Nicholas Gerber

Dr. Nicholas Gerber, MBBS, F.C.P., died peacefully on Sunday, January 22, 2017, in the presence of his loving wife and children. He was born on October 7, 1935, in Karlsruhe, Germany to his devoted parents, Walter and Hedwig Gerber. To escape persecution, the family left their home in Achern, Germany in December 1936, and moved to India, where he spent his early childhood, living in Calcutta and attending school first in Darjeeling and later in Srinagar. In 1947, the family moved to Sydney, Australia, where Nicholas completed his schooling at St. Ignatius' College Riverview. He then enrolled in medical school at Sydney University, from which he graduated in 1958. After residencies at Sydney Hospital and the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children, he was awarded a Nestle traveling fellowship that helped him to fulfill a dream of seeing the world while working in Finland, England, and Switzerland. In 1965, he moved to Baltimore, Maryland as Chief Resident at the Harriet Lane Home at Johns Hopkins Hospital. In 1966, he took a fellowship in the Division of Clinical Pharmacology at Johns Hopkins that launched his work in the field of pharmacology. This became the basis for a long and fulfilling career in research that led to positions at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, University of Oregon Health Sciences Center in Portland, Oregon, and The Ohio State University, in Columbus, Ohio, where he was Professor of Pharmacology and Director of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology for more than twenty years. An eminent pharmacologist, Nicholas contributed an important body of original research in drug metabolism, toxicology and clinical pharmacology. He derived great satisfaction from training young scientists and mentored several generations of students and researchers who came through his laboratory. Despite his love of travel and decision to settle in the US, he never lost his love of Australia, which remained a lifelong passion. As a young man in Sydney, he loved sailing on Sydney Harbor. For years, he was an avid tennis player and swimmer. Other interests included travel, photography, keeping tropical fish, listening to classical music, reading and going for long walks. Devoted to his family, he was married for over 56 years to Mirjam, a medical school classmate and the love of his life. He is survived by his wife Mirjam, his five children, Monica, David, Anthony, Daniel and Katherine, his children-in-law, Alia, Mei and Amitabha, and his six grandchildren, Mariel, Liam, Eli, Anya, Nikhil and Amir. In loving memory. Donations can be made to the Audubon Society by going to www.audubon.org .