Frank J Ayd Jr, MD (1920–2008)

Abstract

Presents an obituary of Frank J Ayd Jr, MD (1920–2008). Frank Ayd was a person of faith and science who made singular contributions in both areas. When Frank was born, suicide was still a sin and in many countries a crime. The only medicines to treat mental illness were barbiturates, bromides, and paraldehyde. Frank began his practice of psychiatry at Baltimore in 1951 and ‘something else’ became possible when Smith Kline and French Laboratories approached him to evaluate potential CNS compounds coming out of the lab. Frank became the first clinician in the United States authorized by the FDA to study chlorpromazine in patients. Frank was a devout Catholic; he and his wife Rita raised 12 children to whom he promised that the professional obligations would never preempt family ties. The scope of Frank’s interests and influence can be gauged by the publications in just one productive year. In 1967, he authored 79 articles and essays equally distributed between medication side effects, therapeutic efficacy, and moral or ethical issues. Frank Ayd received numerous regional, national, and international awards acknowledging his scientific and literary accomplishments in the secular, spiritual, and scientific worlds. Frank Ayd was a unique role model and mentor to countless family members, patients, colleagues, medical students, residents, and those who shared his faith. He will be sorely missed and never replaced. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)