Philip John DiSaia, MD: Available Light & The Origin of Storms

Abstract

During a career, which spanned nearly 60 years, Professor Philip J. DiSaia (1937–2018) trailblazed a path forward in academic medicine, which would become the standard by which Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Gynecologic Oncology Divisions and Cancer Centers would be measured throughout the United States, in Europe and Japan. Following his discovery of fetal warfarin syndrome as a resident, DiSaia would serve in the U.S. Navy and successfully compete for an American Cancer Society Grant that would fund his Fellowship in Gynecologic Oncology under the instruction of Dr Felix N. Rutledge at the MD Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute in Houston, Texas. Dr DiSaia's goal to establish a traditional academic department was realized at the University of California, Irvine, where he remained active in an unprecedented, uninterrupted 42-year run, training many outstanding obstetrician-gynecologists and gynecologic oncologists, future Division Directors, Cancer Center Directors and Department Chairpersons. His dedication to the field and inexhaustible work ethic fueled his many successes in tumor immunology and the clinical trials of the National Cancer Institute's Gynecologic Oncology Group.