Dr. Louis Tobian was born in Dallas Texas and died in Minneapolis Minnasota on September 6, 2006. He was one of our major investigators in the field of hypertension. Beyond this he was a grand friend who will be sorely missed.
Louis received his premedical training at the university of Texas. Following this he earned his MD degree from The Harvard Medical School in 1943. He had postgraduate training at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, the University of California Hospital in San Francisco and the Parkland Hospital in Dallas. Following this he joined the faculty of The University of Texas-Southwestern Medical School. In 1954 he was appointed Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine where he stayed for the rest of his career.
One of Lou's early career mentors was Dr. Tinsley Harrison, who first suggested that Louis devote his academic efforts to renal disease and hypertension.1 His early research was so successful that when Dr. Cecil Watson, his chief, was approached concerning Lou's possible nomination for membership in the ACCA, Dr. Watson said that he liked Lou so much that it might appear biased unless someone else would nominate him.
Dr. Tobian's first discovered that in experimental hypertension the small arteries of the kidney contained a higher concentration of sodium than normal. He than began a series of experiments that elucidated the importance of the juxtaglomerular apparatus in the control of blood pressure. He recieved many awards and a great deal of recognition for this work, so much so, that his wife once remarked that she never thought that such a small part of the anatomy could cause so much travel. Another of his notable achievments was that of founding a journal published by The American Heart Association called “Hypertension” which is devoted to studies of this disorder.
One of his numerous honors was to deliver the Metzger lecture. He chose to discuss dietary potassium, hypertension and the legacy of prehistoric man. A number of our members asked him privately as to how many bannas they needed to mimic the high potassium diets of old.
Beyond his work, Louis was very interested in golf. He studied the game with the same attention to detail as with one of his research projects. For example, just before a game, he gave one of his guests a small warming device apparently a hand warmer. This was in Minnesota in March. His response to the comment about cold hands was that the device was to warm the golf balls in that they would go a few yards further.
Lou was absolutely devoted to his family. He leaves his beloved wife of 54 years, Frances, and their daughter, Anne, whose wedding they enjoyed immensly. They have two grandchildren.