Remembering Professor Emeritus and Alumnus Howard S. Traisman, MD

Remembering Professor Emeritus and Alumnus Howard S. Traisman, MD

Howard S. Traisman, MD, professor emeritus in the Department of Pediatrics, passed away on October 12. Traisman will be remembered as a renowned pediatrician, a trusted mentor, and an exemplary alumnus.

Howard S. Traisman, MD ’47, GME ’51, BSM ’46, BS ’43, professor emeritus in the Department of Pediatrics, passed away suddenly on October 12 at the age of 87. Traisman, a lifelong Northwestern supporter and fan, will be remembered as a renowned pediatrician, a trusted mentor, and an exemplary alumnus.

Traisman’s father, Alfred S. Traisman, MD, a former associate professor of pediatrics at Northwestern’s medical school and attending physician at Children’s Memorial Hospital, encouraged him to attend the University. Traisman considered his father his role model, and in 1951 he joined his father’s private practice, an arrangement that continued for 23 years. Later, Traisman shared his experience with his son, Edward S. Traisman, MD ’81, GME ’84, BSM ’79, now associate professor of clinical pediatrics and physical medicine and rehabilitation at Feinberg, with whom he practiced for 18 years.

Traisman’s tenure of service to the medical school and university is astounding. He served as president of the medical school’s faculty senate and twice as president of the Northwestern University Medical Alumni Association — the only person to ever hold this position more than once. He remained extraordinarily active as an emeritus faculty member up to the time of his death, assisting the medical school’s Office of Admissions as a member of the student interview and scholarship committees, teaching two sessions per week throughout the year in the a problem-based learning course for medical students, and tutoring medical students and residents in pediatric endocrine disease and general pediatrics.

Traisman received numerous awards recognizing his substantial contributions to Northwestern, including a Northwestern Alumni Association Service Award in 1976, a Merit Award in 1995, and an Alumni Medal in 2005 – the University’s highest alumni honor. He was recognized by Feinberg with numerous teaching and service awards, and, in 2002, the Northwestern University Medical Alumni Association honored him with an outstanding lifetime service award.

A member of Feinberg’s distinguished Nathan Smith Davis Club, Traisman’s philanthropy established the Howard S. and Regina G. Traisman Medical Student Center in 1997. Located on the first floor of the Tarry Building, the center serves as the medical school’s first permanent student lounge.

Colleagues like Thomas P. Green, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Pediatrics, remember Traisman as a longstanding leader at the medical school, the hospital, and among the pediatric community.

“Howard was completely committed to patients, to his practice, and to his students,” says Green, who worked with Traisman for more than 15 years. “He always had students in his office — teaching was an integral part of his practice of pediatrics.”

Internationally recognized for his leadership in the treatment of juvenile diabetes, Traisman authored The Management of Juvenile Diabetes, a textbook that remains a classic in its field. The former president of the Chicago Pediatric Society, he received the Archibald Hoyne Award for his many contributions to the field. He was also a founding member of the Lawson Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society.

For more than 35 years, he provided care to indigent diabetic children at Children’s Memorial Hospital (CMH), where he headed the diabetes clinic for more than a quarter century. Traisman was the first recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from CMH, and in 2001 he received an award from the hospital recognizing his 50 years of service.

Traisman is survived by his wife Regina “Reggie” and their three children, Edward, Barry Lifschultz, MD, GME ’80, and Kenneth.