Dr. Arnold C. G. Platzker, MD

Dr. Arnold C. G. Platzker, a transformative figure in children's respiratory medicine whose research and clinical efforts helped shape modern neonatal and pediatric pulmonary care, died peacefully at his home on November 27th, 2025 in Los Angeles. He was a professor emeritus of Pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) and the Chief of Neonatology and Pulmonology at Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA).
Dr. Platzker developed and led the Neonatal Respiratory Disease Division at CHLA, raising its neonatal intensive care unit to national prominence. Amongst many areas of academic interest and clinical practice, he was particularly known for pioneering the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in critically ill infants and children, advancing care and improving the outcomes for the sickest patients with respiratory failure.
Dr. Platzker was born in New York City on August 26, 1936, at Doctors Hospital to Faye Cassin and Irving Golembe. Following his father's death, his mother married Edward Platzker, who adopted him and his sister, Carol.
He attended the McBurney School and graduated from Brown University ("Ever True to Brown") in 1958. He earned his MD from Tufts University School of Medicine, followed by a pediatric internship and residency at Boston City Hospital under Sydney Gellis, MD. He then completed his senior and chief residencies in pediatrics at Stanford University. Under the Berry Plan, he was commissioned as a Lieutenant Commander and assigned to the Naval Hospital at Camp Pendleton, where he spent two years of military service during the Vietnam War as Chief of Neonatology. Following his term in the Navy, he undertook a fellowship at the Cardiovascular Research Institute (CVRI) at the University of California, San Francisco, under the direction of Julius Comroe, MD, which was formative to his academic and clinical development. He was appointed as an Assistant Professor there before being recruited to the Keck School of Medicine and CHLA.
Dr. Platzker was deeply committed to research. He authored or co-authored more than 70 peer-reviewed papers. His work was supported early in his career by his highly-regarded mentor, John Clements, MD, and Division Chief William (Bill) Tooley, MD, and focused on the role of surfactant in respiratory distress syndrome. He studied the mechanics of diaphragmatic strength and pulmonary outcomes of ECMO in children with respiratory failure.
Dr. Platzker mentored many trainees and early-career faculty. Many of his proteges have led pediatric pulmonary programs around the world. He earned a Faculty Lifetime Achievement Award from USC and served on the board, and was a Gold Lifetime Member of the Retired Faculty Association.
Dr. Platzker had many passions beyond his professional life. He traveled widely with his wife, Marjorie, of 62 years, most frequently to France. He spent many hours nurturing orchids in his greenhouse, tending to his Grenache Noir vines, and watching USC Trojans football.
He is survived by his wife, their two children, David (Susan Inglett) and Elizabeth (Liz) (Steven Kawut), and two cherished granddaughters (Kate Platzker and Eva Kawut). He leaves his sister Carol Gleklen (Donald), Donations in his memory may be made to Brown University (Class of 1958), the Russell L. Caldwell Neighborhood Scholarship Program at the USC Emeriti Center, and the Pulmonary and Sleep Division of CHLA.