In his 50-year career as a physician-scientist, Dr. Morris “Moe” Reichlin treated thousands of patients suffering from autoimmune diseases. He saw firsthand the toll of conditions like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma and Sjögren’s syndrome, so he dedicated himself to helping those who suffered from these diseases.
When OMRF’s former Vice President of Research died in July at the age of 84, he left a legacy of compassion and scientific insights that will impact patients’ lives for generations to come.
Little was known about autoimmune disease in 1981 when Dr. Reichlin left the State University of New York at Buffalo to start a new scientific initiative at OMRF. He recruited researchers and clinicians to build what’s now as the Arthritis and Clinical Immunology Research Program.
In the ensuing 37 years, scientists in this group have identified or helped identify 65 of the 101 known genes associated with lupus. OMRF physicians have also treated thousands of patients suffering from lupus and other autoimmune diseases.
Dr. Reichlin built his program on a foundation of collegiality and communication. He published almost 500 papers and trained scores of pre- and postdoctoral fellows at OMRF. “He was a master clinician, mentor and scientist,” says Dr. Judith James. “Many of us wouldn’t be rheumatologists today had it not been for Dr. Reichlin’s influence and the example he set for us all.”
Like many great mentors, Dr. Reichlin always looked for chances to gather his colleagues together. When his birthday came each February, the department celebrated with a chili cook-off. That event grew into an annual foundation-wide tradition that continues today.
As a scientist, Dr. Reichlin never lost sight of the ultimate beneficiaries of his research, continuing to see patients until late in his career. Indeed, the people he treated in his clinic inspired and guided his work in the lab.
“If it meant something to the patient, then it meant something to me, and I pursued it,” he said in an interview with The Rheumatologist in 2012. Patients everywhere continue to benefit from the Reichlin Profile, a test Dr. Reichlin developed that was the first broad screening test for lupus. It is still considered a gold standard for identifying the hard-to-pinpoint disease.
OMRF dedicated the Morris Reichlin, M.D., Clinical Immunology Laboratory in 2017 and has established a permanent endowed fund in his name. Donations to the fund may be made on OMRF’s website or through the Development office.
Although the questions Dr. Reichlin probed were head-spinningly complicated, he saw the quest for knowledge as a simple one. “I just wanted to solve problems and see where it led me,” he said when asked about his career. “And it worked out very well.”
