A few weeks ago the department put out a call to current and former members throughout University of Iowa Health Care, the Carver College of Medicine, and the Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center. We asked them to send text, photos, or videos to let outgoing Chair and DEO E. Dale Abel, MD, PhD, know just what his time at Iowa has meant to them. The below are everyone’s submissions.
We also pulled photographs from our archives during Abel’s time as Chair and quotations from his nearly seven years’ worth of Views from the Chair posts to assemble a printed album of these memories. Unfortunately its arrival has been delayed, but we have posted a digital version of it here.
Messages:
Name: Matthew Mandell
Thanks for leading the internal medicine department during an uncertain time. I appreciated your leadership and although we did not meet formally given pandemic restrictions, I enjoyed hearing you speak throughout the internal medicine fellowship conferences and curriculum. Best wishes on your next appointment.
Name: Danielle Allen
Dr. Abel,
While our time together has been brief, I have enjoyed your leadership. I wish you the best in your new role and hope you enjoy your time in California.
Danielle
Name: Lois Geist
Dale,
You have provided excellent leadership during your time at Iowa. You have made us better. I will miss you but wish you well as you tackle the next challenge. You will always be a Hawkeye!
Best always,
Lois
Name: Sara Zimmerman
Dear Dr. Abel, best wishes to you in your next chapter. Please keep us in your thoughts during the upcoming freezing, brutal Iowa winter. 🙂 All the best to you.
Name: Thomas Rutkowski
Dale, you have a greater bandwidth than any human being I’ve ever met. UI and the DRC are better off for your leadership!
Name: John Buatti
Dale,
It’s been a great pleasure to work with you and always appreciate your practical insights and commitment to the academic identity of our work. You truly engender a gentleman and a scholar! You’ve been a trusted colleague and friend throughout. My best for your new role in sunny UCLA.
John
Name: Manasa Nayak
We all will really miss you. Especially, I will miss your nature of simplicity (always saying “Hi, with a very big smile”), whenever we cross each other in the corridor. I am extremely thankful to you, for always giving the outstanding support letter for my grants.
Thanks once again ! I pray GOD to keep you always happy and healthy !
Name: Janet Fairley
We will miss your good counsel! I hope you enjoy your new position at UCLA and I hope we will catch up sometime out on the west coast!
Janet Fairley
Name: Konrad Schulze
Thank you, Dr. Abel for leading this Department during the last four years through the challenges of Covid and the political upheavals. I was impressed on how ably you handled difficult situations, and found the right people to lead divisions, direct education and training, and cheer on research; I benefitted personally from your gracious approach to Emeritus faculty;
you pointed out that seniors with a long and productive career in the Department could be sharing experience and advise, act as role models, and so forth.
I wish you well as you keep sponsoring academic achievements in this your friendly and supportive Hawkeye spirit
Best. Doc Konrad
Name: Duane Hall
Dear Dr. Abel,
Thank you for all that you have done to strengthen Internal Medicine and the Diabetes Research Center. I will always be grateful for your collaboration on different projects and all that you have done on my behalf over the years. I wish you continued success at UCLA!
Duane Hall
Name: Li Wu
Dear Dale, We will miss you! I admire your leadership and inspiration to make UIHC better and stronger. I also appreciate your kind advice and mentorship to me.
I wish you all the best at UCLA.
Li Wu
Name: Thomas Callahan
It’s been a pleasure.
Name: Joseph Dillon
Dale, I have really appreciated your leadership and support over the years. Good luck in LA.
Name: Stacie Vik
Superman! Forever and always one of my heroes.
Name: Kathleen Robinson
Dear Dr. Abel,
Over the course of residency and fellowship I have come to sincerely admire your leadership and dedication to growing and building the Internal Medicine Department. I have especially appreciated your engagement with learners at every level – from Chairman rounds, to Endocrinology teaching sessions, and “Discussion with the Chair” sessions. Your guidance in my own research, as I navigate a transition from a purely qualitative background into mixed-methods research, has been invaluable. You will be deeply missed, but at least in the age of Zoom, Iowa and California really aren’t that far away. All the best and congratulations on your new position!
Best,
Katie
Name: Peter Densen
Name: Alejandro Comellas Freymond
Dr. Abel. It was a real pleasure get to know you and I really thank you for your leadership in the Department, especially during this difficult times. I wish you and your family the best in the next endeavor.
Name: Colin Derdeyn
Dear Dale – I will miss you. You have been a great partner and colleague here at UIHC, and I have appreciated your help, support and guidance these past six years. You have great ability to engage deeply in everything – you are not skating on the surface – and you do it for the right reasons.
Colin
Name: Eli Perencevich
Thanks for everything you have done for the Department and College. You are leaving us in a much stronger place. Your intelligence and humor will be missed but hopefully we will cross paths soon on the left coast or elsewhere
Name: Kristin Goedken
Dr. Abel
Thank you for your leadership to the Department of Internal Medicine. I wish you the best at UCLA.
Kristin Goedken
Name: Nabeel Hamzeh
Congratulations and best of luck on your new adventure.
Name: Jonathan Bluemke
Dr. Abel,
It was a privilege to work with you. Our work together as Endocrine Director/Administrator was very important to me. I greatly enjoyed hearing your expertise and knowledge, and your guidance was always appreciated and helped me grow as an administrator and individual. Thank you for your leadership for the Department. I wish you the best of luck in your new position!
-Jonathan Bluemke
Name: Alexander Bassuk
Dear Dale,
Thank you for all your mentorship. You will be missed. Good luck at UCLA!
Name: Melissa Bates
Thank you for welcoming me to Iowa as a new assistant professor and for creating an environment supportive of physiology and cross-disciplinary collaborations with Internal Medicine. Best of luck with your next endeavors!
Name: Randy Kardon
Dear Dale, it had always been a pleasure working with you. I am wishing you the very best in your new position and look forward to more great things from you.
All my best, Randy Kardon
Name: Mary Beth Fasano
Thanks so much for your wonderful leadership during your time here at Iowa. I wish you luck as you take over the helm out in L.A. You will be missed.
Best wishes – Mary Beth Fasano
Name: Diana Jalal
Dale,
Thank you so much for your kind and patient mentorship over the last 4 years. I have deeply enjoyed our conversations and will always hold you in high regard. I wish you the best of your luck in your new adventure. I trust that you will still find time to connect with me from LA.
Sincerely,
Diana
Name: Paul McCray
Dale – Best wishes for your new adventures in California. It has been nothing but a pleasure to interact with you.
Best regards, Paul
Name: Scott Vogelgesang
Dale – You are an incredibly talented physician, scientist and leader. Good luck!
Scott Vogelgesang
Name: Theresa Brennan
Dale, Congratulations on your new position. UCLA is fortunate to have you joining their team! We will miss you here. I wish you all the best and hope that you leave knowing that we are better for having had you on this team!!
Teri
Name: Samuel Stephens
I want to thank you for the opportunities you have created for me by bringing me to Iowa. This is a great place and you have undoubtedly left your mark to further elevate Iowa as a nationally recognized research institute. I have always thought of you as an inspirational leader, who motivates us to greatness, through your confidence that we will succeed in doing great things. I want to wish you the best of luck. You’re leaving some big shoes to fill and your presence will be missed.
Name: Erin Talbert
Thanks so much for all that you have done to build the incredible culture at Iowa – best wishes in LA!
Name: Stefan Strack
Dear Dale, it is sad to see you leave, because you have done so much for this institution. I wish you all the best in you new position.
Best, Stefan
Name: George Weiner
Good luck in your new position Dale. It has been a pleasure working with you.
Name: Zuhair Ballas
it has been a pleasure and a privilege to know and work with you Dale. wishing you the best of luck in your new endeavor.
Name: Yousef Zakharia
It has been a pleasure to work under your leadership, We appreciate all your support to our hem onc division. I look forward to future road cross again!!
Yousef Zakharia
Name: Michael Wright
Dear Dr. Abel,
Thank you for sharing your wisdom and insights with the BFC over the past year. Your energy was irreplaceable, and your leadership will be sorely missed. I look forward to keeping in touch and watching you forge new pathways that early career scientists can follow as they seek out professional success at all levels of academic medicine.
cheers,
Mike W
Name: Mohamad Mokadem
It has been a short journey for us together but you’ve been a great support , mentor and advisor. We didn’t get a lot chance to chat outside the usual formal meetings but I truly feel you sincerity as a friend as much as physician , scientist and teacher. I hope our path will cross again sometime in the future . Wishing you the best
Name: Andrew Bryant
Even though I have only been at Iowa for a few years, I immediately felt at home and ‘part of the family’. This is directly related to the culture you have established in our department. I’m forever grateful for the opportunities you’ve given me and for your kindness, words of advice, and clinical pearls. While I will miss your leadership and presence in the department, I am excited for you as you embark on your new adventure in Los Angeles (well deserved!). Best of luck!
Name: Catherina Pinnaro
Dear Dr. Abel,
I just wanted to write a short note thanking you for the opportunities provided to me as part of the DRC T32. This spring-boarded my career and I am truly grateful. I wish you all the best as you transition to your new role at UCLA.
Name: Christopher Benson
Dale,
It has been an honor to work with you. You have been a great leader and have left our Department stronger.
Best, Chris
Name: Brian O’Neill
Dale – Your mentorship has been a critical part of my success and a real joy over the years. Unfortunately for you, when you go to California, that won’t stop since I will actively seek your feedback. Thank you for the years of leadership and friendship. Best of luck in LA, and thanks for bringing my family to Iowa!
Brian
Name: Colleen Campbell
Congratulations Dr. Abel on your new position! Thank you for all of your support and I hope our paths cross again in the future!
Best wishes, Colleen Campbell
Name: Bertha Martin
Dr. Abel, Thank you for the support that you have provided throughout the years to the Association for Multicultural Scientists. I am most appreciative of the time you shared with interviewees and shared your journey. It was inspirational and provided us with a better outlook for the future. God bless you in your next journey in my dear California.
Name: Cynthia Batzkiel
Dear Dr. Abel,
Thank you for your continuous support of resident education, including dancing as part of the tiktok video for graduation! UCLA is so fortunate! I will miss you! Sincerely, Cindy Batzkiel
Name: Cally Tucker
Dr. Abel,
It’s been such an honor to work in the Lab this past year. I have learned so much and furthered my interest for research tremendously. I wish you all the best in Los Angeles, and I hope our paths will cross again.
Kind regards,
Cally Tucker
Name: Larry Hunsicker
Dale:
Your time at UIowa, first as Director of the FOEDRC and then also as Chair of Medicine, and mine in the Nephrology Division, overlapped only briefly. But I have kept up with things in the Dept of Medicine and also in FOEDRC. I want to thank you for your leadership of both. Both have thrived over your period of leadership. The Department of Medicine has maintained and strengthened its reputation as one of the very best Public University Departments in the entire US, not only in the Mid-West, and under your leadership the FOEDRC has developed into one of the premier Diabetes Research Centers. While the Department has thrived under your leadership in all areas, I want in particular to note your really major contributions to Departmental Diversity. We are lucky to have had you. We are proud of you as one of our “graduates.”
We, of course, are sorry to see you leave. But we should recognize the place of the U. Iowa Department of Medicine not only by whom we have recruited, but also by the roles that our “graduates” have played after having been recruited away. U. Iowa has been a pathway for a long sequence of Chairs that have assumed major roles in national Internal Medicine — Bill Bean, Frank Abboud, Paul Rothman, Mark Anderson, Gary Rosenthal, and now you. (Of course, we managed to keep the first two!). This contributes to our honor and recognition, but also, perhaps more importantly, assures that we will be able to recruit an outstanding new Chair to preserve your achievements and maintain our Department’s trajectory.
Thanks, and God Speed in your new job! We will continue to claim you as part of our Department.
Larry Hunsicker
Name: George Richerson
I will miss you Dale. Your thoughtful contributions to our DEO conversations, and your wise counsel to me have always been appreciated. Enjoy the warm weather and good luck with your new position.
Best wishes,
George
Name: Eva Tsalikian
Dear Dale,
we were very fortunate to have you at the University of Iowa, first as Director of the Division of Endocrinology and the FOEDRC and then as Chair of Medicine. You brought national recognition to this place, great ideas and high scientific standards and also your unsurpassable skills of efficiency, quick thinking and ability to connect with every one. It is our loss that you are leaving and lucky the folks you will work with at UCLA. You were a great help to me during my 2+ years as interim chair of Pediatrics and I am for ever appreciative. Good Luck to you and Jennifer. Enjoy California!!
Name: Chad Grueter
Dale, it has been an honor and pleasure to learn from your leadership and guidance at the department, lab, and personal level. Your accomplishments driving the FOEDRC and Department of Internal Medicine at Iowa provide an excellent foundation for future growth. I wish you the best as you continue your stellar career at UCLA.
Name: Denise Floerchinger
Wishing you all the best. Iowa will miss you!
Name: Kamal Rahmouni
Just few words to say thank you for all you have done here in Iowa. Your support and encouragement has been of tremendous help to many people including myself. It was a really joy for me to work with you. I have learned so much from working with you over the years. You are an amazing person and leader. Very few people can combine such qualities. I wish the best in the next phase of your career which I am confident will be another success story.
Name: Angela Hester
Dr. Abel,
Thank you very much for your guidance and inspiration to everyone in this department. I wish you luck on your journey with UCLA and hope that you and your family enjoy California.
Sincerely,
Angie
Name: Long-Sheng Song
Dr. Abel, you are the BEST departmental head I have ever worked with. I truly enjoyed working with you in the past 8.5 years. You set a new high bar for our expectation for your heir at Iowa. You are also the role model for being a mentor and for a scholar. Congratulations on your extraordinary achievements and on your new position at UCLA! Personally, I sincerely thank you for your tremendous support on our research all these years. You always read my manuscripts or grant proposals no matter how busy you are. Your guidance on my career, science and insights on our research will be always in my memory. I hope to continue collaborating with you and being able to seek your advice in the future.
Name: Marin Schweizer
You will be greatly missed! Thank you for your leadership!
Name: Bradley Rosen
I remember when your lab moved into the first floor of EMRB while I was in the adjacent laboratory of Brent Carter. Since then much has changed: I finished fellowship, postdoc, and am now faculty; you have led our Department through a period of great growth and challenge with grace and thoughtful guidance.
Thank you for truly excellent leadership before and during this pandemic, UCLA is fortunate to have gained your presence in their programs. I wish you all the best in the future!
Name: Loreen Herwaldt
Dr. Abel: I want to thank you for your wise leadership of our department during this very difficult period. I think your leadership enabled our department to not only survive but to thrive during this time. Thank you also for supporting me in my role as director of Internal Medicine Grand Rounds. I’m very sad that you are leaving Iowa and I’m grateful for the time you spent here.
Name: Richard Hoffman
Thank you for your leadership and support. I hope that you enjoy continued success in the City of Angels!
Name: Jonathan Nizar
Wish you all the best in Los Angeles. I will always be grateful to be welcomed to UI under your leadership.
Name: Andrew Norris
Dale, It has been such a pleasure to work with you these past 8 years. You are an such an amazing academic leader. I’ve learned so much from you. Thinking back 9 years, I had heard many positive things about you while I was a Joslin fellow, and thus suspected the FOEDRC would be in great hands when you were recruited. Indeed this is what came to transpire. You will be sorely missed. Thanks in advance for advising me from afar regarding the FOEDRC. Best of luck at UCLA. Best regards and grateful thanks!
–Andy
Name: Jin-Young Yoon
I appreciate your servant leadership. Your service and scholarly insight nourished a potential of the members in Dep. of Internal Medicine. Especially, I cannot express enough my gratefulness for your dedicated edition on my manuscript; see attached file :). Thank you for your encouragement. May your new journey in UCLA be filled with success and gratefulness. We will miss you.
Name: Sarah Nolan
Thank you for sharing wisdom, patience, and sense of humor. We appreciate your enthusiastic support for the diabetes service and will miss you greatly! Best of luck in your next endeavor!
Name: Matthew Potthoff
Dale,
You have been a tremendous mentor, leader, director, and scientist for so many individuals at the university including myself. I’ve learned so much by watching you lead by example and always conducting yourself with the highest integrity. I have a great deal of respect for you and I wish you the best of luck on the next stage of your career.
Best,
Matt
Name: Katherine Harris
Dr. Abel,
It has been a pleasure getting to know you over the years and spend time with you every Monday and Friday, both virtual and in person, for recruitment season. Although we will miss you here, I am very excited for you and your family for this next step in your lives. I wish you the very best of luck (although you will not need it!)! Please send my regards to your wife-I loved getting to chat with her at the residency events!
Sincerely,
Katie Harris
Name: Donald Heistad
Hi Dale, Thanks so much for great leadership!! And, you write great letters of nomination and support!
Alan did a truly amazing job at UCLA, and I expect that you will, too! I’ll be pulling for you!
Best wishes, Don
Name: Jacqueline Kersten
Hi Dr. Abel-I enjoyed working with you and appreciated your attention to the financial details. Best wishes at UCLA! Take care!
Jackie Kersten
Name: Brian Gehlbach
Dale, thank you for everything you have done to grow our department, and for valuing all the missions in your messaging. As I’ve mentioned previously, I’ve had 2 endocrinologists as Chair, and this appears to be a winning strategy. Good luck with your move and hold on to some of your winter clothes so you can come visit us. Brian
Name: Ryan Boudreau
Congratulations on your new position at UCLA and best wishes for your continued success in this new endeavor! Your leadership will be missed here at Iowa. I greatly appreciate your support while I worked to build my independent research program. Hopefully, we’ll cross paths many times in the future! Enjoy sunny CA!
Name: Amy McDonald
I think the only words left are to say thank you. Words cannot describe how lucky I feel to not only to have gotten to serve on your team, but at the same time be given the opportunity to grow through the lessons I learned by watching you lead our Internal Medicine family. The impact you have had on me is immense, and I will be forever grateful and will carry those lessons forward. I’m excited to watch you do great things from afar, likely still teaching us all a thing or two :). Thank you, and best wishes Dale, you are one of a kind.
Name: Renata Pereira
Dear, Dale.
I am so extremely proud of you and can’t wait to hear about all the amazing things you will do at UCLA.
Thank you so much for believing in me and for giving me opportunities to grow into my potential as a scientist and as a leader. Your support and encouragement have been crucial for my success, and your generosity with your time and resources continues to amaze me.
I am truly humbled to have been given the opportunity to work alongside you for all these years. The impact you have had and I am sure will continue to have in my life is remarkable.
Thank you for being a wonderful mentor and beloved (science) father.
With much gratitude.
Renata
Name: Kathleen Einfeld
Dr. Abel, Thank you for being a good supervisor, I am a better administrator because of your exemplary leadership. I wish you & Jenn all the very best.
Fondly, Kathleen
Name: Michael Welsh
Dale,
Congratulations on your exciting new venture and challenge. While I am very sad to see you leave, I am thankful that you have given us your leadership and vision for these last years. Thank you also for your friendship.
My very best wishes for much success and personal happiness. We will miss you and Jennifer.
Mike Welsh
Name: Jane Rowat
“I have learned that people may forget what you said, people may forget what you did but people will never forget how you made them feel” Maya Angelou
Thank you for your support of medical education during your tenure and for making me feel part of a team which is continually striving to provide the best educational experiences for learners in the department.
~Jane Rowat
Name: Bianca Carlson
Dr. Abel, from my interview with the Division of Endocrinology I knew that you would advocate for APPs. Thank you for your leadership as a Department Chair as well as previous Division Director. Wishing you the best in your new position. You will be greatly missed.
Name: Vitor Lira
Hi Dale,
I wanted to share this brief message of gratitude. I’m not sure if you know this, but you are one of the people that impacted my career the most. Since meeting you for the first time at the reception for new UIowa faculty until joining forces as co-senior authors of our Autophagy paper you were always there. Even with all your other commitments and responsibilities… You also made it possible for me to be at the FOEDRC interacting daily with many brilliant people. This allowed me to learn so much and become a better scientist.
Thank you! I wish you all the best and hope to see you around frequently.
Vitor
Name: Brandon Davies
We will miss you Dale! From beginning to end your tenure here has been a boon to the University of Iowa, to the Diabetes Research Center, and to my own personal career. I’ve been blessed by my interactions with you and I am very grateful for all the time you have put in in my behalf. Good luck at UCLA and don’t let that Southern California weather turn you soft.
Name: Christie Thomas
Dale, Its been great to have you as the Chair of Medicine. I was proud of who you were and who you represented and we were fortunate that you accepted the Chairmanship at Iowa. Under your leadership, the Department grew in many positive ways. I liked your style of leadership and was thankful to have been given the opportunity to serve at a departmental level on your watch. I am sorry to see you go. Our loss is someone else’s gain. Best in your future endeavors
Name: Martha Carvour
Dear Dr. Abel,
Thank you for your extraordinary leadership of the Department of Internal Medicine and the Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center. You have had an inestimably and irreplaceably positive impact on the department, the institution, and the whole state of Iowa… and on countless aspiring physician scientists who will long judge the quality of our own paths against the standards you have modeled for us–integrity, empathy, inspiration, and excellence. Thank you for leading us through the pandemic’s blunt and inequitable impacts, as budgets of time and energy grew tight and as obstacles mounted. We are all better off because of your leadership, and your absence will be deeply felt.
With immense gratitude and wishing you the very best in your new role,
Martha Carvour
Name: Trevor Jackson
Name: Emily Trudeau (Robinson)
Dr. Abel,
I will never forget the kindness you have shown throughout your years here at Iowa. I remember my first semester as Jamie Soto’s undergrad student in your lab, you all had just moved here from Utah. I had no great scientific experience but you gave me a chance to learn. We had a fantastic barbecue at your house that summer and I really got to see the close and caring relationships between you and everyone in your lab. You are a family 🙂 I appreciate all you have done and all you continue to do for students seeking your mentorship. I don’t know if I would be where I am today (an M4 interviewing for residency spot in Family Medicine and Psychiatry combined training to start in 2022). I have always known you as a giving, caring, intelligent and funny person and I know you will continue changing lives in LA, as well. You will be so missed here 🙂
Emily Trudeau (Robinson)
Name: Maria Story
Dear Dr. Abel,
Congrats on accepting your new position and I wish you the very best. I always appreciated your kindness in interacting with trainees. You always had a friendly smile and asked “how are you?” when walking through the halls. I felt your sincerity in managing the department to prioritize the education of the students and residents, while also balancing research ventures and administrative aspects. You are an excellent leader and UCLA is fortunate to have you. Thank you for your energy, efforts, and service to the Department of Internal Medicine while at Iowa and for making this a special place to become an Internist.
Warmly, Maria Story
Name: Prakash Doddapattar
It has been a great journey at the department. You have always been a simple person. We all are lucky to have you in our department of Internal Medicine. I must say thank you for always providing us encouraging support letters for grants and awards. This is something I am not going to forget and I say THANK YOU, again. We will miss you. Best wishes for your new venture at new place with new challenges.
Name: Ann Howard
Dear Dr. Abel,
Congratulations and best wishes for your move to California. I have enjoyed working with you and tell everyone you are the most intelligent person I have ever met.
— Ann