LEOPOLD KOSS

KOSS--Leopold. The President and Board of Trustees of Montefiore Medical Center and the entire Montefiore family are deeply saddened by the passing of our dear friend and cherished colleague, Leopold G. Koss, MD, Chairman Emeritus of the Department of Pathology of Montefiore Medical Center and Professor, Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Koss was a world-renowned physician and cytopathologist, researcher, author, teacher and mentor, whose association with Montefiore began in 1973. Always an advocate for innovation, Dr. Koss led the Department of Pathology for more than 20 years where he created an unforgettable academic legacy. He made indelible contributions to our understanding of human disease patterns, particularly in the area of gynecological pathology and trained hundreds of pathologists during his career. He was a true translational researcher before the term became popular. He would see the pathology clinically and then ask questions, design experiments and search for mechanisms. He passed this on to his trainees especially nurturing those that had, as he called it, a “fire in the belly� to understand human disease by doing research. Born in Poland in 1920, he earned a medical degree at the University of Bern in Switzerland after the war and shortly thereafter came to the United States where he served at numerous prestigious medical institutions before joining Montefiore and Einstein. Our heartfelt condolences are extended to his three sons, Andrew, Michael and Richard, and his four grandchildren. Steven M. Safyer, MD President and CEO, Montefiore Medical Center Allen M. Spiegel, MD Marilyn and Stanley M. Katz Dean, Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University Michael B. Prystowsky, MD, PhD Leopold G. Koss, MD Chair, University Chairman, Department of Pathology, Montefiore Medical Center Professor, Albert Einstein College of Medicine