Marek Jan Skoskiewicz

1940 - 2019

1940 - 2019
  Marek Jan Skośkiewicz, M.D., Ph.D., a retired surgeon passed away on July 30, 2019 in Poughkeepsie, New York, aged 79. Dr. Skośkiewicz was born on March 23, 1940 in Warsaw, Poland and received his medical degree in 1962 and his doctorate in 1970 from the Warsaw Medical University. Between 1962 and 1980, Dr. Skośkiewicz was a staff surgeon at two Warsaw University hospitals, and his practice focused on general and vascular surgery, including kidney transplantation.

In 1970 and 1974, he completed two research fellowships at Boston Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Dr. Paul Russell's laboratory. There, Dr. Skośkiewicz pioneered a surgical technique for kidney transplantation in mice. This was a major scientific breakthrough as prior to 1970 most experimental work with organ transplantation had been performed entirely with large animals as the technical challenges involved required animals large enough to complete the operations. The laboratory mouse, however, offered unique opportunities because the genetics of this species is far better known than any other. Dr. Skośkiewicz's kidney transplant technique led to the subsequent development of the heterotopic heart transplant procedure in mice. Since then, both of these techniques have been adopted by laboratories worldwide, yielding information that has been fundamental to the successful transplantation of various organs in humans.

From 1980 to 1982, Dr. Skośkiewicz was a co-director of a Polish medical team staffing the medical facilities in Benghazi, Libya. In 1982, he moved to the United States to work as a research fellow in Dr. Paul Russell's lab at MGH in Boston, but this time his research focused on insulin production by the pancreas. After completing a surgical residency in 1990 at Ohio State University, he started practicing as a general surgeon, first in Baker, Montana and then in Napoleon, Ohio. Throughout his 22 year surgical practice in Napoleon, Dr. Skośkiewicz mentored many medical students from the Medical College of Ohio, who rotated through his practice. In 2000, he was elected as the Henry County Ohio Coroner – an office he held until his full retirement in 2014.

Dr. Skośkiewicz was a remarkable individual, extremely bright and talented, always humble, kind and caring. A gentleman by nature and a man of high moral standards, he was a devoted husband, father and grandfather. He lived and worked professionally on three continents, faced many obstacles but his faith and love for life, family, friends, and colleagues kept him focused. He touched the lives of many and developed strong friendships. In his busy life, he found time for his two passions: beekeeping and woodworking. He will be sorely missed. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Maria, his sons Przemek with wife Edi Brogi and Andrzej with wife Ellen, and his grandchildren Lorenzo, Luke, Jack and Elle. The funeral will be held in Warsaw, Poland on August 20, 2019 at the Church of St. Teresa of Infant Jesus and the Roman Martyrs.