION, BUT THE
IMPACT AND THE INSIGHTS HE GOT
FROM THEM WERE VAST AND
EXPANSIVE, LIKELY TO HAVE AN
IMPACT ON MANY, MANY PATIENTS.
SO AS I LEARNED MORE AND MORE
ABOUT KEN, I REALIZED THAT HE
HAD ACTUALLY MADE SUCH A
CONTRIBUTION TO SCIENCE THAT IS
UNLIKE ANY OTHER, AND YOU NEED
TO BE IN A PLACE LIKE NCI TO DO
IT BECAUSE IT REQUIRES VERY
METICULOUS ANALYSIS THAT IS HARD
TO DO OUTSIDE.
AS I WAS ALSO THINKING ABOUT IT,
YOU KNOW, WE ALL KNOW A LOT OF
PEOPLE TRYING TO MAKE IMPACT IN
OTHER PEOPLE'S LIVES BY HELPING
THEM GROW HAIR.
IT'S A BIG BUSINESS, AS YOU
KNOW, AND THERE'S A BIG FOLL
FOLLOWING AND ALL THAT.
DR. KRAEMER, ON THE OTHER HAND,
HAS IMPACTED SO MANY PEOPLE'S
LIVES, AND THERE ARE PATIENTS
WHO FOLLOW HIM DEARLY, BUT HE
DOES THAT BY TAKING THEIR HAIR.
[LAUGHTER]
SO GO FIGURE THAT, RIGHT?
SO HE HAS MADE A CAREER FOR
HIMSELF AND ALSO TO BIOLOGY BY
ACTUALLY ANALYZING SAMPLES OF
PATIENTS' HAIR SAMPLES AND HE
CONTINUES TO HAVE HIGHLY
PRODUCTIVE DISCOVERIES THAT
DELINEATE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF
PATIENTS AND SUBDISEASES AND HOW
A SINGLE MUTATION CAN CAUSE
MULTIPLE DIFFERENT DISEASES.
THOSE KIND OF INSIGHTS ARE RARE
TO COME UNLESS YOU HAVE SOME
METICULOUS ANALYSIS LIKE THIS.
NOW AFTER COMING HERE, I'VE
INTERACTED WITH KEN MANY TIMES,
AND I'VE BEEN VERY IMPRESSED BY
HOW KIND, GENTLE, AND HUMBLE HE
IS.
AND THE WAY HE CARES FOR HIS
PEOPLE IS JUST UNLIKE ANY OTHER
THAT I'VE COME ACROSS.
SO I AM VERY IMPRESSED BY WHAT
YOU HAVE DONE SO FAR, AND VERY
IMPRESSED BY WHAT YOU HAVE DONE
TO US AND GIVEN US TO LEARN FROM
YOU.
SO I CONGRATULATE YOU ON YOUR
ILLUSTRIOUS CAREER HERE AND THE
INSPIRATION YO THAT WILL LIVE ON
FOR ALL THE PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM
HERE AND OUTSIDE.
SO THANK YOU FOR DOING THAT.
LET'S GIVE A BIG ROUND OF
APPLAUSE TO OUR CHIEF GUEST
TODAY.
[APPLAUSE]
SO I'M GOING TO GIVE A SMALL
TROPHY TO DR. KRAEMER, BUT I
WANT TO DO THAT IN FRONT OF HIS
FAMILY.
SO I WANT ALL OF YOU TO COME UP.
SO THAT HE CAN RECEIVE THE GIFT
IN FRONT OF YOU BECAUSE I THINK
HE DESERVES TO HAVE YOU GUYS
NEXT TO HIM.
HE TALKS ABOUT YOU GUYS ALL THE
TIME.
[LAUGHTER]
[INAUDIBLE] THIS IS A PLAQUE FOR
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, KEN
KRAEMER.
[INAUDIBLE]
[APPLAUSE]
>> CONGRATULATIONS.
WELL-DESERVED.
GETTING YOUR EXERCISE.
AND I'LL BE TALKING AT THE END.
>> SO BEFORE I WELCOME THE NEXT
SPEAKER, WHO IS GOING TO PRESENT
SOMETHING ELSE TO DR. KRAEMER, I
JUST WANT TO SAY THOMAS TULLY
REGRETS DEEPLY HE WASN'T ABLE TO
BE HERE WITH US ALL BUT HE SENDS
HIS CON DW CONGRATULATIONS AND T
WISHES FOR RETIRED LIFE.
SO NEXT, I WOULD LIKE TO INVITE
DR. CAROL PEALE, MAYBE YOU CAN
START WITH GIVING HIM THE AWARD
AND THEN THE PICTURE AND THEN
YOU CAN SAY A FEW WORDS.
[APPLAUSE]
>> OKAY.
WELL, IT'S A REAL PRIVILEGE FOR
ME ON BEHALF OF THE CCR, FIRST
OF ALL, IT'S A PRIVILEGE TO BE
THE DEPUTY FOR THE LCBG, AND TO
MEET ALL THE WONDERFUL PIs IN
THAT GROUP, THOSE WHO WERE HERE
AND THOSE WHO HAVE LEFT, BUT YOU
KNOW, I HAVE MET KEN INDIRECTLY
FOR MANY, MANY YEARS AGO, WHEN I
FIRST CAME TO NIH, BECAUSE KEN'S
GROUP HAD FAR-REACHING EFFECT,
AND IT WAS THROUGH -- GIOVANNI
THAT I MET AND LEARNED OF KEN'S
WORK BECAUSE JOHN AND I SHARED A
LOVE OF RETINOIDS, AND MY CAREER
REALLY WAS FUNDAMENTALLY BASED
ON THE PHENOMENON OF HOW RETINA
GASES COULD CONTROL THE GROWTH
OF NEUROBLASTOMA CELLS AND
INDUCE DIFFERENTIATION.
EVERYTHING I LEARNED ABOUT THE
CLINICAL USE OF RET NOIDZ CAME
FROM JOHN, AND SO WHO WAS REALLY
INTEGRAL TO KEN'S GROUP, AND SO
KEN NOT ONLY -- I THINK IT'S
EMBLEMATIC OF THE REALLY ASTUTE
CLINICIAN AND THE ABILITY TO
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE TIMES AND
MAKE REALLY GREAT DISCOVERIES.
BUT ALSO TO SEE AMONGST THE
PEOPLE HE INTERACTED WITH A REAL
LOVE FOR SCIENCE AND FOR TAKING
CARE OF PATIENTS.
AND THAT ASPECT -- I KNOW I WAS
VERY INTRIGUED AT YOUR LAST SITE
VISIT WHEN YOU TALKED ABOUT THE
FACT THAT THERE MAY BE
UNDERLYING MORE DNA REPAIR
DEFECTS TO BE IDENTIFIED, AND SO
I THINK IT'S A CHALLENGE TO THE
COMMUNITY TO REALLY TAKE THIS UP
AGAIN AND TO FOLLOW YOUR LINE OF
RESEARCH.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ALL
YOU'VE DONE.
[APPLAUSE]
>> THANK YOU, CAROL.
SO ALTHOUGH I SPEAK ON BEHALF OF
ALL THE PIs AND STAFF AT LCBG,
I'VE KNOWN KEN ONLY FOR A VERY
SHORT TIME.
THE PERSON THAT KNOWS HIM WELL
IS GOING TO SPEAK NEXT.
HE COULDN'T BE HERE IN PERSON
UNFORTUNATELY, I'LL TURN IT OVER
TO STU.
TAKE IT AWAY, STU.
>> THANKS, SENTHIL.
I'M SORRY I CAN'T BE THERE.
KEN AND I GO BACK A LONG, LONG
WAY.
WE PUBLISHED A PAPER TOGETHER IN
THE 80s.
WHICH I LOOKED AT RECENTLY,
HADN'T REMEMBERED TOO MUCH ABOUT
IT, BUT IT WAS A PRETTY NICE
PIECE OF WORK, AND I THINK KEN
HAS DONE A LOT OF MUCH BETTER
WORK SINCE THAT TIME.
YOU KNOW, I'VE ALWAYS FELT THAT
THE DISCOVERY BY JIM KLIEBER IN
THE 60s OF THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN DNA REPAIR AND CANCER --
DISEASE -- IS PROBABLY ONE OF
THE MOST IMPORTANT HISTORICAL
DISCOVERIES IN CANCER RESEARCH
HISTORY.
I THINK THAT FOR THE FIRST TIME
REALLY POINTED TO DNA AS A MAJOR
PLAYER.
I THINK WHAT KEN HAS DONE SINCE
THAT TIME HAS BEEN PRETTY
EXTRAORDINARY AS WELL.
HIS ABILITY TO ILLUMINATE OTHER
DISEASES, A MUCH BROADER
SPECTRUM OF DISEASES THAT CAROL
REFERRED TO OVER A TIME RELATED
TO MUTATIONS IN DNA REPAIR GENES
HAS REALLY OPENED THE FIELD'S
EYES TO THE FAR-RANGING PROBLEMS
THAT CAN OCCUR AS A RESULT OF
DNA REPAIR MISHAPS.
KEN HAS FURTHER, I THINK, KEPT
THE FIELD TOGETHER WITH HIS DNA
REPAIR INTEREST GROUP.
I HAVE NO IDEA HOW HE WAS ABLE
TO DO IT 35 YEARS AGO, WHEN
THERE WAS VERY LITTLE ABILITY TO
COMMUNICATE ACROSS CONTINENTS,
EVEN ACROSS THIS CONTINENT.
BUT YET HE AND WILL MANAGED TO
FIND A WAY TO KEEP THE FIELD
TOGETHER AND THAT CONTINUES
TODAY, AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO
ARE ON THE MAILING LIST FROM
THAT INTEREST GROUP, YOU CAN SEE
AMAZINGLY HOW SO MANY IMPORTANT
THINGS ARE TRANSMITTED THAT WAY.
ANOTHER ASPECT THAT WE -- IT'S
ALMOST UNIQUE, WAS THE
COMPASSIONATE CARE THAT HE GAVE
TO PATIENTS WITH A REALLY
DIFFICULT DISEASE TO TAKE CARE
OF, OFTEN OCCURRED -- USUALLY
OCCURRED IN CHILDREN WITH A VERY
DIFFICULT THING -- WAS A VERY
DIFFICULT THING TO COMBAT AND
LIVES WERE RUINED, BUT KEN AND
JOHN AND DEBBY MANAGE DOLLARS TO
HAVE A CLINIC LIKE NO OTHER IN
THE WORLD TO HELP THESE PEOPLE
GET THROUGH THIS TERRIBLE
TRAGEDY THAT HAD FELL ON THEM.
I JUST WANT TO SAY A WORD ABOUT
KEN IN LCBG.
KEN CAME -- HE HAD BEEN IN A
NUMBER OF LABORATORIES OVER HIS
CAREER BUT WHEN HE CAME TO LCBG,
I THINK HE REALLY FOUND A HOME.
I CAN TELL YOU THAT FOR ME, AN
M.D., ONE OF THE FEW M.D.s IN
THE LAB, HAVING CLINICIANS IN
THE LAB WAS REALLY, REALLY
IMPORTANT AND ENLIGHTENING AND
THE MANY COMMENTS THAT KEN AND
JOHN GAVE IN SEMINARS AND SO
FORTH REALLY TOLD THE REST OF US
THE RELEVANCE OF SOME OF THE
BASIC RESEARCH FINDINGS.
AND SO THAT WAS VERY, VERY
EXCITING FOR ME TO HAVE KEN IN
THE LAB TO NOT ONLY DO HIS OWN
WORK BUT TO EDUCATE THE RETION
REST OFUS ON THE IMPORTANCE, THE
CLINICAL RELEVANCE, OF BASIC
RESEARCH FINDINGS.
SO I THINK I WENT THROUGH TWO
SITE VISITS WITH KEN IN LCBG,
AND I HAVE BEEN THROUGH A LOT OF
SITE VISITS, BOTH WITHIN MY OWN
CAREER AND THE CAREER OF OTHERS
BECAUSE OF MY TENURE AS A DEPUTY
DIRECTOR FOR SOME YEARS.
KEN IS THE ONLY PERSON WHO WAS
CALLED A NATIONAL TREASURE.
I'D NEVER SEEN THAT IN ANOTHER
SITE VISIT REPORT, BUT I THINK
HE GOT IT IN BOTH OF HIS
REPORTS.
HIS WORK AND KEN WERE DEEMED TO
BE A NATIONAL TREASURE.
AND ONE MORE THING THAT MAYBE
WILL COME UP IN SOME OTHER
PRESENTATION BUT BECAUSE I'M IN
THE SKIN FIELD, AND ATTENDED THE
SOCIETY OF INVESTIGATIVE
DERMATOLOGY MEETINGS, ONE VERY
UNIQUE THING THAT KEN DEVELOPED,
I THINK WE'LL HEAR ABOUT HIS
MENTORING FROM HIS DIRECT
MENTORS, BUT EVERY YEAR WHEN THE
SID MEETING WAS HELD, AGAIN I'M
NOT SURE HOW HE PULLED THIS OFF,
BUT KEN WAS ABLE TO HARNESS A
POSSE OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
AND BROUGHT THEM TO THE MEETING,
PUT THEM IN SESSIONS, HAD THEM
INTRODUCED TO SPEAKER, WAS
REALLY SOMETHING TO SEE AND MUST
HAVE BEEN VERY DIFFICULT TO
ORGANIZE.
I DON'T THINK THERE'S A WAY TO
KNOW BUT I WONDER HOW MANY OF
THOSE KIDS WHO CAME IN CITIES
ALL OVER THE COUNTRY ULTIMATELY
CHOSE MEDICINE OR EVEN
DERMATOLOGY AS THEIR FIELD.
SO I THINK WE HAVE A LOT TO
THANK YOU FOR, KEN.
BEFORE I STOP, I WANT TO SAY
SOMETHING ABOUT -- SOMETHING
THAT PERHAPS I'M THE ONLY ONE
WHO COULD SAY IT.
SO DORIS ACCOMPANIED KEN TO
ALMOST EVERY MEETING I EVER
ATTENDED WITH THEM.
AND IT WAS ALWAYS WONDERFUL TO
SEE THEM TOGETHER.
BUT DORIS HAD HER OWN ROLE.
DORIS WAS A SCIENCE TEACHER AT
CHURCHILL HIGH SCHOOL, AND ONE
OF THE THINGS THAT SEPARATED
DORIS FROM OTHER SCIENCE TEAC
TEACHERS WAS HER ACTING SKILLS.
SO EVERY YEAR, CHURCHILL PUT ON
A PLAY, A FALL PLAY, I THINK IT
WAS, THAT WAS VERY HIGHLY
ATTENDED, WENT ON FOR FOUR
NIGHTS AND EVERYONE LOVED IT.
BUT THERE WAS A FACULTY MEMBER
IN THOSE PLAYS, AND THAT WAS
DORIS.
DORIS ACTED -- ALWAYS HAD A ROLE
IN THOSE PLAYS, AND I CAN TELL
YOU THAT EVERY TIME SHE CAME OUT
ON STAGE, THE LOUDEST APPLAUSE
OF ANYONE ON THAT ENSEMBLE.
SO IN ADDITION TO BEING A
SCIENCE TEACHER AND RAISING FOUR
KIDS, WE HAVE TO GIVE DORIS SOME
KUDOS FOR HER ACTING SKILLS.
[APPLAUSE]
AND THE LIVES YOU'VE TOUCHED,
BOTH YOUR TRAINEES, YOUR
COLLEAGUES, AND THE PATIENTS WHO
YOU HELPED TO GET THROUGH A VERY
DIFFICULT SET OF DISEASES.
SO WE ALL REALLY OWE YOU A GREAT
DEAL OF APPRECIATION, AND IT'S
BEEN A PLEASURE WORKING WITH YOU
OVER THE YEARS.
YOU WERE IN LCBG.
THANK YOU.
[APPLAUSE]
>> THANK YOU, STU.
THAT WAS AMAZING.
GOES TO SHOW HOW WELL HE KNOWS
KEN.
NEXT I WOULD LIKE TO CALL UPON
VILHELM BOHR.
>> JEROME, CAN YOU SEND ME A
CHAT ABOUT HOW TO ENLARGE THE --
WHERE WE SEE EACH INDIVIDUAL ON
THE SCREEN?
DEAR KEN.
CONGRATULATIONS AND I ALSO WISH
TO EXPRESS MY MANY THANKS FOR
YOUR FRIENDSHIP, WHICH HAS BEEN
VERY IMPORTANT OVER THE YEARS.
WE'VE WORKED TOGETHER FOR SO
MANY YEARS.
AND THIS EXTENDS FROM
DISCUSSIONS ABOUT SCIENCE TO
PRACTICAL DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THIS
DNA REPAIR INTEREST GROUP TO
MANY OTHER THINGS AND MANY
MEETINGS THAT WE HAVE SHARED.
I'LL SHOW A FEW PICTURES FROM
IT.
AND I' I'LL FOCUS ON THE WORK TT
WE'VE DONE TOGETHER IN THE
INTEREST GROUP.
BUT ALSO YOU AND I HAVE SHARED
SOME MEETINGS THAT WERE REALLY
INTERESTING WHERE WE -- AS STU
JUST MENTIONED TO THE CLINICAL
PEOPLE, THE BASIC PEOPLE, AND WE
REALLY, I THINK, WERE -- IT WAS
A BIT NULL AT THE TIME AT LEAST
IN DNA REPAIR TO BRING PEOPLE
TOGETHER LIKE THAT.
FOR SOME OF THE SCIENTISTS TO
SEE AN ACTUAL PATIENT WAS A VERY
NEW THING IN THEIR EXPERIENCE,
AND WE HAD MANY SCIENTISTS THAT
LEARNED A LOT FROM THAT AND THAT
CHANGED THE DIRECTIONS OF WHERE
THEY WERE GOING.
SO ALSO WE PUBLISHED SOME PAPERS
TOGETHER AND THE BEST WISHES
GOING FORWARD.
I WAS ASKED TO SAY A LITTLE
ABOUT THIS GROUP GROUP DNA REPAT
GROUP.
IT STARTED WAY BACK IN 1986.
I CAME FR TO THE NIH FROM STANF,
I HAD BEEN WORKING FOR SEVERAL
YEARS AT THE TIME IN DNA REPAIR
AND I WAS LOOKING AT WHO WERE
REALLY PROMINENT IN THE FIELD
HERE, AND OF COURSE THAT WAS
KEN, SO I WALKED UP TO KEN AND
SAID WHY DON'T WE HAVE SOME
SEMINAR TOGETHER?
AT FIRST KEN SAID, WELL, I'M NOT
SURE ABOUT THAT.
AND THEN LATER HE AGREED AND
OVER THE YEARS ACTUALLY BECAME
THE MOST ENERGETIC OF THE TWO OF
US MAYBE IN ALL THESE JOINT
MEETINGS THAT WE HAD.
SO THAT STARTED THE DNA REPAIR
INTEREST GROUP.
BACK THEN WE BEGAN MAYBE IN -- I
WOULD SAY 86:00, MAYBE 85:00,
AND THEN WE HAD A NUMBER OF
CONFERENCES THAT WERE FIRST IN
PERSON, BUILDING 37 WHERE WE
INVITED SOME SPEAKERS IN, AND
THEY WERE ACTUALLY SUCCESSFUL
BECAUSE WE WERE ABLE TO FIND
MANY CANDIDATES THAT LATER GOT
SOME GOOD JOB OPPORTUNITIES OUT
OF THIS.
AND THEN WE HAD THESE VERY
ELABORATE VIDEO CONFERENCES AT
THE TIME THAT THIS WAS VERY
NOVEL TO HAVE VIDEO CONFERENCES
AND VERY CHALLENGING.
AND WE HAD THESE MANY SITES ALL
OVER THE U.S. AND WE HAD TO
COORDINATE ALL THIS VIDEO
TRANSFER BETWEEN THE SITES, AND
THEN WE STARTED ARCHIVING THE
LECTURES, AND WE HAD A LONG LIST
OF PEOPLE WHO GOT EMAILED, THIS
WAS MAINLY DONE BY YOU, KEN.
IT WAS A GREAT EFFORT TO INFORM
PEOPLE ABOUT MEETINGS AND OTHER
THINGS AND LATER THIS GREW TO BE
INFORMING ABOUT JOB
OPPORTUNITIES, ABOUT DNA REPAIR
MEETINGS WORLDWIDE.
AND AT THE TIME HERE, IN 2009
AND 10, WE MADE A HISTORIC
COUPLE OF MEETINGS WHERE WE
SHOWED SOME OF THESE VIDEOS, AND
WE HAD SOME REALLY
INTERESTING -- IT WAS FIRST
MENTIONED HERE THAT WE HAD A
NUMBER OF LINKED SITES, WE HAD
NATIONAL LABS AROUND THE
COUNTRY, WE HAD UNIVERSITIES.
SO IT WAS VERY COMPLICATED ADD
CHALLENGING TO GET ALL THIS TO
WORK, BUT IT USUALLY WORKED,
ALTHOUGH WE HAD SOME CRASHES IN
BETWEEN AS WELL.
AND THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE OF
BACK TO 2010, SOME OF THE
SPEAKERS WE HAD AND MANY OF
THESE ARE WELL-KNOWN TO YOU IN
THE FIELD.
IN THE END HERE, MAY 12, 2009,
HISTORICAL COLLECTION AND THESE
WERE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE
SHOWED ON THAT OCCASION.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, CARL SETLOY WAS
A VERY IMPORTANT PERSON IN THE
EARLY DISCOVERY OF NUTRITION
REPAIR.
THE FAMOUS TALK BY LARRY
GROSSMAN WHO DISCOVERED MANY DNA
REPAIR SIGNS WHERE HE ALSO
TALKED ABOUT HIS -- HE WAS A
FIGHTER PILOT IN THE WAR OVER IN
JAPAN AND HAD VERY TRAUMATIC
EXPERIENCES.
WE HEARD ABOUT KLIBER'S TALK,
BACK TO WHEN HE DISCOVERED THAT
XP WAS ASSOCIATED WITH CANCER.
WE HEARD ABOUT TRANSCRIPTION
COUPLED REPAIR AND WE HAD SOME
OTHER MEETINGS THAT TALKED ABOUT
SOME CONTROVERSIAL WORK AT THE
TIME.
AND HERE IS ANOTHER LIST, JUST
EXAMPLES OF PEOPLE THAT WE
INVITED TO COME AND TALK, AND
MANY OF THESE WILL BE VERY
WELL-KNOWN TO YOU IN THIS
AUDIENCE.
WE HAD YOUNG PEOPLE TALK, WE HAD
TUMOR INVESTIGATORS, SENIOR
INVESTIGATORS AND HISTORICAL
TALKS.
AND THESE WERE SOME MORE VIDEOS
THAT REFLECTED SPECIFIC VERY
IMPORTANT COLLECTIONS BECAUSE
MANY OF THESE PEOPLE HAVE SINCE
PASSED AND NOW WE HAVE RECORDS
AND THEY'RE STILL THERE IN THE
DNA REPAIR GROUP AND WE SEE
THESE PEOPLE AS THEY TALKED
ABOUT THEIR WORK.
CLONING THE ATM BETWEEN, THE
VERY INTERESTING HISTORIC
PERSPECTIVE AND OTHER PEOPLE
THAT ARE WELL-KNOWN ON
SENESCENCE AND AGING WHO HAS
RECENTLY PASSED, AND THESE ARE
RECORDS THAT WE NOW HAVE.
MAINLY THANKS TO YOU, KEN,
BECAUSE YOU PUSHED THAT, THAT WE
SHOULD REALLY KEEP THESE THINGS
AND THAT'S BEEN A TREASURE.
AND HERE WE ARE AGAIN AT ONE OF
OUR MEETINGS CHATTING TOGETHER A
FEW YEARS AGO.
SO THE DNA REPAIR INTEREST GROUP
IS STILL GOING STRONG.
THANKS TO THE EFFORTS OF THOSE
WHO HAVE TAKEN THIS OVER AND WE
HAVE A ADVISORY GROUP AND IT
STILL GOES STRONG IN MONTHLY
MEETINGS WITH VERY EXCITING
TALKS.
SO PLEASE KEEP LISTENING TO
THOSE.
AND KEN AND I, WE HAD MANY
WONDERFUL EXPERIENCES IN
MEETINGS AROUND THE WORLD, AND
DORIS, IT WAS ALWAYS GOOD TO SEE
YOU AT THE MEETINGS, MY WIFE
ANNE USUALLY CAME ALONG, AND
THIS WAS JUST ONE OF OUR EARLY
DNA REPAIR MEETINGS, KEN, WE CAN
SEE YOU HAD -- AND OTHER
COLLEAGUES.
SO I JUST WANT TO THEN THANK YOU
FOR THIS GREAT COLLABORATION
WE'VE HAD, AND FOR YOUR EFFORTS
IN THE INTEREST GROUP AND FOR
MANY OTHER THINGS, AND I KNOW
WE'LL STAY IN TOUCH AND I WISH
YOU THE VERY BEST, KEN.
THANK YOU.
[APPLAUSE]
>> THANK YOU VERY MUCH, VILHELM
BOHR.
NEXT I WOULD LIKE TO CALL UPON
MARGARET TUCKER.
IT'S CLEAR THAT YOU ARE
TRAILBLAZERS, SETTING THE STAGE
ON CONDITIONS THAT NEVER EXISTED
WITH INTEREST GROUPS, NOW WE
HAVE A LOT OF INTEREST GROUPS,
SO GREAT JOB.
>> GOOD AFTERNOON.
I'M DEEPLY HONORED TO BE PART OF
THIS CELEBRATION OF KEN AND HIS
MANY ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
IT A TESTAMENT TO KEN'S
COLLEGIALITY, GENEROSITY, AND
BREADTH OF INTEREST THAT SO MANY
SPEAKERS ARE ON THIS PROGRAM
TODAY.
I FIRST MET KEN IN THE LATE
70s, WHEN I CAME TO THE NCI AS
A CLINICAL FELLOW TO WORK IN THE
EPIDEMIOLOGY BRANCH LED BY
DR. JOE FARMINI.
I HAD WORKED WITH DR. FRED LEE
IN BOSTON FOR SEVERAL YEARS AS A
MEDICAL STUDENT AND BECAME
INTRIGUED WITH THE ETIOLOGY OF
FAMILIAL CANCER.
WHEN I ARRIVED AT THE NCI, I
WORKED WITH DR. MARK GREEN, A
MEDICAL ONCOLOGIST, WHO WAS
INITIATING A STUDY OF FAMILIAL
MELANOMA.
AS AN EXPERT IN DISEASES --
GREATLY INCREASED RISK OF
MELANOMA, KEN WAS A VITAL
PARTNER IN THE DESIGN,
DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION
OF THE STUDY.
-- IDENTIFIED SEVERAL FAMILIES
IN WHO TWO OR MORE LIVING
INDIVIDUALS HAD HAD MELANOMA.
AT THE TIME IN THE MID 70s,
THIS WAS VERY UNUSUAL.
CLINICAL EXAMINATIONS WERE A
VITAL COMPONENT OF THE STUDY
FROM THE VERY BEGINNING.
KEN WAS EXTREMELY GENEROUS IN
GIVING US LOTS OF TIME FOR
CLINICAL EXAMINATIONS, FOR GOING
OUT OF TOWN TO VISIT FAMILIES
WHO WEREN'T WILLING TO COME TO
THE NIH, AND HE WAS ALWAYS A
HUGE PART OF ANY INVESTIGATIVE
WORK WE DID.
KEN WAS ALSO EXTREMELY GENEROUS
IN TRAVELING WITH US, BECAUSE
LOTS OF TIMES THE FAMILIES
WOULDN'T BE WILLING TO COME TO
NIH SO WE'D HAVE TO GO OUT OF
TOWN TO SEE THEM.
IN EXAMINING THESE FAMILY
MEMBERS, WE FOUND THOSE WHO HAD
DEVELOPED MELANOMA HAD QUITE
DISTINCT, RELATIVELY LARGE --
THAT WERE IRREGULAR IN OUTLINE,
OFTEN PREDOMINANTLY BLACK AND
MULTICOLORED.
THEY WERE RI ORIGINALLY DESCRIBD
AS -- MOLES -- OF THE FIRST TWO
FAMILIES ENROLLED IN THE STUDY.
WHEN THE HISTOLOGY OF THE
EXCISED LESIONS FROM MULTIPLE
FAMILY WAS EVALUATED BY
DR. WALLACE CLARKE, THE
PROMINENT DERMATOPATHOLOGIST AND
CLOSE COLLABORATOR, THE
NOMENCLATURE EVOLVED TO
DYSPLASTIC -- TO DESCRIBE THE
HISTOLOGIC FEATURES.
IN THE PARTICIPATING MELANOMA
PRONE FAMILY, THESE UNUSUAL --
HAVE CLINICALLY IDENTIFIED THOSE
AT SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASED RISK
OF MELANOMA.
AFTER MARK GREEN LEFT THE NCI
AND BECAME THE P.I. OF THE
STUDY, WE WERE VERY FORTUNATE TO
HIRE DR. LISA GOLDSTEIN AS OUR
GENETICIST AND TO CONTINUE
WORKING WITH KEN AND HIS
COLLEAGUE, DR. JOHN --.
WE COULD NOT HAVE FOUND BETTER
PARTNERS OR ANY OTHER PARTNERS
WHO WOULD BE AS GENEROUS,
KNOWLEDGEABLE, CORDIAL AND
COLLEGIAL AS KEN AND JOHN.
-- WORKED CLOSELY WITH KEN AND
JOHN TO ESTABLISH THAT XERODERMA
PIGMENTOSUM PATIENTS ALSO HAVE
INCREASED RISK OF PREMATURE
AGING AND EARLY DEATH.
SEVERAL YEARS FURTHER INTO THE
FAMILIAL STUDY, ALISA IDENTIFIED
GENES THAT WERE IN TWO SETS OF
FAMILIES WITH MULTIPLE
INDIVIDUALS WITH MELANOMA, FIRST
CDKN2A, THEN CBK4.
THERE ARE DIFFERENCES IN CANCER
RISK AND FAMILY IN THE TWO
GROUPS OF FAMILIES.
SOME FAMILIES ALSO HAVE AN
INCREASED RISK OF DEVELOPING
PANCREATIC CANCER, AND AS
RECENTLY IDENTIFIED BY
DR. MICHAEL SERGEANT, A NEXT
GENERATION CLINICAL RESEARCHER
STUDYING FAMILIAL MELANOMA WITH
US.
OTHER SMOKING-RELATED CANCERS
ARE ALSO INCREASED.
THERE'S STILL MUCH WORK TO BE
DONE TO DEVELOP APPROPRIATE
SCREENING AND POSSIBLE
INTERVENTIONS FOR THESE DEADLY
DISEASES.
SO FAR WE HAVE NOT SEEN AN
INCREASED RISK OF PANCREATIC
CANCER OR OTHER SMOKING-RELATED
CANCERS DEVELOPING IN
INDIVIDUALS WITH CDK4.
4 MUTATIONS.
IN ALL THESE PROJECTS, KEN HAS
BEEN AN ESSENTIAL AND INVALUABLE
CONTRIBUTOR AND TEAMMATE.
IT HAS BEEN A GREAT PLEASURE
WORKING WITH BOTH KEN AND JOHN
OVER SEVERAL DECADES, AND WE ALL
WISH THAT JOHN WERE HERE TO
CELEBRATE WITH US.
I HOPE FOR A LONG, HAPPY AND
RELAXING RETIREMENT FOR KEN,
DORIS AND YOUR FAMILY.
THANK YOU.
[APPLAUSE]
>> THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MARGA
MARGARET.
SO NEXT, I WOULD LIKE TO INVITE
SIKANDAR AND JEFF.
WHEN KEN ANNOUNCED HE WAS GOING
TO RETIRE, I ASKED HIM, WHAT ARE
YOUR PLANS?
AND HE SAID, I'M GOING TO SPEND
MORE TIME WITH MY FAMILY.
SO HE SHOWED A PICTURE OF THE
FAMILY AND IT WAS FANTASTIC AND
HE WAS SAYING THIS IS GREAT.
THEN I SAW HIM AGAIN A FEW WEEKS
LATER, SAW HIM AGAIN A FEW WEEKS
LATER, AND I WASN'T SURE WHAT'S
GOING ON BECAUSE WAS GOING
ACTUALLY GOING TO SPEND TIME
WITH THE FAMILY OR NOT?
THEN I REALIZED, LCBG IS HIS
FAMILY TOO.
SO WE INVITE THE TWO REMAINING
PEOPLE IN HIS GROUP HERE,
MEMBERS OF KEN KRAEMER'S FAMILY.
[APPLAUSE]
>> HELLO, EVERYONE.
TODAY WE ARE GATHERED HERE TO
CELEBRATE AND HONOR THE
RETIREMENT OF DR. KRAEMER.
AT THIS MOMENT, I FIND MYSELF
REFLECTING ON A JOURNEY THAT
SPANS ALMOST THREE DECADES, A
JOURNEY FILLED WITH LEARNING,
LAUGHING, AND AN EXTRAORDINARY
BOND THAT EXTENDS FAR BEYOND THE
BONDS OF OUR LIVES.
DR. KRAEMER, YOU HAVE BEEN MORE
THAN JUST A BOSS OR A COLLEAGUE.
YOU ARE FAMILY.
WHEN I MOVED FROM OHIO TO
MARYLAND WITH A 3 WEEK OLD BABY,
YOU WERE THERE TO PICK US UP
FROM THE AIRPORT.
THAT GESTURE OF KINDNESS WAS
JUST A GLIMPSE OF TREMENDOUS
SUPPORT YOU HAVE SHOWN TO US
OVER THE YEARS.
YOU HELPED US SETTLE IN USING
OUR TRANSITION INTO A NEW STATE
AND A NEW PHASE OF OUR LIVES.
OUR FAMILY GREW CLOSE, SHARING
COUNTLESS JOYOUS OCCASIONS.
FROM HOUSE PARTIES TO INTERFAITH
EVENTS, EVERY MOMENT SPENT WITH
YOUR FAMILY INCLUDING -- AND
YOUR LOVING CHILDREN WAS A
BLESSING.
THE PARTIES ARE ETCHED IN MY
CHILDREN'S MEMORY.
ESPECIALLY THE MOMENT WHEN
DR. KRAEMER DRESSED AS SANTA
CLAUS, A TRADITION THAT
CONTINUES TO THIS DATE.
DORIS, YOU HAVE BEEN AN INTEGRAL
PART OF OUR EXTENDED LIFE
FAMILY.
YOUR PARTNERSHIP WITH
DR. KRAEMER IS AN INSPIRATION
FOR ALL OF US.
DR. KRAEMER, YOUR MENTORSHIP HAS
BEEN A GUIDING LIGHT IN MY
CAREER.
YOU HAVE TAUGHT ME THE ESSENTIAL
COMPASSIONATE LEADERSHIP AND THE
IMPORTANCE OF NURTURING A TEAM
THAT LOOKS LIKE A FAMILY.
THE MOMENT YOU HAVE CREATED IN
THE LAB ALONGSIDE THE LATE DR
DR. -- ALL PREVIOUS LAB MEMBERS
IS INCREDIBLE.
AT THIS MOMENT, I MISS DR. --
WHO WAS A COMPASSIONATE
CLINICIAN AND AN AMAZING --
THERE IS PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP
TO OUR PATIENT IN CLINICAL
DISCOVERIES.
MY CHILDREN HAVE FOND MEMORIES
OF CHRISTMAS PARTIES AND PLAYING
WITH HER LOVING DOG.
DR. KRAEMER, YOUR DEDICATION TO
MENTORING A DIVERSE TEAM --
SPEAKS VOLUMES ABOUT YOU.
YOUR CONCERN OF OUR WELL-BEING
LIKE WHEN YOU CHECKED IN ON ME
DURING MY HEALTH ISSUES SHOWS
THE DEPTH OF YOUR CARE.
AS WE GATHER TODAY, HERE I AM
OVERWHELMED WITH MIXED EMOTIONS.
IT IS A BITTERSWEET MOMENT,
CHERISHING RELATIONSHIP AND
MEMORIES THAT WILL LAST A
LIFETIME.
DR. KRAEMER, YOU HOLD A SPECIAL
PLACE IN MY HEART.
I LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING
THIS RELATIONSHIP.
IN CLOSING, I WANT TO EXPRESS MY
DEEPEST GRATITUDE.
YOUR IMPACT ON MY LIFE BOTH
PROFESSIONALLY AND PERSONALLY.
WE MAY BE CLOSING THIS CHAPTER,
BUT THE LESSON AND MEMORIES YOU
HAVE IMPARTED ON US WILL
CONTINUE TO INSPIRE AND GUIDE US
ALL.
THANK YOU, DR. KRAEMER, FOR
EVERYTHING.
[APPLAUSE]
>> HI, EVERYONE.
MY NAME IS JEFFREY.
I HAVE THE INCREDIBLE HONOR OF
BEING DR. KRAEMER'S LAST NIH
POSTDOC HE FORMALLY TRAINED.
TODAY I WANT TO SHARE A BRIEF
STORY THAT REALLY ENCAPSULATES
THE IMPACT DR. KRAEMER HAD ON
ME.
SO LAST WEEK, I HAD MY FIRST
MEDICAL SCHOOL INTERVIEW, AND I
WAS CONFIDENT, I WAS READY, I
WAS READY FOR ANY QUESTION THEY
COULD THROW AT ME.
BUT THEN CAME THE UNEXPECTED.
WHO IS YOUR BIGGEST ROLE MODEL?
I SAT THERE FOR A FEW SECONDS,
THINKING.
AND THE FIRST PERSON THAT CAME
TO MY MIND WAS DR. KRAEMER.
I SAID, DR. KRAEMER IS A
BRILLIANT RESEARCH PHYSICIAN.
HE'S DEDICATED TO HIS
COLLEAGUES, FAMILY AND PATIENTS,
AND OVERALL, HE'S A SUPER COOL
AND CHILL PERSON.
HE'S THE TYPE OF DOCTOR THAT I
WANT TO BE.
AND AS A MENTOR, HE WENT ABOVE
AND BEYOND.
HE AND DORIS WELCOMED ME INTO
THEIR HOME, INCLUDED ME IN
FAMILY OUTINGS AND MADE MY
TRANSITION TO MARYLAND FEEL LIKE
HOME.
SO DR. KRAEMER, THANK YOU FOR
BEING MORE THAN JUST A MENTOR.
THANK YOU FOR BEING MY ROLE
MODEL, AND MAKING MY NIH
EXPERIENCE UNFORGETTABLE.
AND SO WITH THAT, CHEERS TO YOUR
WELL-DESERVED RETIREMENT, AND
MAY YOU CONTINUE TO INSPIRE MORE
LIKE ME.
THANK YOU.
[APPLAUSE]
>> THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
NEXT I WOULD LIKE TO INVITE
DEBBY.
CURRENT LAB MEMBERS BE READY
BECAUSE I THINK YOU HAVE A TASK
AFTER DEBBY.
BEFORE YOU START, LET ME GIVE
YOU -- [INAUDIBLE]
[APPLAUSE]
DEBBY IS GOING TO SPEAK FOR
HERSELF BUT SHE IS PRACTICALLY
THE RIGHT HAND FOR KEN IN
ORGANIZING ALL THE COMPLEX
FAMILIES IN THE STUDIES THAT
THEY DO SO THEY MAKE A FANTASTIC
TEAM.
>> OKAY, I'M GOING TO TRY NOT TO
CRY.
SO DR. KRAEMER, I AM SURE THAT
THERE IS NOTHING MORE THAT I CAN
SAY ABOUT YOUR REMARKABLE CAREER
THAT HASN'T ALREADY BEEN SAID OR
WILL BE SAID ABOUT THE NEXT HOUR
OR SO.
YOU ARE A DEDICATED PHYSICIAN, A
BRILLIANT SCIENTIST, AND AN
OUTSTANDING MENTOR.
AND YOU'RE JUST AN ALL AROUND
GOOD GUY.
SO I THOUGHT I'D CATCH YOU UP ON
ONE OF OUR PATIENTS.
YOU'VE KNOWN ABOUT HER FOR A
LONG TIME BUT IT WASN'T UNTIL
ABOUT 19 -- OR I'M SORRY -- 2010
THAT WE WERE FINALLY ABLE TO SEE
HER IN OUR CLINIC.
THE PATIENT HAD BEEN DIAGNOSED
WITH XP WHEN SHE WAS A VERY
YOUNG CHILD, BUT SHE HAD VERY
POOR UV PROTECTION, AND BY THE
TIME SHE WAS 7 YEARS OLD, SHE
HAD SO MANY SKIN CANCERS ON HER
FACE THAT SHE HAD TO HAVE ALL
THE SKIN ON HER FACE REMOVED AND
THEN REPLACED.
UNFORTUNATELY THE PATIENT
CONTINUED TO HAVE POOR UV
PROTECTION, AND BY THE TIME WE
SAW HER, SHE'D HAD OVER A
THOUSAND SKIN CANCERS.
SO THINK ABOUT THAT, A THOUSAND
SKIN CANCERS.
DR. KRAEMER, THE LONG ARM OF
YOUR MENTORSHIP REACHES OUT IN
MIMYSTERIOUS WAYS AND ONE OF OUR
STUDENTS BECAME A DETERMINE TOLL
STUDENT AND THEN STAYED ON AS A
FACULTY MEMBER AT THE MEDICAL
CENTER WHERE THIS PATIENT WAS
GETTING TREATED.
OVER A SERIES OF VISITS WITH
THAT PHYSICIAN AND THEN COMING
HERE TO THE NIH, FINALLY, YOU
AND DR. GIOVANNA PUSHED THE
PATIENT TO USE BETTER UV
PROTECTION.
AND ME AS NOT AS GENTLE ABOUT IT
AND I PUSHED A LOT HARDER.
IN COLLABORATION WITH HER
WONDERFUL LOCAL PHYSICIAN, YOU
AND DR. D ENCOURAGED THE PATIENT
TO TAKE BETTER CARE OF HERSELF.
OVER THE COURSE OF SEVERAL
VISITS WITH US AT THE NIH, WE
NOTICED A GRADUAL CHANGE IN THE
PATIENT'S UV PROTECTION
BEHAVIOR.
AT THE END OF HER LAST VISIT
WITH US, THE PARITY WAS GETTING-
THE PATIENT WAS GETTING
NOTICEABLY FEWER SQUAMOUS CELL
CARCINOMAS.
THE BEST WAY TO KEEP IN TOUCH
WITH ALL OF THE PATIENTS, AND
THREE WEEKS AGO, SHE POSTED --
JUST HAD A DERMATOLOGIST
APPOINTMENT.
NO SKIN CANCERS.
DR. KRAEMER, THIS IS THE FIRST
TIME IN OVER 30 YEARS THE
PATIENT HAD NOT HAD A SKIN
CANCER DIAGNOSED AT A
DERMATOLOGY VISIT.
ABOVE EVERYTHING ELSE THAT
DR. KRAEMER HAS EVER DONE,
MAKING SURE THAT OUR PATIENTS
GET REALLY GOOD CARE, THAT'S THE
LEGACY THAT I HOPE YOU ALL
REMEMBER.
DR. KRAEMER, THANK YOU SO MUCH
FOR RECRUITING ME FROM HAWAII.
I'VE JUST ENJOYED THE LAST 20
YEARS WORKING WITH YOU.
YOU JUST TAUGHT ME SO MUCH, AND
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.
[APPLAUSE]
>> CAN I INVITE ALL THE CURRENT
MEMBERS OF DR. KRAEMER'S LAB TO
THE FRONT, PLEASE?
[APPLAUSE]
>> SO WHAT THEY PRESENTED IS A
PHOTO ALBUM OF A COLLECTION OF
PHOTOGRAPHS FROM HIS EARLY DAYS
AT NIH ALL THE WAY TO NOW.
IT'S VERY BEAUTIFUL WORK.
GOOD JOB.
NEXT I WOULD LIKE TO INVITE MARK
UDEY TO SAY A FEW WORDS.
>> WELL, I'M A LITTLE BIT
SURPRISED TO BE HERE TODAY.
IN LARGE PART BECAUSE A NUMBER
OF YEARS AGO, I'M QUITE CERTAIN
THAT KEN'S WIFE DORIS TOLD MY
WIFE DEBORAH THAT KEN WOULD
NEVER RETIRE.
I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT SOME SANITY
HAS PREVAILED.
I FIRST MET KEN IN THE EARLY
80s WHEN I WAS A DERMATOLOGY
RESIDENT AT WASHINGTON
UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE.
I DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT KEN
PRIOR TO THAT TIME AND DIDN'T
KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE NIH
INTRAMURAL PROGRAM, KNEW VERY
LITTLE ABOUT XP BUT I DID
KNOW -- HE HAD ONLY RESPECT FOR
SERIOUS PEOPLE BECAUSE HE
INVITED KEN TO BE A VISITING
PROFESSOR.
I GOT TO KNOW KENMORE OVER MY
TENURE, 2009 TO 2017, AND WORKED
WITH KEN IN A NUMBER OF WAYS
FREQUENTLY.
KEN WAS ALWAYS AT AN
ADMINISTRATIVE DISTANCE FROM THE
BRANCH, BUT HE ALWAYS MADE
CERTAIN THAT HE AND HIS
COLLEAGUES AND HIS CO-WORKERS
AND TRAINEES WERE AN INTEGRAL
PART OF THE DERMATOLOGY BRANCH
ACTIVITIES AND AN ACTIVE
PARTICIPANT AND I REALLY, REALLY
APPRECIATE THAT, KEN.
A WORD I WOULD USE TO DESCRIBE
KEN IS COMMITMENT.
KEN IS ONE OF THE MOST COMMITTED
PEOPLE I'VE EVER MET.
HE'S COMMITTED TO HIS PATIENTS,
COMMITTED TO HIS WORK, COMMITTED
TO HIS FAMILIMENT HE'S ONLY BEEN
ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH WHAT HE'S
ACCOMPLISHED -- AND I THINK
THAT'S AN ADMIRABLE
CHARACTERISTIC AND HOPE TO
EMULATE IT GOING FORWARD.
I ALSO WANT TO THANK YOU FOR ALL
THAT YOU'VE DONE TO SUPPORT ME
OVER THE YEARS SMS.
I WISH YOU A LONG LIFE, GOOD
HEALTH AND MUCH HAPPINESS.
YON GRCONGRATULATIONS, KEN.
[APPLAUSE]
>> THANK YOU, MARK.
I WOULD LIKE TO INVITE MICHELE
EVANS.
>> THANK YOU, KEN.
THANK YOU FOR MY CAREER HERE AT
NIH.
I MET KEN WHEN I JOINED VIL
BOHR'S LAB, AND AS YOU WILL
HEARD VIL AND KEN WERE CONNECTED
AT THE HIP.
HE MENTORED ME AS WELL, HELPING
ME THROUGH MY FIRST BSC, BY THAT
TIME WE HAD MOVED UP TO
BALTIMORE.
HE CAME UP TO BALTIMORE.
HE WENT THROUGH MY SLIDES WITH
ME.
HE REALLY SHOWED ME WHAT WAS A
GOOD POWERPOINT SLIDE AND WHAT
WASN'T A GOOD POWERPOINT SLIDE,
AND AT THAT TIME, GETTING ON THE
TENURE TRACK, YOU HAD TO HAVE A
SUCCESSFUL BMC.
THERE WASN'T THIS ADVERTISEMENT
BECAUSE THERE REALLY WAS NOT A
TRUE TENURE TRACK YET.
AND SO JUST MAKING THAT JUMP,
KEN WAS THERE WORKING WITH VIL
TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, I THINK
KEN INVESTED IN ME BECAUSE OF
HIS DEEP COMMITMENT TO EQUITY
AND DIVERSITY AND RECOGNIZING
THAT EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE AN
OPPORTUNITY TO PURSUE A CAREER
HERE AT NIH.
HE SUPPORTED ME IN EVERYTHING
THAT I HAVE EVER DONE HERE AT
NIH, PROVIDING A RECOMMENDATION
OR JUST CHECK IN TO SEE HOW
THINGS WERE GOING.
GOING TO INTERNATIONAL
SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS IS NOT EASY,
WAS NOT EASY AS MAYBE THE ONLY
BLACK PERSON, MAYBE THE ONLY
BLACK WOMAN THERE AT THE
CONFERENCE.
BUT KEN AND DORIS, DORIS WOULD
SAY, NOBODY'S TALKING TO
MICHELLE.
LET ME GO OVER THERE AND TALK TO
MICHELLE.
LET ME GO SEE MICHELE AT HER
POSTER.
THEY MADE SURE THAT I FELT
COMFORTABLE, THAT I FELT
INCLUDED.
THIS IS BACK IN THE 1990s.
NO ONE WAS TALKING ABOUT
DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION
AT THAT TIME.
THEY DIDN'T NEED TO TRAIN KEN OR
DORIS ON THIS BECAUSE THIS IS
JUST WHO THEY WERE AS PEOPLE.
AS ETHICAL, MORAL PEOPLE WHO
WERE COMMITTED TO WELCOMING
EVERYONE AND TREATING THEM
EQUALLY, AND MAKING SURE THAT
THEIR OPPORTUNITIES AND DREAMS
WERE ABLE TO BE FULFILLED.
AND THAT'S WHY I'M HERE TODAY,
AS A TENURED INVESTIGATOR AT
NIH, ONE OF THE FEW AFRICAN
AMERICAN WOMEN TENURED AT NIH,
AND THAT'S BECAUSE OF THE
INVESTMENT OF VIL BOHR BUT ALSO
KEN KRAEMER, AND I WASN'T EVEN
IN HIS LAB, I WASN'T EVEN IN HIS
INSTITUTE, AS HE REACHED ACROSS
TO JUST MAKE SURE THAT I HAD THE
SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE THAT HE
FELT THAT I NEEDED.
BECAUSE HE SAW POTENTIAL, AND HE
DIDN'T CARE WHAT PACKAGE THE
POTENTIAL CAME IN, HE INVESTED
IN.
AND FOR THAT, I AM ETERNALLY
GRATEFUL.
THANK YOU, KEN, AND THANK YOU,
DORIS, NOT ONLY FOR REACHING OUT
TO ME AT SOME OF THOSE MEETINGS
WHERE I REALLY DIDN'T HAVE
ANYBODY THAT I COULD KIND OF
TALK TO, AND YOU RECOGNIZING
THAT AWKWARDNESS AND DISCOMFORT
AND COMING TO MY RESCUE SO MANY
TIMES.
BUT ALSO SHOWING ME HOW TO BE A
PARTNER AND A SPOUSE TO A
SCIENTIST, BECAUSE I MARRIED
SOMEBODY HERE AT NIH, AND I
MODELED THE WAY I MANAGED MY
RELATIONSHIP WITH MY HUSBAND THE
WAY YOU MANAGE YOUR RELATIONSHIP
WITH KEN BECAUSE I SAW WHAT WAS
NECESSARY TO PROMOTE HIS SUCCESS
WHILE I WAS WORKING ON
DEVELOPING MY OWN CAREER AND
RAISING MY OWN FAMILY.
SO THANK YOU, DORIS, FOR
REACHING OUT IN YOUR SPECIAL WAY
TO REALLY MAKE MY LIFE EASIER BY
GIVING ME A PATTERN TO FOLLOW.
SO THANK YOU BOTH, AND I WISH
YOU ALL THE BEST IN YOUR
RETIREMENT.
[APPLAUSE]
>> THANK YOU, MICHELE.
WE'RE HEARING AGAIN ABOUT HOW
CARING AND HOW GENUINE KEN IS.
WHEN I STARTED HERE THE FIRST
FEW WEEKS, I WAS WALKING FROM
THE PARKING LOT TO THE BUILDING
AND KEN WAS THERE WITH A BAG IN
HIS HAND.
SO I SAID KEN, HO ARE YOU, YES,T
QUESTION HE ASKED WAS, DO YOU
LIKE FISH?
AND I SAID YEAH.
AND HE GOES, WELL, YOU SHOULD
NOT BUY FISH FROM SUPERMARKETS.
THERE IS A FISHERMAN WHO COMES
ONCE IN A WHILE TO THE PARKING
LOT ACROSS OUR BUILDING, THAT'S
WHERE YOU SHOULD BUY IT FROM,
AND I'LL TELL YOU HOW TO DO
THAT.
AND I JUST LISTENED TO HIM AND
SAID THIS IS A GENUINE GUY WHO
REALLY CARES FOR YOU.
HE NOT ONLY SHARED -- YOU CAN
HEAR FROM EVERYBODY WHO IS HERE,
I THINK HE REALLY TAKES YOU
SERIOUSLY, SO GREAT JOB.
OKAY.
NOW WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A SERIES
OF WEBEX PRESENTATIONS.
THE FIRST ONE IS FROM YVES
POMMIER.
>> YES, HI.
CAN YOU HEAR ME?
>> YES.
>> HELLO.
KEN, I APOLOGIZE FOR NOT BEING
WITH YOU BECAUSE I CANNOT NOW,
BUT I'M REALLY WITH YOU.
KEN HAS BEEN A BIG PART FOR ME,
YOU KNOW, I CAME TO THE NIH AS A
POSTDOC, AND I WAS WITH AN
OUTSTANDING MENTOR, DR. CURT
COHEN, WHO HAD ACTUALLY HIRED
VIL BOHR AS WELL.
WE WERE WORKING ON DNA DAMAGE,
I'LL GIVE YOU THREE LITTLE
TIDBITS THAT CHANGED MY LIFE.
WORKING ON DNA DAMAGE, AND KEN
WAS REALLY INTERESTED IN BLOOM
SYNDROME, THAT WAS IN 1990.
IN 1990, WE DIDN'T KNOW VERY
MUCH ABOUT THE CAUSE OF BLUE
SYNDROME, AND THERE WAS A
SUSPICION TOPO ISOMERS WERE
INVOLVED.
KEN WAS ASKING ME TO MEASURE THE
DNA DAMAGE WITH THE --
ENRICHMENT FACTOR AND WE
HYPOTHESIZED IT WAS -- 2.
I DID ALL THE EXPERIMENTS, I WAS
GOING BACK AND FORTH AND
EVERYTHING ACTUALLY WAS
AGAINST -- 2.
WE ENDED UP PUBLISHING THIS WORK
ARGUING THAT IT WAS NOT
ASSOCIATED WITH BLUE CENTRAL,
AND THAT FOR ME WAS AN
ENLIGHTENING EXPERIENCE BECAUSE
YOU CAN'T FORCE SCIENCE, YOU
HAVE TO FOLLOW WHAT THE DATA ARE
SHOWING YOU, AND AS WE STARTED
WRITING THAT PAPER, I ALSO
REALIZED HOW CAREFUL KEN WAS IN
EVERY WORD THAT HE WOULD PUT IN
THE PAPER.
YOU KNOW, YOU COULD HEAR IT.
I'M NOT A ENGLISH-SPEAKING-BORN
PERSON, BUT KEN WAS WONDERFUL,
YOU KNOW.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
DEMONSTRATES, INDICATES, SHOWS,
WAS VERY CLEAR AT THAT TIME, AND
KEN PUT HIS FINGER RIGHT ON
EVERYTHING, EVERY SLIDE, EVERY
FIGURE, EVERYTHING WONDERFUL.
CURT WAS THE SAME BUT KEN WAS
REALLY OUTSTANDING.
THE SECOND STEP ON MY -- I KEPT
SEEING KEN ALL THE TIME, I LOVED
GOING TO HIS OFFICE.
THE FIRST TIME I CAME TO KEN'S
OFFICE, IT WAS LIKE WONDERFUL I
ENTER, I SEE THIS PERSON SITTING
ON A CHAIR IN THE MIDDLE OF PILE
OF PAPERS, HUGE PILES, BOOKS,
PAPERS, AND THEN I ASK A
QUESTION TO KEN, I SAY, OH, WAIT
A MINUTE, AND HE WOULD GO UNDER
THE PILE, PULL OUT IN A LITTLE
CORNER A PIECE OF PAPER AND HE'D
SHOW ME A GRAPH.
HE WAS SO SMART, I THOUGHT THAT
HE COULD PUT HIS DESK IN ORDER
BECAUSE HE KNEW WHERE EVERYTHING
WAS.
I COULD NEVER DO THIS.
SO THE SECOND TIME THAT I GOT TO
AN EXPERIENCE WITH KEN WAS FOR
ANOTHER STUDY WHERE WE WERE
STUDYING DNA DAMAGE -- WHICH IS
NOT APPROVED IN THE CLINIC, 743,
TRABECTADINE.
WHAT WE HAD IDENTIFIED WAS
THE -- WE DIDN'T KNOW THE TARGET
AND IDENTIFYING RESISTANT CELL
LINE THAT INACTIVATION OF XP
GWAS MAKING THE CELLS RESISTANT.
AND I WENT TO KEN AND I SAID,
KEN, I NEED AN ISOGENIC CELL
LINE.
KEN HAD THIS WONDERFUL
COLLECTION OF ISOGENIC CELL
LINES, WE DID ALL THE CONTROLS
LIKE KEN VERY THRUR THOROUGHLY ,
AND WE ENDED UP DISCOVERING
THAT -- THE DRUG IS
FDA-APPROVED, IT'S USED IN
CANCER, AND THIS DISCOVERY WAS
VERY IMPORTANT FOR THAT.
BUT IT WAS ALSO EXTREMELY
IMPORTANT BECAUSE THERE WAS THE
TIME WHERE I WAS BECOMING -- I
WAS POSTULATING TO BECOME A
P.I., AND THANKS TO KEN, I THINK
KEN THIS PAPER WE PUBLISHED IN
NATURE MEDICINE PROBABLY WAS A
KEY -- IT WEIGHED A LOT WHEN I
WENT THROUGH THE REVIEW AND I
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING
YOU DID AND ALL YOUR CAREFUL
THINKING.
THE LAST LITTLE STORY, A LITTLE
LATER, ABOUT PLATINUM.
AS YOU KNOW, I'M WORKING WITH
ANTICANCER DRUG, I REALLY LOVE
HOW TO FIND HOW THEY WORK.
AND NOW IF YOU TALK PLATINUM,
YOU WOULD SAY BRCA 1, --
DEFICIENCY.
BUT AT THIS TIME, AND IT STILL
TRUE, PLATINUM IS ALSO
INTERFERING WITH DNA AND -- NEED
TO BE REPAIRED BY -- REPAIR.
SO THE QUESTION WAS, IS IT
GLOBAL TRANSCRIPTION -- REPAIR
OR TRANSCRIPTION -- KEN HAD ALL
THE TOOLS TO ACTUALLY CLEARLY
HELP US DEMONSTRATE THAT
TRANSCRIPTION COUPLE -- REPAIR
WAS KEY, NOT GLOBAL -- SO I
REALLY THANK YOU, KEN, FOR ALL
YOUR SUPPORT, ALL THE TIME WE
SPENT TOGETHER AND I WISH YOU
THE BEST RETIREMENT, AND YOU
REALLY DESERVE IT, I ENJOY IT
VERY MUCH, AND I HOPE TO SEE YOU
AT THE NIH.
I'M SURE WE COME BACK.
THANK YOU.
[APPLAUSE]
>> THANK YOU, YVES.
I WOULD LIKE TO NOW INVITE
MICHELE MILOTA TO SAY A FEW
WORDS.
>> CAN YOU HEAR ME?
HELLO?
>> WE CAN HEAR YOU.
>> OKAY, PERFECT.
AS THE DIRECTOR OF THE XP FAMILY
SUPPORT GROUP P IT W, IT'S WITHS
WE HEAR YOU'RE GOING TO RETIRE,
REMARKABLE MAN WHO'S DEDICATED
HIS CAREER TO TREATING AND
ENHANCING THE LIVES OF THOSE
AFFECTED WITH XP.
AS YOU JOURNEY AWAY FROM US AND
WE'RE GOING TO MISS YOU DEARLY,
YOU'RE NOTHING SHORT OF
EXTRAORDINARY, AND THE WORLD
WHERE XP PRESENTS UNIQUE
CHALLENGES AND UNWAVERING
COMMITMENT AND EXPERTISE, YOU'VE
ILLUMINATED THE PATH FOR
COUNTLESS FAMILIES.
YOU'VE NOT ONLY PROVIDED MEDICAL
CARE, ANSWERED NUMEROUS
QUESTIONS AND HAVE RESEARCHED XP
FOR YOUR CAREER, BUT YOU ALSO
HAVE OFFERED US HOPE.
AND THE STRENGTH TORE FACE THE
COMPLEXITIES OF THIS CONDITION.
I REMEMBER WHEN MY DAUGHTER WAS
DIAGNOSED TW 20 YEARS AGO AND YU
AND DEBBY AND JOHN WERE THE
FIRST FACES THAT WE MET THAT
HELPED US TO OVERCOME THE
CHALLENGE, SHOWED US THAT WE HAD
HOPE, SHOWED US THAT WE COULD
LIVE WITH THIS CONDITION, AND
YOU GAVE US THE TOOLS NEEDED TO
LIVE MY DAUGHTER'S LIFE TO HER
FULLEST.
I WANT TO SAY THAT SHE'S NOW
DEDICATING HER CAREER AS A MICRO
BIOLOGIST AND WANTS TO DO
RESEARCH.
SO NOT ONLY DID YOU INSPIRE ME
TO START THE XP FAMILY SUPPORT
GROUP BUT YOU'VE ALSO LIT A FIRE
IN MY DAUGHTER'S LIFE WHERE SHE
WANTS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN
PEOPLE'S LIVES WITH XP AS WELL.
YOUR RESEARCH AND ADVOCACY HAVE
PLAYED A PIVOTAL ROLE IN
BRINGING XP INTO THE BROADER
MEDICAL AND PUBLIC AWARENESS.
WITHOUT YOU, KEN, WE WOULDN'T
HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GO OUT THERE
AND TO EDUCATE DOCTORS AND
DERMATOLOGISTS AND RESEARCHERS
ON THIS CONDITION.
YOU'VE CHAMPIONED THE CAUSE
SECURING FUNDING FOR RESEARCH,
IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF CARE,
MAKING SIGNIFICANT STRIDES IN
TREATMENT OPTIONS.
YOUR EFFORTS HAVE NOT ONLY
BENEFITED OUR LOCAL XP FAMILIES
AND COMMUNITY, BUT RESONATED
ACROSS THE GLOBE, IMPROVING
LIVES OF THOSE AFFECTED
WORLDWIDE.
ALL OF US, ALL OF THE SUPPORT
GROUPS AROUND THE WORLD LOOK TO
YOU, KEN, FOR YOUR RESEARCH,
YOUR GUIDANCE, YOUR
COLLABORATION WITH OTHER
COUNTRIES.
I REMEMBER COMING TO THE XP TASK
FORCE MEETINGS AND MEETING
DOCTORS FROM AROUND THE WORLD,
SITTING AT ROUNDTABLES JUST
COLLABORATING AND TALKING WITH
DOCTORS THAT GAVE US XP FAMILIES
HOPE THAT THERE IS RESEARCH OUT
THERE AND THAT YOU ALL DO WORK
TOGETHER.
AND WITHOUT YOUR GUIDANCE, WE
WOULDN'T HAVE THAT.
ON BEHALF OF THE XP FAMILY
SUPPORT IMREUP AND THE COUNTLESS
FAMILIES AND PATIENTS WHOSE
LIVES YOU'VE TOUCHED, WE SAY
THANK YOU.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR YEARS OF
SERVICE, FOR YOUR HEART, YOUR
DEDICATION IN MAKING A
DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD OF XP.
I KNOW DORIS HAS BEEN WAITING TO
TRAVEL, SPEND TIME WITH THOSE
GRANDKIDS AT EVERY MEETING I'D
HEAR SHE'D TALK ABOUT ALL THE
GRANDKIDS AND WHAT YOU GUYS WERE
GOING TO DO WHEN YOU RETIRED AND
SHE'S BEEN TALKING TO ME ABOUT
THAT FOR THE LAST 18 YEARS SO I
KNOW SHE'S READY TO START
ENJOYING LIFE WITH YOU.
IT'S A WELL-DESERVED RETIREMENT.
KNOW THAT YOU'VE CHANGED THE
WORLD, YOU'VE MADE IT A BETTER
PLACE FOR XP FAMILIES, KEN.
WE WILL THOROUGHLY MISS YOU BUT
I KNOW OUR PATHS WILL CROSS AND
CHEERS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY
AND ENJOY YOUR RETIREMENT.
[APPLAUSE]
>> THANK YOU, MICHELE.
WHETHER WE ARE PH.D. OR M.D., WE
ALL WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A
DIFFERENCE IN SOMEBODY'S LIFE
WITH A DISEASE.
IT IS SO IMPRESSIVE TO SEE AN
IMPACT YOU HAVE MADE AND TO HEAR
MICHELE LAY IT OUT, IT'S TRULY
MOVING.
SO CONGRATULATIONS ON HAVING AN
IMPACT ON SO MANY FAMILIES
AROUND THE WORLD.
[APPLAUSE]
UP NEXT, I WOULD LIKE TO INVITE
ROBERT SARKANY, SPEAKING FROM
ACROSS THE POND.
MUST BE LIKE 9:00 P.M. FOR HIM.
SO GO AHEAD, ROBERT.
>> THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR
INVITING ME.
I'M REALLY PLEASED TO ALMOST,
LOW PRESSURE BALMOST BE WITH YO.
I'M BOB SARKANY, DERMATOLOGIST,
IN 2006 I TOOK OVER OF THE
SENSITIVITY DISORDERS UNIT AT
THE -- DERMATOLOGY IN LONDON.
AND IT WAS VERY APPARENT TO
ME -- WE HAD A SMALL GROUP OF XP
PATIENTS, AND THEY WERE NOT --
WE WERE NOT PROVIDING EXPERT
ENOUGH CARE AND THEY CLEARLY
NEEDED EXPERT DISCIPLINARY CARE,
AND I WANTED TO SET OUT SOME
SORT OF DEDICATED XP SERVICE.
I HAD NO IDEA HOW TO DO IT, I
DIDN'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT XP, AND
EVERYONE I ASKED IN ENGLAND, I
STARTED WITH ALAN LEHMAN AND
SAID, WHO DO I ASK?
I'VE READ A COUPLE OF PAPERS, OF
COURSE KEN KRAEMER IS THE ONE.
HE'S THE ONE WHO KNOWS.
I HAD MY OPPORTUNITY PRETTY
QUICKLY.
I'VE GOT SOME SLIDES OF
MEETINGS, A COUPLE OF MEETINGS
THAT KEN RAN.
AND THIS -- IS IT SHARING?
IS IT SHARING?
CAN I JUST -- I'LL TRY THAT
AGAIN.
IS THAT SHARING?
YOU GOT SOMETHING NOW?
DURING 2006, THIS IS ACTUALLY
THE WRONG SLIDE WHICH DOESN'T
HELP REALLY MY CAUSE, BUT IN
2006, I WENT ALONG TO THE
ININTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM WHICH
IS HELD EVERY FOUR YEARS IN THE
XP AND DNA REPAIR DISEASE
COMMUNITY HELD BY -- HOSTED BY
DORIS AND KEN WITH YOU IN
VIRGINIA.
AND IT WAS KNOCKOUT.
I WAS SORT OF THINKING SHOULD I
SET UP A SERVICE?
JOHN, DORIS, KEN WERE JUST SO
NICE.
IT WAS SO INTERESTING.
AND WHAT REALLY STRUCK ME AS
WELL, APART FROM THE
CLASSIFICATION OF THE DISEASE
OBVIOUSLY WAS INTERESTING WAS
THAT THEY SEEMED TO -- IT WAS
VERY STRIKING, THEY WERE
TREATING THE PATIENTS WHO WERE
AT THE CONFERENCE AS EQUAL TO
THE CLINICIANS AND SCIENTISTS.
I'D NEVER COME ACROSS THAT
ANYWHERE.
I WAS VERY STRUCK BY THAT.
BUT I STOOD UP A
MULTIDISCIPLINARY SERVICE, A
VERY SMALL ONE, VOLUNTEERING
WITH NO FUNDING, RUNNING EVERY
FEW MONTHS, ANOTHER CLINIC
RUNNING IN LONDON, AND I APPLID
TO THE GOVERNMENT AND GOT
FUNDING FOR AN ALL BELLS AND
WHISTLES XP NATIONAL SERVICE FOR
THE UK WHICH WAS REASONABLY
WELL-FUNDED.
WHERE TO GO TO FIND OUT ABOUT
THAT, BECAUSE IN THE
INTERMEDIATE TIME, I'D BEEN
LEARNING ABOUT XP EVERY YEAR BY
GOING TO KEN'S WONDERFUL -- KEN
AND JOHN'S WONDERFUL SESSION
ABOUT XP AT THE AMERICAN ACADEMY
OF DERMATOLOGY.
ANNUAL VISIT.
AND WENT IN 2010, THEN, TO THE
NEXT INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM AND
ALTHOUGH THIS IS AN
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY, AGAIN,
IT WAS HOSTED BY KEN AND JOHN
AND DORIS, AND AGAIN IT WAS AN
ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL MEETING,
AND -- I PICKED THE WRONG SLIDE.
I'LL STOP THAT.
IT'S A GOOD SLIDE AND IT'S WORTH
SEEING AND I APOLOGIZE FOR
MESSING THAT UP.
IS THAT SHARING?
THAT WAS THE 2006.
YOU MAY RECOGNIZE THAT.
2006 MEETING, THAT'S THE FRONT
PAGE OF YOUR THING.
THIS IS THE ONE FROM 2010.
I'VE KEPT THEM ALL BECAUSE THEY
WERE SO WONDERFUL.
AND THEN THIS IS AT THE 2010
MEETING.
KEN HAD TAKEN IN HIS STRIDE A
REMARKABLE THING THAT HAPPENED,
WHICH WAS THE VENUE FOR THIS
MASSIVE WORLDWIDE THING, IT WAS
A BIG INTERNATIONAL HIGH
PRESTIGE IMPORTANT WORLDWIDE
CONFERENCE.
THE NIGHT BEFOREHAND, KEN, YOU
I'M SURE WILL REMEMBER, KEN,
DORIS AND JOHN, EVERYBODY, IT
STOOD IN EVERYBODY'S MEMORIES,
THEY LOST THEIR CONFERENCE
CENTER.
AND THEY HAD TO FIND A NEW
CONFERENCE CENTER IN ABOUT 12
HOURS' NOTICE, FOUND ONE, HAD A
WONDERFUL MEETING.
THIS IS KEN AND DORIS WITH ME
AND THE GREAT ALAN LEHMAN, MY
COLLEAGUE FROM LONDON, AT THAT
MEETING, AT THE END OF A
TERRIFIC -- SO I NOW HAD A
MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAM WHO I
DIDN'T KNOW THAT MUCH SO I KNEW
MORE THAN I'D KNOWN BEFORE ABOUT
XP AND HOW TO MANAGE IT, AND I
HAD MET -- WHERE SHOULD WE GO
FOR ADVICE, BUT REALLY ALL THE
KEY MEMBERS OF THE TEAM CAME
OVER, AND THE NURSES, DEBBY AND
TANYA AND PREDECESSOR CAME OVER
AND WERE HOSTED BEAUTIFULLY AT
THE NIH TO LEARN ABOUT AND TO
SEE KEN AND JOHN MANAGING THE
PATIENTS, HOW THEY MANAGE THE
PATIENTS, WHAT THEY DO, HOW TO
EXAMINE THE PATIENTS, HOW TO
TREAT THE PATIENTS.
AND WHAT WAS SO STRIKING WAS,
THIS WAS AT THE 2011, AGAIN, THE
XP MEETING, AAD, IN MIAMI, AND
THERE'S KEN AND JOHN AND DORIS
WITH MEMBERS OF MY TEAM, VARIOUS
MEMBERS OF MY TEAM AND WHAT WAS
SO STRIKING WAS THEIR GENEROSITY
WITH THEIR TIME, THEIR
GENEROSITY WITH THEIR EXPERTISE.
NOBODY ELSE KNEW THIS STUFF.
WHAT DO YOU DO ABOUT -- TO SORT
OUT OF SCALP OF SOMEBODY WITH
XP?
WHAT -- HOW DO YOU EXAMINE THESE
PATIENTS, WITH HUGE NUMBERS OF
TUMORS?
YOU KNOW, HOW DO YOU GET THE
OPHTHALMOLOGIST INVOLVED, ALL
THOSE SORT OF THINGS AND WE
JUST -- LAPPED IT UP, IT WAS
ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL.
THINGS WENT VERY WELL FOR US AND
WE PAID THE COMPLIMENT BY
HOSTING THE SYMPOSIUM OURSELF,
BEING STRONG ENOUGH TO DO THAT
IN 2019, BUT I THINK ONE OF THE
BEST THINGS ABOUT THAT WAS THE
EVENING OUT THAT WE HAD, THIS IS
RIGHT AFTER END OF THE
CONFERENCE, WE HAD JUST PACKED
UP AND WE HAD AN EVENING OUT IN
LONDON.
AFTER THAT.
SO I SUPPOSE ALL I CAN -- I CAN
THANK KEN AND DORIS AND ALSO
POSTHUMOUSLY THANK JOHN AND
DEBBY.
DEBBY, OF COURSE, SO WAS SO
HELPFUL TO OUR NURSES FOR REALLY
BEING -- PLAYING SUCH A MAJOR
ROLE IN IMPROVING THE CARE OF
PATIENTS WITH XP WHO LIVE IN THE
U.K., NO END, AND REALLY, KEN,
YOU'VE BEEN AN ABSOLUTELY
WONDERFUL COLLEAGUE, AND I'M
SORRY TO SEE YOU RETIRE.
I'M ALSO PLEASED FOR YOU AND
DORIS, SO I HOPE YOU HAVE A
WONDERFUL RETIREMENT.
THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING.
[APPLAUSE]
>> THANK YOU, ROBERT.
NEXT UP, WE WILL HAVE A FEW
REMARKS FROM KEN'S SCIENCE
CHILDREN.
THESE ARE ALL KIDS FROM HIS LAB
WHO HAVE NOW GROWN UP AND NOW
HAVE THEIR OWN FAMILIES, I
SUPPOSE.
OR IN THE WAY OF ESTABLISHING
THEIR OWN FAMILIES.
SO FIRST UP IS STEFFEN EMMERT
FROM GERMANY.
GO AHEAD, PLEASE.
>> HELLO.
I HOPE YOU CAN HEAR ME AND I'D
ALSO LIKE TO SHARE SOME SLIDES.
SO GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYBODY.
AND DEAR KEN AND DEAR DORIS.
THANKS VERY MUCH FOR THE
INVITATION, AND OF COURSE FOR
THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEND A FEW
WORDS ON YOUR OCCASION OF YOUR
RETIREMENT.
THIS IS REALLY A GREAT HONOR FOR
ME, HOWEVER, THIS IS ALSO A BIG
CESSATION IN DNA REPAIR RESEARCH
IN GENERAL.
SO THIS IS OF COURSE THE KRAEMER
LAB OVER THE LAST 50 YEARS OR
SO, DNA TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH
AROUND THE WORLD, SO THIS MEANS
REALLY ALWAYS FOCUSING ON THE
NEEDS OF THEIR PATIENTS, WE'VE
HEARD ALREADY FROM MICHELE
MILOTA AND THE SUPPORT GROUPS,
SSO THE LAB TO THE BENCH AND BAK
TO THE PATIENTS, THIS IS HOW IT
SHOULD BE.
YOU ORGANIZED THE FIRST
INTERNATIONAL XP WORKSHOP IN
2006 AT NIH.
AND IF YOU CAN SEE MY CURSOR
DOWN HERE, THIS IS THOMAS, YOUR
FIRST GERMAN POSTDOC, HE WAS
ALSO PRESENT IN THIS MEETING,
AND HE WAS MY DOCTORAL FATHER.
AND THEN HE ORGANIZED, 10 YEARS
LATER, MY STAY IN YOUR LAB AS
THE SECOND GENERATION OF GERMAN
POSTDOCS UNTIL THE MILLENNIUM
CHANGED IN 2000.
WELL, AND ALREADY MENTIONED THIS
SECOND MEETING, YOU ORGANIZED
THE SECOND INTERNATIONAL
WORKSHOP ON XP IN 2010.
AND ALWAYS, AND TH THIS HAS ALRY
BEEN MENTIONED, WITH YOUR WIFE
DORIS, AND IF I SHOULD SAY THE
SAME AS MY WIFE -- HERE IN
GERMANY, SO A ROLE MODEL FOR
OTHER PEOPLE.
SO HERE, HE WAS A DOCTORAL
STUDENT OF MY LAB IN GERMANY,
AND REPRESENTS THE THIRD
GENERATION OF GERMAN POSTDOCS IN
YOUR LAB.
SO A REALLY GREAT LINE OF
POSTDOCS.
SO CAN YOU TRULY SAY A GREAT
TEAM, YOUR TEAM, THE KRAEMER
LAB, NEW GENERATIONS, AT LEAST
TRY TO CONTINUE ONE WAY OR THE
OTHER.
THERE IS A NEW GENERATION IN
ISRAEL AROUND -- DNA REPAIR
RESEARCH, AND THERE IS A NEW
GENERATION IN JAPAN THAT
ORGANIZED THE THIRD
INTERNATIONAL XP MEETING IN 2014
WITH PROFESSOR NISHIKORI AND
PROFESSOR MORIBACKE, MY
POSTDOCTORAL PREDECESSOR IN YOUR
LAB IN 1997.
SO THEN I WAS REALLY GLAD THAT
YOU WERE ABLE TO COME TO GERMANY
IN 2016, WHEN I STARTED AS
DIRECTOR OF THE DERM CLINIC
THERE TOGETHER WITH DR. JOHN
DICHUWANI WHO ALREADY SAID HE
PASSED AWAY THE LAST YEAR AND
JOHN IS REALLY MISSED.
AND THE LAST TIME WE MET WAS AT
AN ORGANIZATION MEETING OF THE
FOURTH INTERNATIONAL XP MEETING
IN 2019 IN CAMBRIDGE, SO I ALSO
IS SALUTE TO DEBBY, THE JAPANESE
COLLEAGUES, AND THIS WAS THE
LAST WORLD MEETING ON DNA
REPAIR.
WELL, AND YOU AND JOHN CONTINUE
TO INSPIRE YOUNG INNOVATIONS, WE
HEARD ALREADY FROM THE SID
MEETINGS, SO YOU TOGETHER WITH
JOHN DOWN HERE GAVE THE --
ADDRESS IN 2022, WHEN WE HOST
AROUND 30 AMERICAN STUDENTS
MAINLY FROM BROWN UNIVERSITY BUT
ALSO OTHER PLACES OF THE U.S.
SO DEAR KEN, DEAR DORIS, KEEP ON
SAILING AND INSPIRING NEW
GENERATIONS OF RESEARCHERS AND
WE LOOK FORWARD TO WELCOMING YOU
TO THE FIFTH INTERNATIONAL XP
SYMPOSIUM JUST ABOUT TO ORGANIZE
HERE IN GERMANY WHICH WILL START
IN FEBRUARY 2025.
SO MY WIFE AND I WISH YOU BOTH,
KEN AND DORIS AND OF COURSE YOUR
FOUR CHILDREN ALL THE BEST.
WE HOPE TO SEE YOU SOON.
THANK YOU.
[APPLAUSE]
>> THANK YOU VERY MUCH, STEFFEN.
NEXT I WOULD LIKE TO INVITE ALAN
ZHOU FROM CHICAGO.
ALAN WAS A POSTDOC WITH KEN, AND
NOW A DERMATOLOGIST.
>> CAN YOU GUYS HEAR ME OKAY?
>> YES, WE CAN.
GO AHEAD, PLEASE.
>> YES.
I REALLY WISH I COULD BE THERE
TODAY, BUT I'M IN SAN DIEGO FOR
THE AAD MEETING THIS YEAR.
I JUST WANTED TO SHARE A LITTLE
BIT.
I JOINED DR. KRAEMER'S LAB IN
2009, 2010, AND I WAS AN NIH CRT
FELLOW AND AT THE TIME I WAS A
MEDICAL STUDENT AT DUKE AND I
WAS JUST SO LOST AS TO WHAT MY
FUTURE CAREER WAS GOING TO BE.
THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT
SPECIALTIES IN MEDICINE.
I HAD NO IDEA WHAT I WAS GOING
TO DO.
BUT HERE I GOT TO SPEND SOME
TIME AND SEE WHAT YOU AND DR. D
GOT TO DO IN MAKING DISCOVERIES
WITHIN DERMATOLOGY.
YOU REALLY -- REALLY SHOWED HOW
TO DO THIS BEDSIDE TO BENCH TO
BEDSIDE MODEL.
SO I DECIDED TO BECOME A
DERMATOLOGIST AND A PHYSICIAN
RESEARCHER, AND EVEN IN THE PAST
FEW WEEKS, WE HAVE STILL BEEN
CONSULTING WITH YOU AND ABOUT
OUR CURRENT XP PATIENTS SO I
REALLY OWE YOU IN HELPING ME
FIND DIRECTION AT A TIME WHEN I
WAS LOST, AND FOR SHOWING ME
THAT, YOU THE MANY DISCOVERIEST
CAN BE MADE WITHIN DERMATOLOGY
AND LEARNING FROM THE GENETICS
OF AN INDIVIDUAL.
BUT YOU KNOW, MORE IMPORTANTLY,
I REALLY WANT TO THANK YOU FOR
THE KINDNESS YOU HAVE SHOWN MEL.
YOU'VE ALWAYS TREATED ME AS
FAMILY, AS ANOTHER FATHER TO ME,
AND I ALWAYS LOOK FORWARD TO
SEEING YOU AT THE DERM MEETINGS.
YOU KNOW, IMPORTANTLY, YOU'VE
SHOWN ME HOW TO BE A GOOD,
CARING PERSON, NOT JUST TO YOUR
PATIENTS, BUT TO COLLEAGUES,
STUDENTS, AND EVEN STRANGERS.
SO I REALLY WISH YOU AND DORIS
THE BEST RETIREMENT, AND I
REALLY HOPE TO BE ABLE TO SEE
YOU AGAIN SOON IN THE FUTURE.
[APPLAUSE]
>> THANK YOU, ALAN.
NEXT I THINK WE HAVE A SHORT
VIDEO FROM SALMA DE LA FELD.
>> HI, EVERYONE.
MY NAME IS DR. SALMA DE LA FELD,
AND I'M A DERMATOLOGIST AT
EMORY.
ONE OF THE BEST THINGS THAT HAS
EVER HAPPENED TO ME IN MY LIFE
IS HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY TO
HAVE DR. KRAEMER AS MY MENTOR.
I FIRST MET DR. KRAEMER THE
SUMMER BEFORE I STARTED MEDICAL
SCHOOL, WHEN HE TOOK ME UNDER
HIS WING TO WORK IN HIS LAB.
WHAT STARTED AS A SUMMER
RESEARCH PROJECT TURNED INTO A
LIFETIME OF MENTORSHIP.
DR. KRAEMER, YOU CHANGED MY
LIFE.
I WOULDN'T BE A DERMATOLOGIST IF
IT WEREN'T FOR EVERYTHING THAT
YOU AND DR. D DID FOR ME.
YOU TAUGHT ME SO MUCH ABOUT
MEDICINE, RESEARCH, AND PATIENT
CARE BEFORE I EVEN STEPPED FOOT
IN THE MEDICAL SCHOOL.
THANK YOU, DR. KRAEMER, FOR
BEING AN INCREDIBLE MENTOR, AND
FOR BEING SO ENCOURAGING AND
APPROACHABLE.
THANK YOU FOR BELIEVING IN ME.
I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER WHEN YOU
FIRST ASKED ME TO PRESENT A CASE
AT NIH GRAND ROUNDS.
I WAS NERVOUS, BUT YOU BELIEVED
IN ME, AND YOU TOLD ME THAT YOU
KNEW I'D DO GREAT.
AND YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN SO
SUPPORTIVE AND ENCOURAGING.
THANK YOU FOR MAKING ME FEEL
LIKE I COULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE,
AND FOR MAKING THE STUDY OF
MEDICINE BEING LESS
INTIMIDATING.
I REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME YOU
EVER SHOWED ME TIGRR TAIL
BANDING UNDER THE MICROSCOPE,
AND YOU SAID, SEE, ANYONE CAN
LOOK AT THE HAIR UNDER THE
MICROSCOPE AND MAKE THIS
DIAGNOSIS.
AND EVERY YEAR THAT I'VE MADE TO
AAV, I HAVE ALWAYS ENJOYED GOING
TO THE SATURDAY LUNCH SESSION ON
XP AND TTD.
AND EVERY YEAR I'VE MET MORE
PEOPLE WHOM DR. KRAEMER HAS
TAKEN UNDER HIS WING, THE SAME
WAY HE DID FOR ME.
AND SO, DOCTOR, YOU HAVE DONE SO
MUCH FOR ALL THE REST OF US, DRO
WISH YOU ALL OF THE BEST THINGS
FOR RETIREMENT.
A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR
RETIREMENT, DR. KRAEMER.
AND A HUGE THANK YOU FROM ME AND
FROM ALL OF THE PEOPLE WHOSE
LIVES YOU HAVE CHANGED.
THANK YOU.
[APPLAUSE]
>> OKAY.
WE HAVE MAYBE 10 MORE?
NO, JUST KIDDING.
[LAUGHTER]
SO NEXT WE'D LIKE TO INVITE
JENNIFER PUGH.
SHE WAS A TRAINEE AND NOW A DERM
RESIDENT AT WASH-U.
>> HELLO, EVERYONE.
I WISH I COULD BE THERE IN
PERSON TODAY.
BUT MY NAME IS JENNIFER PUGH.
I'M A FORMER POSTB POSTBAC FRO.
DR. KRAEMER'S LAB.
ONE THING ABOUT GOING TOWARDS
THE END IS EVERYONE HAS SAID ALL
THE AMAZING THINGS ABOUT
DR. KRAEMER SO FAR, AND HIS
IMPACT.
SO I HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF
WORKING WITH DR. KRAEMER FOR
THREE YEARS AFTER UNDERGRAD FROM
2015 TO 2018, AFTER WHICH I WENT
TO MEDICAL SCHOOL AND THEN ON TO
DERMATOLOGY RESIDENCY AT WASH-U
IN ST. LOUIS, WHERE I AM
CURRENTLY.
TODAY, I REALLY JUST WANT TO
EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE FOR ALL
THAT YOU HAVE DONE, DR. KRAEMER,
AND ECHO MUCH OF WHAT HAS BEEN
SAID BY THE SPEAKERS TODAY.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING SO
DEDICATED TO SCIENCE AND THE
BETTERMENT OF PATIENTS' QUALITY
AND QUANTITY OF LIFE.
THANK YOU FOR BEING SO DEDICATED
TO FOSTERING OPPORTUNITIES FOR
THE NEXT GENERATION OF
PHYSICIANS AND SCIENTISTS.
THANK YOU FOR CREATING A LAB
CULTURE CENTERED AROUND KINDNESS
AND INCLUSIVITY.
THANK YOU FOR CHALLENGING ME
INTELLECTUALLY, MAKING SURE WE
ATTENDED ALL THE LAB MEETINGS,
ALL THE DNA REPAIR INTEREST
GROUP MEETINGS, STAYED INFORMED
ABOUT ONGOING LAB PROJECTS, EVEN
THE ONES THAT WEREN'T OUR OWN,
AND SAW ALL THE PATIENTS IN THE
CLINICAL CENTER.
THANK YOU FOR MAKING SURE WE
MADE TO ALL THE CONFERENCES AND
ALWAYS PRESENTED OUR WORK.
IF YOU KNOW DR. KRAEMER, HE WILL
HAVE YOU SPEAK AT ANYTHING THAT
HE'S INVOLVED IN IF YOU HAVE
SOMETHING THAT'S RELEVANT, HE
WILL HAVE YOU PRESENT THERE, AND
I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT BECAUSE
I FEEL LIKE IT PREPARED ME FOR
JUST BEING ABLE TO SPEAK ABOUT
MY SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES AND
JUST GETTING TO KNOW DIFFERENT
PEOPLE AND HONING THAT
COMMUNICATION SKILL.
SO THANK YOU FOR EVERY PAPER,
POWERPOINT, MEDICAL SCHOOL
APPLICATION, RESIDENCY
APPLICATION.
YOU READ AND
PROVIDED YOUR HONEST FEEDBACK,
AND YES, I'M STILL WORKING ON
CUTTING BACK THE FLOWERY
LANGUAGE.
THANK YOU FOR INVITING US TO
EVENTS AT THE SIN G SYNAGOGUE, E
MAGNETS YOU BROUGHT US BACK FROM
YOUR TRAVELS, THE REREESES AND
M & Ms, YOU KNOW THERE'S A
BOWL IN THE FRONT.
THE SUMMER COOKOUTS, THE END OF
THE YEAR LAB DINNERS, AND OH,
OUR FRIENDLY COMPETITION WITH
OUR DAILY STEP COUNT, WHICH I'M
SURE YOU'RE PROBABLY IN THE LEAD
NOW.
AND JUST THANK YOU FOR ALL THE
YEARS AND ALL THE TIME, ALL THE
ENERGY, AND THE WORK YOU HAVE
DONE.
YOU HAVE TRULY BEEN MORE THAN A
MENTOR.
YOU ARE LIKE FAMILY.
AND MY PARENT ACTUALLY WANTED TO
LISTEN IN ON THE RETIREMENT
EVENT SO THEY'RE ON HERE AS
WELL.
I'M WISHING YOU ALL THE BEST AND
HOPING THIS IS A PHENOMENON
IALNEXT CHAPTER OF LIFE FOR YOU.
I ALSO HAVE A FEW SLIDES I MADE
AND I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE, SO
I'M GOING TO SHARE MY SCREEN
NOW, IF I CAN.
I'M A MILLENNIAL BUT I'M STILL A
LITTLE SLOW AT TECHNOLOGY, SO --
OKAY.
>> SHE MAY BE ON A MAC SO IT MAY
HAVE FORCED HER TO REBOOT HER
COMPUTER.
>> YEAH, SHE'S NOT IN THE ROOM,
IN THE MEETING RIGHT NOW.
>> OKAY.
>> WELL, THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL.
LISTENING TO HER MAKES ME
JEALOUS.
I WISH I WAS A POSTDOC IN YOUR
LAB.
NEXT I WOULD LIKE TO INVITE DOUG
LOWY, A MAN WHO NEEDS NO
INTRODUCTION FOR US.
DOUG IS GOING TO PRESENT
SOMETHING TO KEN AND THEN SAY A
FEW WORDS.
>> SO I STAND BETWEEN YOU AND
KEN MAKING REMARKS.
AN ENVIABLE POSITION.
KEN, I THOUGHT THAT THIS WAS
GOING TO BE EVEN BIGGER, BUT I
HOPE THAT YOU APPRECIATE THIS.
IT IS NOT A MEASURE OF YOUR
ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
IT IS A SUBSET OF THEM.
WE ARE SO PROUD OF ALL THAT YOU
HAVE DONE TO ENHANCE THE NIH,
AND THIS IS JUST A SMALL TOKEN
OF WHAT REALLY COUNTS IS THE
PEOPLE WHO ARE ONLINE, EVERYBODY
WHO IS HERE, AND IT REALLY IS
INCREDIBLE.
>> THANK YOU SO MUCH.
[APPLAUSE]
>> AS JENNIFER SAID, EVERYBODY
HAS ALREADY SAID EVERYTHING.
BUT NOT ME.
I JUST WANT TO GIVE YOU JUST A
COUPLE OF VIGNETTES ABOUT THE
INCREDIBLE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF KEN
AND HIS LAB.
WHETHER IT WAS XERODERMA
PIGMENTOSUM, OR OTHER CUTANEOUS
DISEASES WITH DNA REPAIR
DEFECTS, HE HAS ALWAYS MADE HIS
MARK.
BUT NOT JUST IN THE LABORATORY.
AS YOU HAVE HEARD, THE HUMAN
DIMENSION FOR KEN HAS REALLY
BEEN EXTRAORDINARY, AND YOU
KNOW, YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT HOW
MANY PEOPLE'S LIVES HAVE BEEN
TOUCHED BY HIM.
ON THE ONE HAND, PATIENTS, WHERE
HE HAS BEEN ABLE TO IMPROVE
THEIR OUTLOOK, WHICH IS NOT
EASY, ESPECIALLY FOR A RARE
CONDITION SUCH AS XP.
BUT IN ADDITION, THE TRAINEES,
WHERE HIS MENTORING HAS REALLY
HAD AN EXTRAORDINARY IMPACT.
BUT I WOULD BE REMISS IF I
DIDN'T SAY THE MOST IMPORTANT
THING RIGHT NOW, WHICH IS THAT I
HAVE A FEELING THAT BECAUSE OF
DORIS, KEN IS NOT GOING TO FAIL
RETIREMENT.
HE IS GOING TO REALLY BE ABLE TO
ENJOY IT, LOOK BACK ON AN
INCREDIBLE CAREER, AND AS WAS
SAID, THE NEXT CHAPTER OF HIS
LIFE.
ANYWAY.
[APPLAUSE]
>> WELL, I WANT TO THANK
EVERYBODY FOR BEING HERE.
AND ALL THE HARD WORK THAT WENT
INTO THIS.
AND HAVING THE MULT MULTIMEDIA R
THE PEOPLE HERE AND IN EUROPE
AND WHO ARE STAYING UP LATE,
THIS IS VERY NICE.
I'D ALSO LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT
DEBBY, OUR WONDERFUL RESEARCH
NURSE, AS A LABOR OF LOVE,
COLLECTED LETTERS AND NEWS
ARTICLES AND OTHERS ABOUT THE
PATIENT THAT WE'VE SEEN OVER THE
DECADES, AND THERE ARE TWO
ALBUMS ON THE BACK ON THE TABLE
THERE, ENCOURAGE YOU TO TAKE A
LOOK AT THOSE.
OKAY.
50 YEARS OF STUDYING DNA REPAIR
AT NIH, WHERE DID THE TIME GO?
1965, WE STARTED OUT, MARRIED MY
HIGH SCHOOL SWEETHEART WHO
YOU'VE BEEN HEARING ABOUT, AND
WE'RE STILL MARRIED.
[APPLAUSE]
SO I WENT TO BROWN
UNDERGRADUATE, BROWN UNIVERSITY
UNDERGRADUATE AND THEN WENT TO
BOSTON AND THEN DORIS WAS AT
BOSTON UNIVERSITY, THEN WE GOT
MARRIED, AND THEN I STARTED THE
MEDICAL INTERNSHIP AND RESIDENCY
IN NEW YORK CITY, 1971, AND THIS
IS WHAT I LOOKED LIKE THEN.
AND THAT IS -- THAT IS OUR FIRST
SORNTION THSON, THAT'S MARTIN, S
HERE, HE IS THE SECOND SON.
THIS IS WHAT I LOOKED LIKE.
AND THE VIETNAM WAR WAS GOING ON
THERE.
I WAS DEFINITELY INTERESTED IN
DOING RESEARCH.
I APPLIED TO NIH AND WAS LUCKY
TO GET INTO THE PUBLIC HEALTH
SERVICE, SO THEY CLEANED ME UP.
WHEN I CAME HERE.
SO LET'S GIVE YOU A LITTLE
TIMELINE WHERE WE ARE.
1953, DNA STRUCTURE WAS
PUBLISHED, AS WE KNOW, SO
ROSALYN FRANKLIN PLAYED A ROLE
IN THIS -- NCI NOW GETS THE
FRANKLIN AWARD EACH YEAR.
SO RIGHT HERE AT NIH, MARSHAL
NUREMBERG WAS CRACKING THE
GENETIC CODE, 1951.
1959, JAMES KLIBER REPORTED ON
THE DNA REPAIR DEFECT IN
PATIENTS WITH THIS UNUSUAL
DISEASE, XP.
HE WAS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF
CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO.
1971 I JOINED THE PUBLIC HEALTH
SERVICE I JOINED AT THE
DERMATOLOGY BRANCH AT NCI.
AND THEN 1977, WHEN THE --
STARTED SEQUENCING.
SO THERE I WAS, OFFICER IN THE
U.S. PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE,
HERE'S MY COMMISSION FROM THE
PRESIDENT.
I WAS THERE FOR 30 YEARS UNTIL
THEY KICKED ME OUT.
BUT DURING THIS TIME, I
VOLUNTEERED TO SERVE AS AN
INTERVIEWER FOR -- UNIFORMED
SERVICES.
CLOSE TO 200 OF THEM.
PROFESSOR OF DERMATOLOGY THERE.
SO WHAT DID NIH LOOK LIKE HERE,
THE CANCER INSTITUTE?
HERE'S THE CLINICAL STAFF
PHOTOGRAPH.
YOU CAN FIND ME WAY UP IN THE
CORNER.
ONE OF THE UNUSUAL THINGS ABOUT
THIS, ON THE FIRST ROW HAD
SENIOR STAFF, AND -- WHAT WAS
HER NAME?
BRIDBRIDGET -- SHE'S THE ONLY WN
IN THIS WHOLE PICTURE.
SHE'S SENIOR STAFF AND THERE
WERE NO WOMEN IN CLINICAL
ASSOCIATES.
SO YOU CAN SEE HOW THINGS HAVE
CHANGED.
SO I WAS WORKING IN THE
DERMATOLOGY BRANCH, I WAS
ASSIGNED TO WORK IN THE
DERMATOLOGY BRANCH AND I'VE
WORKED WITH DR. JAY ROBBINS,
1971, JAMES KLIBER HAD COME TO
NIH AND A LITTLE BEFORE THAT TO
TELL US ABOUT THE DNA REPAIR
DEFECT, AND SO I GOT INTERESTED
IN WORKING WITH XERODERMA.
SO WE WERE BRINGING PATIENTS IN
AND A FEW YEARS LATER, WE
PUBLISHED THIS DETAILED CLINICAL
LABORATORY DESCRIPTION OF 15 XP
PATIENTS, THEY HAD FOUR CLINICAL
PHENOTYPES AND THIS IS
CONSIDERED A CITATION CLASSIC.
THIS WAS XP1 -- WHO HAD
DEFECTIVE DNA REPAIR.
HE HAD NORMAL DNA REPAIR.
THAT WAS UNUSUAL.
AND THAT HE WAS -- SO WHY DO WE
STUDY RARE HUMAN GENETIC
DISEASES?
WE CARE FOR AFFECTED PATIENTS,
DISCOVER MECHANISMS OF DISEASE,
AND DEVELOP NEW THERAPEUTIC
PARADIGMS USING SMALL NUMBERS OF
PATIENTS AT HIGH RISK.
SO I WENT TO -- I WAS THROW
YEARS IN THE DERMATOLOGY BRANCH
INITIALLY AND THEN I WENT TO
MIAMI AND DID DERMATOLOGY
TRAINING AND I CAME BACK AND
JOINED THE LABORATORY OF
MOLECULAR CARCINOGENESIS, 1976
TO 1999.
THIS IS HARRY GELBOIN, BRANCH
CHIEF, VERY INTERESTING, HE
CLIMBED MOUNT KILL MOUNT KILIMAW
TIMES.
THEN PARACHUTED FROM THERE.
AS YOU HEARD FROM DR. BOHR, WE
HAD THE DNA REPAIR INTEREST
GROUP.
WHEN WE STARTED, WE WERE A
LITTLE VAGUE, 1985.
AT THIS POINT, CHARLENE HAS
DOCUMENTED THEM FOR ME, THANK
YOU, CHARLENE.
WE HAVE AN EMAIL LIST OF MORE
THAN 1200 SUBSCRIBERS, AND IN
2023, BOTH VIL AND I STEPPED
DOWN AND KAREN AND CHUNZHANG
TOOK OVER.
ANOTHER PAPER WE DID WORKING
WITH JOHN, JOHN UNFORTUNATELY
PASSED AWAY A YEAR AGO.
DR. -- WAS TALKING ABOUT
RETINOIDS.
THIS IS THE STUDY WHERE WE SHO
SHOWED -- WERE GOOD AT
PREVENTING CANCER IN XP
PATIENTS.
SO HERE'S A PATIENT, 43 TE TUMO,
DURING THE TREATMENT WITH
ACCUTANE - -- SO THIS WAS ACTUAY
THE FIRST DEMONSTRATION OF
CANCER -- PREVENTION USING
MEDICINES TO PREVENT CANCER IN
HUMANS.
-- PATIENTS WHO HAD MANY TUM
TUMORS -- THIS WAS NEW ENGLAND
JOURNAL.
WE WORKED CLOSELY WITH A
STATISTICIAN, E EPIDEMIOLOGIST.
SO HERE'S A MEETING IN 1995 IN
MEXICO WITH DR. KLIBER, AND TWO
OF THE POSTDOCS IN THE LAB.
AND THERE'S MICHELE.
SHE WAS AT THAT MEETING ALSO.
WE'LL LET HER -- AND DR. BOHR.
SO WE STARTED THESE -- NCI SAID
HERE WE HAVE SOME MONEY, LET'S
DO A CONFERENCE, SO WE SAID
OKAY.
SO WE HAD THIS NOVEL CONCEPT AT
THE TIME, AT LEAST, OF BRINGING
TOGETHER BASICALLY RESEARCHERS,
CLINICIANS AND PAPERS.
AND SO IT WASN'T TOO HARD TO GET
THESE IK RESEARCHERS -- THE
CLINICIANS WERE A LITTLE HARDER
BUT THE PATIENTS -- BECAUSE I
WENT TO -- [INAUDIBLE] BUT
HERE'S THE MEETING, THE FIRST
ONE IN 2004, THE NATIONAL
CONFERENCE IN VIRGINIA AND THEN
THEY HAD 2006 TO 2010 -- AND A
LOT OF THESE BASIC RESEARCHERS
HAVE NEVER SEEN PATIENTS, SOME
OF THEM REALLY GOT INSPIRED.
AND DEVELOPED CAREERS WITH THEM.
AND THEN -- AND WE BRING NOT
ONLY -- BUT WE BRING STUDENTS
FROM LOCAL HIGH SCHOOLS.
THE FIRST ONE WAS HERE IN
WASHINGTON.
SO SHE BROUGHT HER CLASS.
THESE HIGH SCHOOL KIDS WOULD
SPEND A DAY TALKING TO
DERMATOLOGISTS.
MANY OF THE MEMBERS OF THE --
WERE VERY INTERESTED -- LUNCHEON
FOR THEM AND THEY WOULD TALK
ABOUT THEIR CAREERS AND WHY THEY
WENT INTO DERMATOLOGY, -- IT
DIDN'T WORK.
SO THAT WENT ON FOR A LONG
PERIOD OF TIME.
AND BE EVENT LIP I RECEIVED AN
AWARD FOR THIS.
THE PROGRAM -- DERMATOLOGY
EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS -- AND
THEN I STARTED WORKING WITH
PEGGY TUCKER, WHO YOU HEARD, AND
ALSO ELISA GOLDSTEIN, AND THEY
HAD A FELLOW WHO WAS INTERESTED
IN DERMATOLOGY.
AND WE WENT THROUGH ALL OF THIS
40 YEARS OF DATA THAT WE HAD
ALREADY ACCUMULATED ON OUR XP
PATIENTS TO SEE HOW MANY SKIN
CANCERS AND OTHER -- THIS IS THE
FIRST TIME WE REALLY WERE ABLE
TO GET GOOD CONCENTRATED
NUMBERS, AND THE XP PATIENTS
THAT HAD -- IN AGE OF ONSET OF
SKIN CANCER, NON-MELANOMA SKIN
CANCER, AND LISA GOLDSTEIN --
THIS IS ABOUT A 10,000 FOLD
ENTRY IN SKIN CANCER AND AGE OF
ONSET IN XP PATIENTS.
IT WAS AT A DIFFERENT MEETING,
22 VERSUS -- IN THE DISTANCE
BETWEEN THE GENERAL POPULATION.
SO THIS TELLS US RIGHT AWAY THAT
MELANOMA INDUCTION MECHANISM IS
DIFFERENT FROM NON-MELANOMA SKIN
CANCER.
JUST BY STUDYING -- CANCER AN
AND -- THIS IS THE AMERICAN
ACADEMY OF DERMATOLOGY.
FOR MANY YEARS, JOHN AND I WOULD
HAVE A -- ON SATURDAY MORNING
WHERE WE -- DERMATOLOGISTS FROM
ALL OVER THE WORLD WHO ARE AT
THE ACADEMY MEETING, AND --
WOULD COME AND TALK, RESIDENTS
WITH XP, WHATEVER PROBLEMS, AND
THERE IS MICHELE MIOTA.
I SEE YOU OFTEN ATTENDED THAT.
SO THIS IS CALLED THE XP -- AT
THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF
DERMATOLOGY.
WE HAVE A TRAY DIGS, IT WAS THE
SUMMER BEFORE COVID, WE HAD A
POTLUCK DINNER.
FOR MANY YEARS.
THIS WAS A FAMILY EVENT AND WE'D
ENCOURAGE PEOPLE -- HERE WE HAVE
SUMMER STUDENTS, WE WANT TO --
AND -- HERE IS SIKANDER, HERE IS
DEBBY.
HE WAS TALKING ABOUT BRINGING
HIS CHILDREN TO THIS MEETING.
WE HAD A SITE VISIT, AND THE
PEOPLE A FEW YEARS AGO FOR LCBG
AND THE PEOPLE IN THE LAB -- PUT
TOGETHER A POSTER -- WE ARE A
FAMILY, I THINK IS APPEARING.
AND THE LONG-TIME MEMBERS OF THE
TEAM, -- UNFORTUNATELY PASSED
AWAY A YEAR AGO, BUT DEBBY --
SUPERB RENURSE AND SIKANDAR
KHAN.
AND THE LCBG, SINCE 2017, AND
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, WONDERFUL.
[APPLAUSE]
BUT THERE'S MORE.
NOW WE GO ON TO RETIREMENT.
SO THIS YEAR, WE'VE GOT FOUR
KIDS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, SO
UNTIL JANUARY WE WENT TO TUCSON,
ARIZONA, WHERE IT'S NICE AND
WARM.
IT'S COLD HERE, IT WARM THERE.
IN FEBRUARY WE WERE JUST IN
CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO, BUT
MARTIN HERE, HE'S THE ONE THAT
WAS IN THE ORIGINAL PICTURE THAT
WE SHOWED, 1971 WITH MARTIN,
THIS IS HIS FAMILY AND OUR
DAUGHTER IS IN SAN FRANCISCO.
REBECCA IS HERE FROM ANN ARBOR,
TO GO VISIT THEM, AND THEN DAVID
IS LIVING IN VERMONT, THIS IS
HIS FARM, AND HERE'S WHEN THE
WHOLE FAMILY GOT TOGETHER THERE.
AND NOW, TO THE BIG REVEAL.
THIS IS THE SHIRT.
MY DAUGHTER SARAH MADE THIS.
[APPLAUSE]
SHE'S AN ARTISTIC LAWYER, AND
SHE ASKED WHAT REPLICATING DNA
LOOKS LIKE, AND HERE WE GO.
THESE ARE DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE
WORLD WE WENT TO, JUST
ORGANIZATIONS THAT YOU'VE BEEN
HEARING ABOUT, FAMILY MEMBERS,
NIH, 50 YEARS OF NIH.
THERE IT IS.
[APPLAUSE]
>> THANK YOU, KEN, THAT WAS
AMAZING.
BEAUTIFUL LOOKING SHIRT.
>> DR. KRAEMER, DO YOU HAVE --
>> WE'RE JUST GOING TO DO
EVERYTHING HERE.
OH, SORRY.
WHAT WAS THAT?
>> DO YOU MIND IF I SHARE THE
SLIDES?
THEY'RE VERY BRIEF.
OKAY.
I'LL TRY THIS AGAIN.
HERE WE GO.
>> OKAY.
GO FOR IT, JENNIFER.
>> OKAY.
CAN YOU SEE MY SCREEN?
>> YES.
>> OKAY.
SO THESE ARE JUST SOME PHOTOS --
WAIT.
OKAY.
PHOTOS OF THE LAB.
SO WHEN MY PARENTS CAME TO
VISIT, I THINK THIS WAS WHEN I
PRESENTED FOR THE DERMATOLOGY
BRANCH.
AND THEN THIS WAS JUST A LAB
PHOTO AS WELL.
AND THEN I WON'T READ THE
MESSAGE ON THE LEFT, BUT AS MANY
OF YOU SAW IN DR. KRAEMER'S
SLIDE SHOW, SOME OF THE
TAKEAWAYS OVER THE YEARS.
HIGHLIGHT IMPORTANT SUMMARY
POINTS IN YELLOW.
[LAUGHTER]
ON YOUR PRESENTATIONS.
THE NEXT POINT I'LL MAKE IS WHEN
YOU ARE IN DR. KRAEMER'S LAB,
YOU ARE FAMILY.
AND THEN AS MANY PEOPLE NOTED,
DORIS IS DR. KRAEMER'S RIGHT
HAND WOMAN.
AND SHE WILL BE THERE TO SUPPORT
AT ALL OF THE CONFERENCES.
AND THEN WHAT EVERYBODY
HIGHLIGHTS IS DR. KRAEMER IS A
PHENOMENAL SCIENTIST AND HE AND
THE TEAM HAVE MADE A LASTING
IMPACT ON SCIENCE AND THE LIVES
OF PATIENTS WITH XP, TTD AND
OTHER DNA REPAIR RELATED
DISEASES.
AND LAST ONE.
DR. KRAEMER HAS TRIED TO RETIRE
ONCE, SO DON'T BE SURPRISED IF
HE COMES BACK.
[APPLAUSE]
THESE ARE A FEW VERY SHORT
VIDEOS, SO IF YOU CAN HEAR THEM,
THEN LET'S SEE.
>> HELLO, DR. KRAEMER.
THIS IS PORSCHE LOVE.
I WANT TO CONGRATULATE YOU ON
YOUR RETIREMENT AND THANK YOU
FOR EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE FOR
HIGH SCHOOL, MEDICAL STUDENTS,
AND RESIDENTS WHO WERE
INTERESTED IN MEDICAL SCHOOL AND
DERMATOLOGY.
WE CERTAINLY APPRECIATE
EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE AND I
HOPE YOU ENJOY YOUR RETIREMENT.
>> HI, DR. KRAEMER.
THIS IS SAMUEL.
I REALLY FEEL BLESSED, HONORED
AND OPPORTUNED TO HAVE MET
SOMEONE LIKE YOU WHO WAS MY
MENTOR.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT, YOUR
ENCOURAGEMENT AND FOR YOUR
GUIDANCE AS I MADE MY TRANSITION
FROM NIH UNTIL NOW.
I HOPE THAT YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL
RETIREMENT.
THANK YOU AND WE'LL KEEP IN
TOUCH.
BYE.
>> HEY, DR. KRAEMER.
CONGRATULATIONS ON AN AMAZING
CAREER.
YOU'VE HAD A GREAT IMPACT NOT
ONLY ON DERMATOLOGY BUT ALSO THE
PEOPLE YOU WORK WITH, PEOPLE YOU
MENTORED.
WISH YOU ALL THE BEST IN
RETIREMENT.
>> TWO MORE.
>> DR. KRAEMER, CONGRATULATIONS
ON YOUR RETIREMENT.
THANK YOU FOR TAKING A CHANCE ON
US, THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING THISO
BE BETTER VERSIONS OFF YOURSELF,
FOR OPENING UP OUR WORLD.
I HOPE YOUR RETIREMENT IS AS
BEAUTIFUL AS YOUR CAREER WAS AND
WE WISH YOU THE BEST.
>> HI, EVERYONE.
FIRST OF ALL DR. KRAEMER,
CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR
RETIREMENT AND ON AN INCREDIBLE
CAREER.
AND I ALSO WANTED TO SAY THANK
YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF THE
MENTORSHIP AND ALL OF THE
OPPORTUNITIES YOU'VE GIVEN ME
WHILE I WAS A STUDENT IN YOUR
LAB AND AFTERWARDS.
I MET DR. KRAEMER WHEN I WAS A
FIRST YEAR MEDICAL STUDENT, AND
DID MY INTERNSHIP IN THE DNA
REPAIR LAB AND HONESTLY, THAT
WAS PROBABLY THE BIGGEST REASON
I AM IN DERMATOLOGY TODAY, AND I
HAVE MY DREAM JOB, I'M THE
DERMATOLOGY RESIDENT AT HENRY
FORD IN DETROIT, MICHIGAN.
AND REALLY, DR. KRAEMER, I CAN'T
THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR ALL OF THE
MENTORSHIP, ALL OF THE SUPPORT,
AND I KNOW THERE ARE MANY
STUDENTS OUT THERE JUST LIKE ME
WHO FEEL THE SAME WAY, AND THANK
YOU SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING, AND
CONGRATULATIONS, AND I'M REALLY
EXCITED FOR WHAT'S TO COME.
>> HI, EVERYONE.
[VIDEOS REPLAYING]
>> I DON'T KNOW HOW TO GO --
OKAY, AND THEN THESE ARE JUST
SOME MORE PICTURES FROM THE SIB
CONFERENCE, AND A PICTURE THAT
WAS TAKEN ACTUALLY BY ONE OF OUR
PEDIATRIC PATIENTS DURING THE
FAMILY WRAP UP AT NIH AND THEN
MORE PICTURES FROM THE
CONFERENCE.
SO THAT IS ALL I HAVE.
THANK YOU ALL!
[APPLAUSE]
>> THANKS, JENNIFER.
BEFORE WE MOVE TO THE CAKE AND
TAKE PICTURES, I JUST WANT TO
SHOUT OUT A THANK YOU TO
CHARLENE FOR PUTTING TOGETHER
ALL THESE THINGS AND TIRELESS
EFFORTS.
AND --
[APPLAUSE]
>> AND THE LCBG STAFF FOR ALL
THE BALLOONS AND DECORATIONS,
COORDINATING ALL THE FOOD,
WITHOUT THEM THERE WOULDN'T BE A
PARTY HERE, SO THANK YOU ALL FOR
THAT.
[APPLAUSE]
>> [INAUDIBLE]