Donald W. Seldin, MD, 97, former professor and chairman emeritus of internal medicine at Dallas-based University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, passed away April 25.
Dr. Seldin, known as the "intellectual father" of UT Southwestern, joined the medical center in 1951. He led the hospital's department of internal medicine from 1952 until 1988. He also served in the U.S. Army during World War II and was the only American expert witness at the trial of a Nazi medical officer who was later convicted.
Dr. Seldin was an early member of the Institute of Medicine, now known as the National Academy of Medicine, as well as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He served as president of seven medical societies and is a founder of the American Society of Nephrology
Dr. Seldin served on the RAND Corp. board of trustees, and he was the only physician on the committee that developed the Belmont Report by the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research.
Endowed chairs have been created at UT Southwestern in his honor, including the Donald W. Seldin Distinguished Chair in Internal Medicine and the Donald W. Seldin Professorship in Clinical Investigation. A 7-foot bronze statue of Dr. Seldin was erected March 16 on the UT Southwestern campus recognizing his service to the organization.