In memoriam: Thomas Martin
Dr. Thomas Martin, professor emeritus (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) died peacefully on Sept. 14 surrounded by family. He was 77.
Martin received his medical degree with honors from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1973 and completed his residency at the University of Washington, where he also served as a chief resident.
Before joining the UW faculty in 1980, he spent a year as a visiting professor at Shiraz University Hospital in Iran, building on a formative college experience where he spent a summer studying healthcare delivery in rural Iranian villages.
He held many leadership positions over his 40+ year tenure at the UW, including director of the Pulmonary Research Training Program from 1993-2000, and vice chair and head of Hospital and Specialty Medicine at VA Puget Sound from 2000-2011.
Nationally, he served as president of the American Thoracic Society (starting the ATS Research Program to fund promising new investigators), head of the ABIM Pulmonary Disease Board, and scientific director of the Parker B. Francis Pulmonary Fellowship Program. His research laboratory was funded continuously for over 30 years.
He loved teaching and was nominated for an Outstanding Teacher Award by the medical students in 1985 and received the Beeson Award in 1991.
In 2011, he became the Global Head of Respiratory Clinical Development in the Respiratory Franchise at Novartis Pharmaceuticals, where he met many dedicated members of drug
development teams around the world. In 2021, he chaired the ATS Global Health Roadmap Working Group, which developed the society's global health agenda, and allowed him to collaborate with leaders of other organizations around the world.
During the COVID pandemic, he came out of retirement to work with colleagues on two clinical trials of a possible therapeutic
agent for seriously ill patients.
He is survived by his wife, their two daughters, three grandchildren, and five siblings. Donations to the ATS Research Program may be made in his honor.