Harry L. Messmore, Jr., MD (1922–2011)

 

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Dr. Messmore was an admirable man of exceptional qualities and talents. He had a long and illustrious career as an educator, researcher, and clinician specializing in both benign and malignant hematologic disorders. He had great vision and was ahead of his time. Several of the current practices in hematology–coagulation were initially perceived and/or developed by Dr. Messmore before their recognition and routine use by others.

Dr. Messmore began his career at Edward Hines VA Hospital in 1964 and joined Loyola University's Stritch School of Medicine in 1968. He was one of the first to become board certified in both hematology and oncology. He became Chief of Hematology at Loyola in 1971.

In the early 1970s, Dr. Messmore met and recruited Jawed Fareed, at the time a graduate student in the Department of Pharmacology and a medical technologist/chemist in the clinical laboratory at Loyola. Together, they developed a specialized clinical laboratory for the diagnosis of difficult blood disorders and to carry out translational research. The Special Hematology Laboratory became the focus of research (with clinical applications) on heparin, clotting factors predisposing to thrombosis, and acquired and hereditary circulating anticoagulants.

Through the years, Dr. Messmore's research also focused on drugs to treat hemophilia and new anticoagulants such as the low molecular weight heparins, synthetic heparin, new oral anticoagulants, and antiplatelet drugs. He recognized the clinical importance of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) nearly 50 years ago, long before other physicians came to the understanding of the pathogenesis of this catastrophic syndrome. He sounded the alarm, and many lives have since been saved.

Being a laboratorian at heart, applications to the clinical laboratory and development of new assays for the detection of bleeding and clotting disorders and monitoring new anticoagulant drugs were an important aspect of many projects for Dr. Messmore. He developed diagnostic programs for difficult diseases such as HIT and warfarin-induced necrosis and for the identification of factor VIII antibodies, lupus anticoagulant, cancer-associated thrombosis, and consumptive coagulopathies.

Despite its modest beginnings, the Special Hematology Laboratory at the Loyola University Medical Center was later transformed into the Hemostasis & Thrombosis Research Unit, which is now internationally recognized for its research and clinical management of bleeding and clotting disorders. This reputation is because of the teachings and dedicated efforts of Dr. Harry Messmore. However, these developments were also due in part to the continual input of several talented young individuals identified by Dr. Messmore.

For 35 years, Dr. Messmore led a group of clinicians, scientists, and students at all fronts of hematology. He had a probing mind, always full of ideas, an encyclopedic memory, and he was receptive to the use of new technologies. He was a constant educator, daily challenging those who worked with him. He provided many an opportunity to work with him and learn the scientific approach to medicine, which is now defined as “from bench to bedside.”

Dr. Messmore fostered much national and international collaboration, which spanned from Europe to Japan, encompassing the entire globe. He developed international collaborations with experts who often sought his expertise in difficult areas of the medical sciences.

He was truly a physician's physician, a scientist's scientist, a teacher's teacher. Those of us who were privileged to work with him on a daily basis say that he was unquestionably the best teacher we ever had. He was always willing to help us and guide us to carry out our professional responsibilities in the most exceptional manner. Those who he trained in both clinical and scientific areas have all attained a stature in their area of expertise that would not have been possible without his training.

Dr. Messmore became Professor Emeritus in July 1992 at Loyola but continued his activities at the Hines VA Hospital. His illustrious career was recognized by his receiving Loyola's highest honor, the Stritch Medal, in 1994. Even though he unfortunately lost his vision due to macular degeneration and glaucoma in his last years, Dr. Messmore continued consulting, publishing, teaching, and advising students, faculty, and other peers at Loyola and Hines. Throughout his life, his quest for knowledge in both clinical and basic sciences remained strong. A true lifelong learner, he continued to actively participate in the weekly Hematology–Oncology grand rounds until his last days imparting his wisdom and challenging the speakers.

On a personal level, Dr. Messmore was the most caring individual who was always accessible. He was personally modest but always interesting. It was easy to discuss fishing, history, human nature, or his own personal history with him, such as his early work with the Amish community in Central Illinois where his medical services were often paid for with a side of beef or homegrown vegetables. Dr. Messmore was a decorated war veteran and often spoke of his personal accounts of World War II; General Patton's army, to which he belonged; and his participation in the Battle of Northern France, the Battle of the Bulge, the Battle of Rhineland, and the Battle of Central Europe. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his leadership in the battle of St. Nazaire River in France. In 2010, the French government named him a chevalier (knight) of the Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur in recognition of his valor.

The legacy of Dr. Messmore is in the people he taught, the establishment of an internationally recognized reference center at Loyola for bleeding and clotting disorders, and in the lifesaving drugs he helped to develop. We have all been blessed to have had Dr. Messmore in our lives, for every day with him was a new learning experience. His teachings, wisdom, values, and generosity are what will continue to guide us. Dr. Messmore is survived by his lifelong companion and friend, his wife of 68 years Marilyn, and other family members, including six great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.