It was a sad moment when I heard that Prof. Reisfeld had passed away. He was one of the genius researchers who had developed the hCH14.18 antibody and I was the first child worldwide to receive this new form of therapy. In 1988 I was diagnosed with neuroblastoma St. IV and was given an allogeneic stem cell transplant in 1989. When the cancer came back, my parents were offered to try this new form of therapy. The situation was hopeless. The antibody was brought from the USA to Germany by Professor Handgretinger. Today I myself work as a pediatrician in a pediatric oncology center in Germany and see on a daily basis how the therapy, which was still experimental at my past time, is now part of the standard treatment for neuroblastoma. This has given hope of cure not only to me but also to so many other children in the whole world. During my studies, Professor Reisfeld visited my university and I had the pleasure to meet him personally. It was truly indescribable and I will always remember Professor Ralph Reisfeld. Thank you for all you have done - the world has become a better place because of you. 

After Ralph’s passing many of his colleagues and friends got together to create an obituary of his interesting, long and full filled life. He trained over 80 scientist and doctors, many of whom have gone on to become famous and do great things. Ralph is always remembered as an outstanding mentor who supported his colleagues in their careers. He taught us to collaborate rather than compete. He had such a positive attitude always enthusiastic about life itself. Even after he retired at the age of 86 he continued to support many of us. I was a post doc in his lab from 1998 to 2002. I went away for residency and came back. I kept in touch and visited with him regularly. He was such a positive influence on my life, always grateful for what is.. He was an amazing historian. It was mesmerizing to listen to his true life stories. He escaped Nazi Germany 2 days before the Gestapo came to pick him up at the age of 13. He worked on a farm in Switzerland and then came to the US on a ship with 50 Dollars in his pocket. He taught himself English and became a scientist. He was proud of all his post docs and especially Dr. Allison who won the Nobel prize. He mentioned that he knows 17 Nobel Laureates personally.He talked about the travel with his wife, she loved to go to Vienna and Berlin. He had fond memories of traveling with his son to Asia, he was in Saporo twice and gave a talk at the university. Ralph was born in Stuttgart in one of the hospitals were I trained as a medical student. I grew up in the same area in Germany and we shared many memories of our old home. We always spoke German when we were together and his son said that this is good for his brain. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to visit him for the past 3-4 months of his life during the pandemic. I was very sad to find out about his passing. I miss him a lot and I am forever grateful for what he did for me and his meaningful scientific contributions. He left a legacy and he lives on in our hearts Dr. Ursula G Pertl MD

I learned from my colleague that Dr. Ralph A.Reisfeld passed away on December 6th. I still remembered to visit him on October 3rd, and  was very happy to say each other.  Ralph is such a good mentor and a great friend. He is also a highly respected cancer scientist and brilliant researcher. I will always remember him and the happy time working with him as his postdoc at TSRI. I greatly thank you for everything! Rest In Peace! RONG XIANG M.D., Ph.D.


My memories with Ralph date back to the 1980ies when I was a young postdoc at Scripps. I was deeply impressed by Ralphs work on antitumor antibodies and the passion with which he tried to move his antibodies from bench to bedside. I enjoyed our numerous discussions and I am grateful that I had the opportunity to meet him and to work with him.
I would like to express my sincere condolences to his family and friends
Gundram Jung, M.D.
Professor of Medicine
Department of Immunology, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany


Dear Ralph - Thank you for everything.  
Rest Peace, Barbara

While many thought I was a post-doctoral student of Ralph, in fact, we met for the first time in a French Chateau outside of Edinburg where we tried many a single-malt during a Smith-Kline sponsored PR event. From that meeting was born our east coast-west coast collaboration that began in 1986 and lasted until his recent retirement. So many new and innovative biologics were created and studied through his post-docs and collaborators that are still in clinical development today and changing the lives of children with neuroblastoma. His generosity in helping promote everyone he touched was boundless and has led to long-lasting collaborations I will always cherish. 

Ralph was a such a wonderful mentor and friend. He loved science and loved sharing his knowledge with others. He also had a passion for helping his mentees build their scientific careers and I owe much of my current success to Ralph, to his mentorship, and to the opportunities he provided while I was a post-doc in his lab. Thank you Ralph; you were one of a kind and will be missed.

The scientic community has lost a great researcher and an amazing  human beeing.  Ralph Reisfeld's  dedication to the fight against cancer was contagious and he mentored many young researchers all over the world to continue his  fight. He developped new therapies for the treatment of children with neuroblastoma, a very aggressive tumor in small children and he saved and is saving many lives of children with this cancer. His pioneering work has nowadays become a standard therapy in the treatment of these patients. It is such a privilege to have known Ralph Reisfeld. Not only was he a mentor, but also a good friend  who will be dearly missed. 

I learned of this sad news today. Ralph Reisfeld was a uniquely gifted and generous, scientist, mentor and colleague. His excitement about his research and the work of his collaborators was infectious. He asked fascinating questions bringing different  concepts together, yet the prospect of the results being of some use, was a driving force. His kindness, advice, guidance and humanity has made an impact on so many of us that had the opportunity and privilege  to work with him and learn from him.  Paul Sondel.

OBITUARY

Ralph Alfred Reisfeld

April 23, 1926 – December 6, 2020

El Camino Memorial - Sorrento Valley & Memorial Park

Show your support

Add a Memory

Share Obituary

Get Reminders

Services