Dr. Lawrence A. Frohman, a distinguished neuro-endocrinologist, medical educator, and administrator died on March 4, 2018, at age 83. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, and in 1958 he graduated from The University of Michigan Medical School. He completed his house officer training at Yale New Haven Hospital in 1961, and was a research fellow in Endocrinology at Duke University. He held numerous academic positions, launching his career as a faculty member at the State University at Buffalo. In 1973 he became the Director of the Division of Endocrinology at the Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, which at that time was a major teaching hospital and research center for The University of Chicago. In 1981, Dr. Frohman relocated to the University of Cincinnati where he served as Director of the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism for 11 years. At that institution he also was the Program Director of the General Clinical Research Center.
Larry was a superb scientist who was passionate about investigative medicine and translational research. He made numerous groundbreaking discoveries that dealt with the hypothalamic control of metabolism, growth hormone production, and the genetics of familial growth hormone–secreting tumors. His work focused on the control of growth hormone production. He identified and partially purified a growth hormone releasing factor from pancreatic and lung tumors. He was also one of the first scientists to develop a radioimmunoassay for rat growth hormone. He initiated studies in patients with a familial form of acromegaly and led an international consortium which demonstrated a linkage to chromosome 11q13.
Following identification of mutations in the aryl hydrocarbon receptor interacting protein, he and his colleagues demonstrated the role of the mutated aryl hydrocarbon receptor interacting protein in the pathogenesis of growth hormone–secreting tumors. These efforts led to a persistent stream of important publications that dealt with the regulation of growth hormone secretion and the expression and action of growth hormone–releasing hormone. Larry received numerous awards, including the 2018 Endocrine Society Laureate Award for Outstanding Leadership, which was unfortunately announced posthumously. He also received the Endocrine Society's Rorer Clinical Investigation Award. He was an honorary member of the Japanese Endocrine Society and received the Distinguished Faculty Award from the University of Illinois, College of Medicine. He chaired the NIH Endocrinology Program Advisory Group and participated in the creation of the the NIDDK National Hormone and Pituitary Program, which provided generations of investigators with high-quality pituitary reagents for their own research. He was a cofounder and a president of the Pituitary Society as well as a president of the Central Society for Clinical Research. He served on the Endocrinology Study Section, the VA Endocrinology Merit Review Board, FDA Endocrine-Metabolism Committee, and chaired the USP Expert Advisory Endocrinology Committee. He was a member of the American Society of Clinical investigation as well as the American Clinical and Climatological Association.The culmination of Larry's academic career was his appointment as the Edmund F. Foley Professor and Chairman of the Department of Medicine at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago, a position which he held from 1992 to 2001.This position allowed Larry and his wife, Barbara, to return to Chicago, the city of their birth, and a city which they both enjoyed. During this 9-year period, Larry faced the challenge of creating an academic Department of Medicine. With limited financial resources available, he was able to recruit a number of talented division chiefs who made a lasting impact on the University of Illinois College of Medicine. Larry was able to recruit these investigators with the help of Barbara. They hosted a series of recruiting dinners where they, each in their own way, sold these potential faculty members on the City of Chicago as well as the potential challenges that they together would meet in the Department of Medicine that Dr. Frohman was attempting to re-invigorate.
His warmth and vision was infectious. Larry articulated a vision of academic medicine and translational medicine that shaped the Department of Medicine and its members. His judgement in selecting the numerous recruits that he made over his 9-year tenure has been validated by the accomplishments that these men and women have made at the University of Illinois and at other institutions where they presently work. To merely mention Larry's academic credentials would not do justice to his other numerous interests and the depth of his character. He was an enthusiastic traveler who with Barbara visited numerous distant countries which allowed them to frequently be reacquainted with his numerous trainees. Of greatest importance to Larry was his family which included Barbara, his partner and friend for over 60 years, their four children Michael, Marc, Erica, and Rena, and their grandchildren, Evan, Dafni, Alicia, Hannah, Zoe, Aaron, Leah, and Zach. They spoke frequently of these family members and were intensely proud of them. Since parts of their family were frequently scattered throughout the world, they expended happily a considerable amount of their time visiting them and keeping them connected.
Larry was a fine and gentle person. He was a humble and sensitive man. He led quietly by example rather than by intimidation or terror. He was interested in his colleagues not only for their contributions to the department but also for their professional and personal development.
Besides being a superb clinical investigator, Larry was a terrific physician and teacher. He enjoyed the challenge of caring for patients with complex clinical problems. He demonstrated in his day-to-day actions kindness and sensitivity to all of his faculty and students. Larry was a superb and dedicated academician who clearly understood the mission of a modern department of medicine. His intellectual curiosity was infectious. His personal qualities and accomplishments as well as his contributions to each of the institutions where he labored will be long remembered. His style and achievements should be an example for all of us and should not be forgotten by those he touched or by the members of this Society. Larry proved that in academic medicine quite a bit can be accomplished with patience, kindness, and persistence, a legacy that is worth remembering.
Ronald Hoffman, MD
