Sonny L. Johansson, M.D., Ph.D., professor in the department of pathology and microbiology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, has been named the first recipient of the Amelia F. and Austin L. Vickery, Jr., Chair in Pathology.
Dr. Austin “Bud” Vickery was a 1943 graduate of the Nebraska College of Medicine and became a world-renowned pathologist specializing in surgical pathology and thyroid pathology. He passed away earlier this year, but not before donating nearly $1.5 million to the UNMC College of Medicine with the intention of creating an endowed chair and professorship.
“Dr. Vickery had a long and distinguished career at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University as an outstanding surgical pathologist specializing in thyroid pathology,” said Samuel M. Cohen, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chair of the UNMC Department of Pathology and Microbiology.
“He was well known for his diagnostic acumen as well as his contributions to research. Dr. Johansson exemplifies both of these characteristics as well.”
Dr. Cohen said the individual to be named to the professorship will be announced by the end of this year.
Dr. Johansson is professor of the department of pathology and microbiology, a position he has held since coming to UNMC in 1985 from the University of Goteborg, Sweden. He is director of anatomic pathology and is a world-renowned surgical and experimental pathologist, specializing in urologic pathology, the pathology of soft tissue and bone tumors and head and neck pathology. He has published extensively in both clinical investigations and in basic research.
Although Dr. Johansson has contributed significantly to a number of areas of investigation, he is best known for his seminal work in phenacetin-containing analgesic-induced urothelial cancer, research he began while still a resident physician. His research ultimately led to the banning of phenacetin as a component of analgesics in the 1980s.
Dr. Johansson also is well known for his research on interstitial cystitis, snuff-induced squamous cell cancer of the oral cavity, and numerous aspects of the pathology and clinical investigations of a variety of urologic tumors and other lesions.
“This is completely unexpected,” Dr. Johansson said of being chosen for the Vickery chair. “It will allow me to spend five more years doing what I like
most, surgical pathology and teaching the residents this difficult topic.”
Dr. Johansson said the extra funds allow him to extend his research efforts and also invite top-notch researchers and physicians to come speak at UNMC. In fact, he has already made plans to host Victor Reuter, M.D., from Sloan-Kettering Memorial Cancer Center in New York to speak at UNMC next April. “Dr. Reuter will give a presentation to the Nebraska Association of Pathologists on testicular tumors followed by a slide-presentation seminar on urologic pathology to UNMC residents,” Dr. Johansson said.
“Having an additional chair and professorship in the department of pathology and microbiology is of considerable value,” said Dr. Cohen. “Not just because it provides additional funding to support the academic activities of the named faculty, but it also brings significant recognition to the individuals that are named and to the department.”
The generosity of Dr. Vickery didn’t surprise Harry McFadden, Jr., M.D., who was professor and chairman of the department of medical microbiology at UNMC until his retirement in 1985. “Bud was a very caring and thoughtful man,” Dr. McFadden said. “He was always interested in the college of medicine and how it was doing.” Drs. McFadden and Vickery were classmates and interns together, spending a year in residency at University Hospital after graduating in 1943.
“Over the subsequent years, Dr. Vickery and I remained close friends, much of this due to the college of medicine alumni association,” Dr. McFadden said. “We would get together during five, 10 and 25-year class reunions. Our close association held, and my wife and I would often visit Bud and his wife Fran at their home in Dover, Mass.”
Dr. Vickery, he said, loved his family, was a fine friend, excellent teacher and superb surgical pathologist. “He was world-renowned in the diagnosis of thyroid lesions,” Dr. McFadden said. “I don’t know anyone who didn’t like him.”