|
|
|
Col. James M. Lamiell, M.D.,
San Antonio, Texas
Dr. Lamiell is a Colonel in the Medical Corps of the U.S. Army, serving as Chief of the Department of Clinical Investigations at Brooke Army Medical Center in Fort Sam Houston, Texas. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and earned his M.D. from the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He also holds a Master of Computer Science from the University of Texas and is working on a degree in mathematics.
He has earned a number of awards and decorations from the armed services, including the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm Leaf.
It was during his service at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii 1977-1980 that he was asked to see a woman with polycystic kidney disease (PCK) who claimed her family had von Hippel-Lindau disease. At first they thought she had both VHL and PCK, but eventually they realized that her kidney condition was also VHL. He joined with Dr. Y. Edward Hsia at the University of Hawaii to study all members of this family, both military and civilian. Their study became one of the first and one of the largest systematic studies of a VHL kindred, and initiated the genetic screening work which laid the foundations for the genetics work now going forward at the National Institutes of Health.
"Without question, Hawaiian VHL family members are among the bravest people and patients I have known. As a group, they face the adversity of VHL with admirable courage. After knowing this VHL family and observing them over 15 years, I have learned that although VHL cannot be cured, it can be effectively managed provided all involved have sufficient VHL knowledge, honesty to face VHL problems, and courage to prevail against VHL."
Dr. Lamiell has published widely on VHL 1978 to present, including "Segregation and linkage analysis of von Hippel-Lindau disease among 220 descendants from one kindred" (Amer. J. of Human Genetics, 36:131, 1984); "Von Hippel-Lindau disease maps to the region of chromosome 3 associated with renal cell carcinoma" (Nature, 332:268, 1988); and "Von Hippel-Lindau disease affecting 43 members of a single kindred" (Medicine 68:1, 1989).
He continues to be involved with VHL education. "Few health care providers have experience with VHL, so their VHL knowledge is often inadequate. VHL patients and their families cannot sensibly deal with VHL unless they know what to expect." Dr. Lamiell spoke and participated in the VHL Patient/Provider Conference in Kansas City earlier this year. "The organization has grown and matured considerably, and is very important for those affected by VHL. It is safe to say the VHLFA will endure. Good work!"
Originally published in the December 1994 issue of VHLFF, 2:4 |
