
==== Front
Clin Hematol Int
Clin Hematol Int
3084
Clinical Hematology International
2590-0048
SAABRON PRESS Website: Clinical Hematology International

87881
10.46989/001c.87881
Correspondence
Walter Michael Kuehl, MD - October 25, 1939 - April 30, 2023
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1523-7388
Bergsagel Leif Conceptualization Writing – original draft Writing – review & editing 1
1 Department of Medicine, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Scottsdale, AZ, USA
a Corresponiding author, emial: bergsagel.leif@mayo.edu

19 9 2023
2023
5 4 Moving Ahead Anew 1618
31 5 2023
15 6 2023
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
==== Body
pmc180427  

Mike, a long-time member of the NIH community, passed away peacefully on April 30, 2023, after a courageous 12-year batter with renal cell carcinoma. Following graduation from Harvard Medical School, Mike first started working at the NHLBI in the early seventies with Dr. Robert Adelstein studying myosin.1 He went on to post-graduate studies with Dr. Matthew Scharff at Albert Einstein College of Medicine studying immunoglobulin production2 and the effects of somatic cell hybridization in mouse myeloma lines.3 It was during this time (1974) that Mike published several of the very first papers characterizing monoclonal antibodies. The work with Dr. Scharff spurred his long-term interest in plasma cell biology that continued throughout his career. He joined the faculty of the University of Virginia in 1975 where he focused on the regulation of immunoglobulin production in B cell development.4 In 1980 he returned to the NIH, where he learned molecular genetics in Dr. Phil Leder’s lab.5 He was then recruited by Dr. John Minna to develop a new molecular genetics unit at the NCI/Navy Medical Oncology Branch in 1982. He initially studied the role of MYB in hematopoietic differentiation,6 until he turned his attention to understanding the genetics of human multiple myeloma in the mid-nineties.

Together with Dr. Leif Bergsagel, a former postdoctoral fellow and longtime collaborator, Mike identified recurrent immunoglobulin heavy chain gene translocations that form the basis for the molecular classification of myeloma and are routinely assayed in patients’ samples today.7 He also identified the central role of MYC8 and NFKB9 in myeloma progression. It is hard to overstate the importance of these accomplishments in the myeloma field, for which Mike received the prestigious Waldenstrom Award from the International Myeloma Workshop in 2011. Following retirement, Mike continued to be involved in science as an NCI emeritus investigator, reviewing manuscripts, writing review articles, and participating in Dr. Javed Khan’s lab meetings.

With a twinkle in his eyes, a quick smile, hearty laugh, and a joyous enthusiasm for science, Mike left an indelible mark on the people fortunate enough to train in his laboratory

-Source

180428  

Mike freely shared his intellectual insight and unique resources with numerous researchers, contributing to countless studies to understand the signaling networks involved in pathogenesis and drug response in multiple myeloma. He was an inspiring teacher and mentor. With a twinkle in his eyes, a quick smile, hearty laugh, and a joyous enthusiasm for science, Mike left an indelible mark on the people fortunate enough to train in his laboratory including Drs. Ethan Dimitrovsky, Tim Bender, Leif Bergsagel, Marta Chesi, Rafael Fonseca, and Adriana Zingone, as well as his long-time assistant Leslie Brents. For the people that knew him what was most striking was his intellectual acumen, insatiable curiosity, and rigor in approaching a scientific question. As a result, many of his manuscripts were accepted without substantial revision. He maintained an encyclopedic knowledge of all aspects of plasma cell development and often served as a point of reference for others in the field when trying to get to the bottom of a complex scientific question. He was a very helpful and thorough reviewer and took upon himself to always improve, not simply criticize, the submitted works. He was a singular role model for a scientific researcher, always pushing to balance work and family life.

“Don’t postpone joy”

Mike was a remarkable athlete, playing squash well into his late seventies, and taking a cross-country bike ride with his daughter Sarah while in his late sixties. Mike was loved, respected, and admired by his lab members, perhaps highlighted by the fact that he was best man at the wedding of two former post-doctoral fellows, Drs. Leif Bergsagel and Marta Chesi. Mike’s motto was “Don’t postpone joy”, and he never did. We will all miss him greatly.

Written by Leif Bergsagel, with editorial input from Peter Aplan, incorporating comments from David Margulies, Leslie Brents, Lanny Kirsch, Konrad Huppi, Beverly Mock and Javed Khan.
==== Refs
Isolation and characterization of myosin and two myosin fragments from human blood platelets Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Adelstein Robert S. Pollard Thomas D. Kuehl W. Michael Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 11 1971
68 11 2703 2707 0027-8424 10.1073/pnas.68.11.2703 10.1073/pnas.68.11.2703 4256552
Characterization of light chain and light chain constant region fragment mRNAs in MPC 11 mouse myeloma cells and variants Cell Kuehl W. Michael Kaplan Barry A. Scharff Matthew D. Nau Marion Honjo Tasuku Leder Philip 6 1975
5 2 139 147 0092-8674 10.1016/0092-8674(75)90022-7 10.1016/0092-8674(75)90022-7 806346
Somatic cell hybridization of mouse myeloma cells Cell Margulies David H. Kuehl W. Michael Scharff Matthew D. 7 1976
8 3 405 415 0092-8674 10.1016/0092-8674(76)90153-7 10.1016/0092-8674(76)90153-7 821618
Induction of light chain expression in a pre-B cell line by fusion to myeloma cells Nature Riley Sylvia C. Brock Emily J. Kuehl W. Michael Springer Science and Business Media LLC 2 1981
289 5800 804 806 0028-0836 10.1038/289804a0 10.1038/289804a0
A conserved sequence in the immunoglobulin Jκ–Cκ intron: possible enhancer element Nature Emorine Laurent Kuehl Michael Weir Lawrence Leder Philip Max Edward E. Springer Science and Business Media LLC 8 1983
304 5925 447 449 0028-0836 10.1038/304447a0 10.1038/304447a0 6308460
Murine myb protooncogene mRNA: cDNA sequence and evidence for 5' heterogeneity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Bender T P Kuehl W M Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 5 1986
83 10 3204 3208 0027-8424 10.1073/pnas.83.10.3204 10.1073/pnas.83.10.3204 3010282
Promiscuous translocations into immunoglobulin heavy chain switch regions in multiple myeloma Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Bergsagel P. Leif Chesi Marta Nardini Elena Brents Leslie A. Kirby Suzanne L. Kuehl W. Michael Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 26 11 1996
93 24 13931 13936 0027-8424 10.1073/pnas.93.24.13931 10.1073/pnas.93.24.13931 8943038
Diverse karyotypic abnormalities of the c -myc locus associated with c -myc dysregulation and tumor progression in multiple myeloma Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Shou Yaping Martelli Maria L. Gabrea Ana Qi Ying Brents Leslie A. Roschke Anna Dewald Gordon Kirsch Ilan R. Bergsagel P. Leif Kuehl W. Michael 4 1 2000
97 1 228 233 0027-8424 10.1073/pnas.97.1.228 10.1073/pnas.97.1.228 10618400
Frequent Engagement of the Classical and Alternative NF-κB Pathways by Diverse Genetic Abnormalities in Multiple Myeloma Cancer Cell Annunziata Christina M. Davis R. Eric Demchenko Yulia Bellamy William Gabrea Ana Zhan Fenghuang Lenz Georg Hanamura Ichiro Wright George Xiao Wenming Dave Sandeep Hurt Elaine M. Tan Bruce Zhao Hong Stephens Owen Santra Madhumita Williams David R. Dang Lenny Barlogie Bart Shaughnessy John D. Jr. Kuehl W. Michael Staudt Louis M. Elsevier BV 8 2007
12 2 115 130 1535-6108 10.1016/j.ccr.2007.07.004 10.1016/j.ccr.2007.07.004 17692804
