GARY WADLER

WADLER--Gary I., M.D.,

died on September 12, 2017 from complications of multiple system atrophy (MSA), at age 78, in his home in Port Washington, NY. He is survived by his wife, Nancy, daughter Erika, son David, daughter-in-law Julie Dam, and grandchildren Amelie and Theodore. His relentless energy, imagination and focus; his round-the-clock care of his patients; his brilliance as a diagnostician; his work to eradicate doping in sports; and his integrity earned him respect as a visionary, a physician, an educator, and a father. He was the chief exemplar of the family motto, "quod facis, bene fac": what you do, do well. And do it for the greater good: The Executive Office of the President's Office of National Drug Control Policy presented him with the Director's Award for Distinguished Service for playing "a pivotal role in shaping the anti-doping policies of the United States Government" from 1999 to 2009. For many years, he served as an advisor to the U.S. Department of Justice. His commitment to service, in fact, led his family to fondly refer to him as "Dr. Pro Bono." Dr. Wadler graduated from Cornell University Medical College and did his post- graduate training in internal medicine at The New York Hospital. He was Chief Resident in Medicine at North Shore, where he spearheaded the creation of the hospital's inpatient dialysis unit. (A dialysis unit at North Shore was recently dedicated in his honor.) He was a Fellow of the American College of Medicine, the American College of Preventive Medicine, the American College of Clinical Pharmacology, and the American College of Sports Medicine, where he served as a trustee. As Chairman of the American Ballet Theatre's Curriculum Medical Advisory Board, Dr. Wadler oversaw the development of the medical guidelines for the healthy and sound training of ballet dancers across the United States (published as "The Healthy Dancer"). For his groundbreaking work in the field of drug abuse in sports, including his lead authorship of the internationally acclaimed text "Drugs and the Athlete" (1989), Dr. Wadler was awarded the International Olympic Committee President's Prize in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1993. His unique knowledge of the abuse of performance-enhancing drugs led him to play a leading role in the establishment of the World Anti-Doping Association-WADA. For many years, he served as WADA's Chair of the Prohibited List Committee, the group that determines which drugs can and cannot be used in Olympic competition. Dr. Wadler served as a Vice President of the Women's Sports Foundation, Founding Chairman of the Nassau County Sports Commission, and Founding Chairman of the Taylor Hooton Foundation. For more than a decade, Dr. Wadler held the position of Tournament Physician for the U.S. Open Tennis Championships. In addition to his work in sports, Dr. Wadler was Chairman of the College Council at SUNY Old Westbury and a Board Member of Residents for a More Beautiful Port Washington - the Long Island community where he was privileged to serve as Police Surgeon for nearly 20 years. Funeral Services will be held on Thursday, September 14th at 11:30am at Riverside Nassau North Chapels, 55 N. Station Plaza (opposite LIRR), Great Neck, NY 11021. The family will sit shiva at the Wadler home. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to BecauseJewish.com or to the cause of your choice.