John Fahey

1924 - 2014

John Leslie Fahey, MD, MS, of Boulder, CO, passed away suddenly on August 19, 2014. He is survived by his son, James of Cranbury, NJ, daughters Marguerite of Los Angeles, CA, and Catharine of Boulder, CO and his brother Thomas of Aurora, CO. Also his grandchildren, Allison Krouse of Boulder, CO, and Cassidy and Audrey Fahey of Cranbury, NJ. John Fahey was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Leslie and Marguerite Schardt Fahey on September 8, 1924. He joined the U.S. Army in 1943. John had his pre-med education at Ohio State University, followed by Wayne College of Medicine. He was then offered a two-year Fellowship and a Master of Science academic program at Wayne University. This profoundly influenced his career focus on combining science advances with research on the disorders of disease. John completed his Medical Education at Harvard Medical School in 1951. In 1953, he joined the U.S. Public Health Service and the National Cancer Institute at the National Institute of Health (NIH). Dr. Fahey started as a Clinical Associate and progressed to become the initial Chief of the new Laboratory of Immunology in the National Cancer Institute in 1963. He was there 18 years. In New York, he met Jane Adams Bishop, an RN. They were married in St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York City, in 1954. In 1971, John moved to the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Medicine as Professor and Chairman in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. His field was Immunology including both laboratory and clinical domains (cancer, autoimmune disease, immune deficiency and AIDS). He was Department Chair, 1971-1981, and Director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Immunology and Disease (CIRID) at UCLA 1981-2000. At UCLA in 1981, he identified the unique deficiency of T Lymphocyte numbers and functions in the first homosexual patients - the basis for AIDS pathology. Studies focused on immune changes, epidemiology, initial therapies, education and prevention of AIDS. From '95 to 2010, his efforts focused on education and training in immunology and AIDS. In the course of his career, Dr. Fahey collaborated with more than 100 professional colleagues in the USA, 40 in other countries, more than 60 MD or PhD Postdoctoral fellows, in the USA, plus 50 who returned to leadership positions in India, Latin America and other countries. He published more 400 scientific papers. He was active in the American Society of Immunology, Clinical Research Society, American Society for Microbiology, Association of American Physicians and was Co-founder and first President of the Clinical Immunology Society. In 2010 John retired and chose Frasier Meadows Retirement Community in Boulder. He completed three more scientific papers relating to AIDS and prepared "A Professional Career in Biomedical Sciences 1945-2010" which is available at www.johnfaheymd.com. John enjoyed travel especially with members of his family. He enjoyed early jazz and blues, Swing Bands and Italian Operas.