Obituaries: Melvin E. Clouse, MD, 90, shaped understanding of cardiovascular and interventional radiology
Melvin E. Clouse, MD, a noted radiologist who helped shape healthcare’s understanding of cardiovascular and interventional radiology, died on July 25 at the age of 90.
Born in the small town of Vinita, Oklahoma, Dr. Clouse was inspired to become a physician after suffering an industrial accident on his family farm. At age 4, the empathetic doctor helped the toddler keep his two injured fingers and sparked his interest in medicine. He left the state to earn his bachelor’s at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth (1957) and MD from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston (1960), according to an obituary published Aug. 3.
Dr. Clouse’s career spanned over a half century, with the radiologist writing 235-plus scholarly articles that helped lead to the introduction of new techniques in diagnostic and interventional care. He served as department chair at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. There, Dr. Clouse helped establish a national cancer research training program and radiology residency fellowship with expertise in interventional treatments, body imaging and nuclear medicine.
“He became known as a consummate academician with a remarkable talent for identifying and recruiting brilliant young staff, trainees, and researchers,” the obituary noted. “He trained and mentored clinicians and researchers from Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and South America and along the way made many lasting friendships with clinicians from around the globe.”
During his medical training, Dr. Clouse was awarded a summer fellowship in research at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, Long Island, New York. He landed on radiology as a specialty after an internship at Philadelphia General Hospital (1960-1961). After training at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Clouse spent a year as a clinical fellow at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington. He then returned to Mass General and later back to New England Deaconess (which eventually merged with Beth Israel) in 1969, ascending to department chair in 1975, a title he held until 1997.
“During the merger of two Harvard Hospitals, Beth Israel and New England Deaconess, his strong sense of ethics, leadership skills, and indefatigable energy facilitated a strong integration,” according to a tribute published Aug. 27 in the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology. “The same skills allowed him to create interdisciplinary alliances, enabling innovative scientific and academic achievements. He had a knack for identifying important medical problems that could be positively affected by imaging or intervention, resulting in approaches typically before they were generally accepted and which, over time, became standard care for all of medicine.”
Dr. Clouse developed a method of lympangiography—a technique that uses X-ray or MRI to create images of the lymphatic system—while he was a resident at Mass General. He also later helped create new approaches for liver disease, including the protocol for catheter-directed treatment of tumors in the organ. Dr. Clouse earned grants from the National Institutes of Health in 1985 and 1991 for his work on MR spectroscopy of liver transplants, while a 2006 NIH award funded the development of CT coronary artery angiography.
“He pioneered the use of computed tomography for noninvasive imaging of the heart, evaluating the use of electron beam CT in clinical trials,” the obituary noted. “Active in international multicenter cardiovascular imaging trials, he fostered interpersonal relationships and the exchange of research ideas among researchers on a global scale.”
Dr. Clouse was a fellow of the Society of Interventional Radiology, American College of Radiology, American Heart Association and Society of Cardiac Computed Tomography. In 2017, he was honored as endowed chair at Harvard Medical School, with both HMS and his alma mater creating professorships in his name. He also served as president of the New England Roentgen Ray Society and held numerous leadership positions with the Radiological Society of North America.
Dr. Clouse is survived by his wife of 59 years, Marian (Upty) Upton Clouse; brother, Herb (Cora); sons Graydon (Kimberly) and Thomas; and grandchildren Sydney, Ryley, Pippa and Jensen. Relatives and friends are invited to a memorial service on Sept. 14 at the Church of the Redeemer in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory can be made to Dr. David Simon’s Research Fund at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center or the Clouse Family Endowed Medical Scholarship at Texas Christian University’s Burnett School of Medicine.
Kevin Gude Ryan, MD, 89
Kevin Ryan, MD, an accomplished radiologist who helped expand multiple imaging departments in California, died on May 8 at the age of 89, according to an obituary published in July.
Born July 4, 1934, in New York City, Dr. Ryan grew up in Saddle River, New Jersey. He graduated with honors from Dartmouth College in 1956 and earned his medical degree from Harvard in 1959. In between, Dr. Ryan married his college sweetheart, Susan Leach, in 1957 in Wellesley, Massachusetts, celebrating their 66th anniversary before his passing.
He served as captain in the U.S. Air Force at Tachikawa Air Force Base in Japan from 1963 to 1966. Dr. and Mrs. Ryan enjoyed their time in the country, forming many lasting friendships, according to the obituary. He loved being a radiologist, too, deeming medicine as his highest calling. In 1968, the Ryans moved to California, with the doctor helping to expand radiology departments at the Woodland Clinic Medical Group and Woodland Memorial Hospital.
“Radiology continually engaged his curiosity, providing an opportunity to learn throughout his career as new technology emerged,” the obituary noted. “He was deeply committed to the medical partnership, believing it delivered excellent care to Woodland and the Sacramento region.”
Dr. Ryan served as an officer for the California Radiological Society and continued practicing until 1997. He also taught at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia (1966-1968) and UC Davis Medical School (1970-1998). During that span, Dr. Ryan received the Kaiser Foundation Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1983.
Dr. Ryan developed a love for boating following his retirement. He and Mrs. Ryan in 2013 moved to Santa Barbara, California, where they lived in a Life Plan Community. He remained active there, serving as president of the resident council and helping introduce pickleball to the community. Dr. Ryan also shared a lifelong love of the outdoors, including hiking, climbing, camping and skiing.
“Kevin endeavored to leave every institution, organization, and community he participated in better than he found it,” the obituary noted. “This is recounted in numerous personal letters from friends and colleagues, noting his hard work, fairness, thoughtful approach and good humor. ‘He was one of those guys that took care of everyone else first.’”
Dr. Ryan is survived by his wife; two children, Christopher (Mona) Ryan and Eric (Amy) Ryan; and four grandchildren, Lindsay, Emily, Jack and Ally.
Burton Silbert, MD, 91
Burton Silbert, MD, died on Aug. 24 at the age of 91.
Born in Brooklyn in 1933, he earned his bachelor’s from New York University and medical degree in 1958 from Vanderbilt. Dr. Silbert joined private practice Radiology Consultants of Nashville (now Radiology Alliance) in 1964. He also served as an assistant professor of radiology at Vanderbilt until 1979, according to an obituary published Aug. 26.
Dr. Silbert performed Nashville’s first breast imaging exam in 1973 and was dubbed the “father of mammography.” He also was appointed co-director of the Vanderbilt Breast Center Detection and Demonstration Project, part of a national study aimed at assessing the modality’s effectiveness. Dr. Silbert was chairman of the state committee on mammography and an honorary fellow of the American College of Radiology. He held memberships in the Nashville Academy of Medicine, the Tennessee Medical Society and the Tennessee Radiological Society.
Dr. Silbert and his wife raised their family in Nashville, Tennessee. After retiring, they lived in the Florida communities of Longboat Key and later Plymouth Harbor, celebrating 70 years of marriage in July. Outside of medicine, he enjoyed travel, food, friendship, poker, jokes, tennis golf and was an avid fan of Vanderbilt basketball and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
He is survived by his children Diedra, Michael (Kathy), Shelley (Steve), and Daniel (Becky) Siebert; and his grandchildren, Laiken Jordahl and Erika, Nicole and David Silbert. Donations, in lieu of flowers, can be sent to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society or your favorite charity.
Robert Smith Howard II, MD, 62
Robert Smith (Smitty) Howard II, MD, died on Aug. 18 at the age of 62 following a long illness.
Dr. Smith was born and raised in Harlan, Kentucky, the son of Robert Howard, who also was an MD. He earned his undergrad degree at the University of Kentucky, staying there for medical school, from which he graduated in 1988. He completed a surgical internship at Brigham and Women’s in Boston, followed by his radiology residency at Kentucky. Dr. Smith also spent two years at the Hospital of Pennsylvania, where he completed a neuroradiology fellowship, according to an obituary.
His first and only position after that was at Radiology Associates of Clearwater, where he had worked for 25 years. There, he interpreted studies for Morton Plant Hospital, Mease hospitals and associated outpatient centers (now part of BayCare). In his free time, Dr. Smith enjoyed cooking, travel, trivia, history, and spending time with his dogs and family.
He is survived by his wife of 33 years, Teresa Ann Howard, MD; his brother, Joseph Brittain Howard, MBA, and his niece and nephew. There will be a graveside service at Lexington Cemetery in Kentucky on Sept. 4.