Dr. Murray E. Jarvik, professor emeritus of psychiatry and pharmacology, died May 8, 2008, in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 84 years old. Dr. Jarvik was a pioneer in the field of psychopharmacology, and he was among the first to study the effects of LSD and other drugs on memory and addiction. He was perhaps best known for his studies on nicotine, smoking and pharmacological interventions in tobacco dependence, and as co-inventor of the nicotine patch. His contributions to the field of tobacco dependence earned him international recognition.
Dr. Carolyn Kimme-Smith, professor emerita of radiological sciences, died July 23, 2008, in Newport Beach, Calif. She was 74 years old. Dr. Kimme-Smith’s research was devoted primarily to improving methods of breast imaging, and she is credited with developing breakthroughs in early detection of breast cancer, advancing the fields of ultrasound and digital mammography and working toward the accreditation of UCLA’s biophysics program. UCLA’s chief of breast imaging, Dr. Lawrence Bassett, called Dr. Kimme-Smith a pioneer at a time when women were discouraged from pursuing high-profile academic careers.
Dr. John H. Menkes, professor emeritus of neurology and pediatrics, died November 22, 2008, in Los Angeles, Calif. He was 79 years old. Dr. Menkes joined the faculty of UCLA in 1966 as head of the first Division of Pediatric Neurology on the West Coast. He identified a rare disorder, now known as Menkes disease, that is caused by a defective enzyme that blocks the metabolism of copper. His earlier research, while an intern at Boston Children’s Hospital, involved maple syrup urine disease. He and colleagues published the first paper on the disease in the journal Pediatrics in 1954.
