The Department of Internal Medicine extends its condolences to the colleagues, friends, and family of John Weiler, MD, who passed away last week at the age of 77. Weiler was a member of the Division of Immunology for 25 years, treating patients and teaching residents, students, and fellows both in University of Iowa Health Care and at the Iowa City VA Health System. He received his medical degree at Temple University and after an internship in Indiana, he joined the Hepatitis Program in the NIH’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for two years. He completed a residency at Kansas University and a research fellowship at Harvard Medical School before coming to the University of Iowa. A classic physician-scientist, Weiler had more than 93 publications in peer-reviewed journals, focused on everything from antihistamine allergic reactions to cytokine levels in patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass.

Although he retired in 2004, Weiler continued to serve the cause of medicine continuing to manage the two companies he founded each of which focused on managing clinical trials data, CompleWare Corporation and the Iowa Clinical Research Company. “John was able,” his obituary reads, “to combine his use of scientific inquiry, computer data capture skills and need to provide the best medicines available for various respiratory problems.” The full obituary is available here.

Zuhair Ballas, MD, professor in Immunology, wrote of Weiler:

He was a pioneer in the study of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction with a special focus on athletes. He was also one of the first to recognize the potential of computer programming in clinical medicine and in clinical trials in particular. The computer program that he developed more than three decades ago remains the prototype for current programs used for tracking clinical trials data. He had a brilliant mind and bright intellect which he used to seize on opportunities not readily seen by others.

In lieu of flowers or other tributes, please make donations to The American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology; 555 East Wells Street; Suite 1100; Milwaukee, WI 53202-3823 -or – the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University; Medical Education and Research Building; Office of Institutional Advancement Suite 1101; 3500 N Broad St Suite 1101; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19140.

A Celebration of Life event is planned for October 8th. Details will be shared when they become available.