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In Memoriam: Hartmut Derendorf (1953–2020)

2021; Wiley; Volume: 10; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/cpdd.947

2160-7648

Bernd Meibohm, Vikram Arya,

Analytical Methods in Pharmaceuticals

Hartmut Derendorf, PhD, FCP (1953-2020): A Gifted Mentor, Inspirational Leader, and True Friend “If your actions inspire you to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader”—John Quincy Adams On November 23, 2020, the clinical pharmacology and pharmacometrics community unexpectedly lost one of its cornerstones, Dr. Hartmut Derendorf. Having begun his retirement 2 years earlier, Hartmut had just entered a new phase in his life after a long and extraordinarily successful academic career. As an internationally renowned and accomplished scientist, Hartmut was a long-standing member and one of the most active supporters of the American College of Clinical Pharmacology (ACCP), which he lovingly called his “favorite” scientific organization and which served as his scientific home since he joined in the early 1980s. His tireless commitment to ACCP was not only reflected by his consistent attendance at every annual meeting, but also by his dedicated outstanding service in numerous leadership roles including Regent (1991-1996), Secretary (1996-2000), and President (2006-2008). In addition, Hartmut served as Associate Editor for The Journal of Clinical Pharmacology from 2005 until his passing, and as a founding Editorial Board member of Clinical Pharmacology in Drug Development. Of note, the authors of this tribute, who also served as President of ACCP, truly appreciate and have profoundly benefited from Hartmut's sage and candid advice on numerous ACCP-related topics. He was always generous with his time and selfless in sharing his wisdom to continually support ACCP's vision and growth. Hartmut's interest in pharmacotherapy and its underlying quantitative concepts was triggered early in his professional career. As a native of Germany, he studied pharmacy at the University of Münster in the 1970s and completed his doctoral dissertation on biopharmaceutical investigations of analgesics in 1979. Shortly thereafter, his life took a significant turn when he decided to go abroad and pursue a postdoctoral research fellowship with Edward Garrett, one of the grandfathers of pharmacokinetics, at the University of Florida (UF). Originally planned to be a 2-year visit, Hartmut's stay in Gainesville resulted in him meeting the love of his life, Dr. Kerry Estes, and his appointment to the faculty of UF's College of Pharmacy. There, he led a lifelong prolific academic career that he officially ended in 2018 as Distinguished Professor Emeritus with a 28-year-long tenure as chairman of the college's Department of Pharmaceutics. Hartmut's scientific interest focused on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of glucocorticoids and antibiotics, particularly as the basis for rational design of therapeutic regimens and the use of pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic modeling in drug development. The latter formed the basis from which the current discipline of pharmacometrics evolved. Hartmut recognized early that assessment of target-site drug concentrations is an essential element in defining dose-concentration-effect relationships, and his rigorous preclinical and clinical application of techniques such as microdialysis paved the way for a better in-depth understanding of the factors governing drug efficacy in particular organs and tissues. To use the metaphor of chess, Hartmut was a grandmaster in clinical pharmacology. His clarity, logic, and acuity in his scientific thinking, combined with his ability to connect seemingly unrelated pieces of information to formulate a grand picture and to easily explain complex processes to a wide variety of audiences, made him a well-respected and renowned leader in pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) research and education. His enormous contributions to the field of clinical pharmacology and pharmacometrics are evidenced by his more than 500 scientific publications and numerous scientific awards, including the ACCP Distinguished Investigator Award, the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists Research Achievement Award in Clinical Sciences, and the Volwiler Research Achievement Award by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. Besides his vast scientific achievements, however, Hartmut's legacy will be even more defined by his outstanding role as teacher, trainer, adviser, role model, and lifelong mentor for dozens of graduate students, postdocs, and exchange scientists from all over the world, for whom Hartmut's laboratory provided the perfect launching pad into the world of clinical pharmacology and pharmacometrics. His humble, kind, and inspirational personality together with his contagious sense of humor and passion for science were key in this process and will remain etched in the memory of those who had the privilege of interacting with him. He had an uncanny ability to connect people from all over the world and was exceptionally adept at building alliances. He not only cherished his weekly group meetings at UF, but also used them to carefully build and nurture the scientific skills and self-esteem of his trainees and provide them a framework for scientific reasoning and intellectual networking with peers. These traits were further cultivated in a more informal setting by frequent group outings: picnics, Thanksgiving dinners, birthday parties, and regular Gator receptions for current and former trainees at national conferences. Hartmut was a teacher par excellence, and his mentoring was superb—rather than telling trainees the solutions to their scientific problems, he would carefully guide them through the thought process until they arrived at the answer themselves. By doing this skillfully throughout his accomplished career, Hartmut ingrained in his trainees the importance of independent thinking, problem-solving, and the importance of effective and impactful communication. Hartmut's sustained commitment to supporting the professional growth of his mentees and countless other individuals was truly remarkable. He inspired many of them to follow in his footsteps as mentors and contribute to training the future generations of scientists. As such, his impact continues to be exponentially perpetuated. Despite such a widespread impact that spanned multiple continents over several decades, Hartmut used his unique foresight to serve as a glue among the community of trainees he had created by spearheading the “Global Gator” meetings. This biennial series of scientific conferences, initiated in 1997, not only brought together alumni as well as current and former trainees in various locations around Europe for scientific exchange, networking, and camaraderie, but also formed the nucleus for a Global Gator community in clinical pharmacology. The deep gratitude of his trainees is documented by his recognition as 2008 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Distinguished Mentor and as recipient of the 2015 Bristol-Myers Squibb Mentorship Award by ACCP and the 2018 American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Mentor Award. While fully enjoying and embracing his elected American citizenship, Hartmut also maintained strong roots to his home country, Germany. He not only passionately followed his favorite soccer team, Borussia Dortmund, and his favorite Tatort detective series, but was also actively engaged for many years in supporting the modernization of pharmacy education in Germany and the establishment of clinical pharmacy as a discipline in academic curricula. In this context, he and his colleagues at the UF College of Pharmacy facilitated an extensive international exchange program that, since 1990, has served as the conduit for a whole generation of German pharmacy students and junior pharmacists to explore and experience US-based clinical pharmacy practice. Complimentary to these efforts, he initiated transatlantic collaborations between ACCP and the German and European clinical pharmacology community organizations that facilitated extensive scientific exchange and several joint scientific meetings. One of the many facets of Hartmut's professional accomplishments that colleagues in the United States may not be aware of is his lifelong striving to improve pharmacotherapy in the individual patient through pharmaceutical care. Already as a postdoctoral fellow in 1983, he had the vision to start authoring a book series on applied pharmacology for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in Germany that he maintained and updated throughout his entire professional life, and until his passing, he continued to publish a case study series on patient-focused pharmacotherapy in the main pharmacy practice journal of Germany, with a total of 70 publications. Hartmut loved to travel around the world, literally, and his concurrent top status in the frequent flyer programs of multiple airlines is legendary. He even had a favorite seat, the “throne” in the middle of the nose cone of the old 747 jets. He artfully combined his passion for travel with being a cosmopolitan visionary who spread the gospel of clinical pharmacology, PK/PD modeling, and pharmacometrics across the globe. With more than 900 invited speaking engagements nationally and internationally, his passion for science knew no barriers, and he was truly a global ambassador for our discipline. Some of his favorite travels were his regular visits to Brazil. His inspiring teachings combined with his love for the country's culture and way of life, including culinary delights such as “churrascarias” and “caipirinhas” were key to his engagement in pushing the development of the field of pharmacokinetics and pharmacometrics in Brazilian academia and in paving the way for numerous Brazilian scientists to pursue careers in these disciplines. Besides being a brilliant scientist and mentor, Hartmut was one of the most down-to-earth, unassuming human beings, welcoming of all people and even more so of new ideas and approaches to any scientific and nonscientific problem. Hartmut's untimely death sent a shock wave throughout the clinical pharmacology community around the world. Many of us have lost our mentor, collaborator, colleague, friend, and shining role model. We will miss him and his leadership dearly, but he will not be forgotten; his legacy will continue to live on in his scientific contributions and in those of us whom he touched with his guidance and mentoring. Maya Angelou, a famous American poet, once said, “If you're going to live, leave a legacy. Make a mark on the world that can't be erased.” We believe that Hartmut, through his numerous contributions to the discipline of clinical pharmacology, has truly left a legacy that cannot be erased and will continue to live on. The authors express their gratitude to Drs. Amelia Deitchman, Amparo de la Peña, Andreas Kovar, Daniel Gonzalez, Edgar Schuck, Jiang Liu, Luning (Ada) Zhuang, Markus Müller, Qi Liu, Teresa Dalla Costa, and Virna Schuck for their contributions. The authors are indebted to Dr. Kerry Estes for reviewing this tribute and providing unique insights into Hartmut's professional life.