Thomas Andre Shiftan, a force in the San Diego medical community, passionate supporter of the music and arts community, and beloved husband, father, grandfather, physician and friend, passed away on December 1 at his La Jolla home from complications of Parkinson's Disease. He was 79 years old.
Dr. Shiftan was born on May 3, 1946 in New York City, to Ernest and Carola (Skamper) Shiftan, who fled Hitler's Germany to settle in New York City. The senior Mr. Shiftan was a renowned perfumer and vice president of International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF).
A graduate of Scarsdale High School, Dr. Shiftan attended the University of Virginia, where he was an Echols Scholar and active member of AEPi fraternity.
A week before his graduation, he was introduced to Boston native, Maureen Clancy, in her Junior year at Hood College in Maryland. They had their first date six weeks later in Washington D.C., where she was a summer intern on Capitol Hill. A year later, they were married in Boston, MA.
Dr. Shiftan graduated from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1972. In his fourth year, he participated in Columbia's Medicine in the Tropics program, working for three months in a remote hospital in Phebe, Liberia, Africa.
An internship and residency at the University of California San Diego brought the Shiftans to San Diego in 1972. He then pursued a fellowship in hematology, working primarily in the laboratory of John Mendelsohn, M.D. and building lifelong friendships with doctors and scientists from around the world.
In 1977, he was invited by Dr. Christoph Huber to join his hematology lab at the Medizinische Universitat (University of Innsbruck) for a one-year appointment. There, he discovered the rewards of working with patients. He was a beacon for young residents, who felt they could not approach their traditionally didactic superiors for guidance. Dr. Shiftan frequently made rounds with the students and residents, who treasured his wisdom, experience, and good nature. He always viewed the year in Innsbruck as transformational and a highlight of his life.
Returning to San Diego in 1978, he joined Internal Medicine Associates with Drs. James Lasry, Merl Ledford and Michael Lee, providing the group's expertise in hematology and oncology.
In 1990, he joined Drs. Fred Saleh, Robert Barone, Paul Goldfarb and Jurgen Kogler in Oncology Associates of San Diego, where he practiced until his retirement in 2011.
During his decades at Sharp Memorial Hospital, he served as Chief of Medicine, Chairman of the Oncology Advisory Committee, and, from 1993-2011, as Medical Director of Oncology.
But he never lost his interest in research.
In 1990, Dr. Shiftan joined Drs. Ivor Royston and Allan Goodman in founding what became the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center (originally established as San Diego Regional Cancer Center SDRCC). The Center's mission was to integrate scientific discovery, clinical investigation, and patient care. As an oncologist, he witnessed how often promising experimental treatments were unavailable to patients who might have benefited from them.
The cancer center forged a significant affiliation with Sharp HealthCare and established a joint clinical oncology research program to deliver experimental therapeutics to patients in San Diego. It became a pioneering institution in the emerging field of cancer gene therapy.
In 2009, SKCC merged with the nationally recognized Burnham Institute for Medical Research.
Dr. Shiftan's priority was always his family and friends. Sons Nicholas and Benjamin provided him with new careers as Little League coach, soccer coach, ski instructor, birthday party impresario, and La Jolla Country Day School Career Day speaker.
He enthusiastically supported his wife in her career as Food editor/columnist at the San Diego Union and, later, the merged San Diego Union-Tribune. He accompanied her to thousands of restaurants, which she reviewed as restaurant critic for 28 years, writing under the pseudonym Leslie James. She leaned on his notoriously sharp memory, knowing he could easily recall an experience or an ingredient. He never forgot a detail or a flavor.
Dr. Shiftan was also an enthusiastic athlete, equally at home on the Spiral Stairs of Telluride and the Olympic cross-country trail of Seefeld, Austria. He was a menace at the net of a tennis court. He hiked hundreds of miles in the Rockies, San Juans and Sierras, and knew every peak and valley of the Dolomite mountains in northern Italy.
An avid cyclist, he was renowned for being the only member of the peloton to conquer the toughest climbs without pausing.
He loved creating new adventures for friends, proposing in 1989 the first of what would be 20 years of bike safaris. Though the trips were professionally supported, he was revered as the one who could fix any flat tire and repair any chain in any remote location.
Passionate about opera since a student at Scarsdale High, he applied in his junior year of high school to be a supernumerary at The Metropolitan Opera, and cherished being on stage alongside Birgit Nilsson in Tristan und Isolde, and Franco Corelli and Leontyne Price in Aida.
A season ticket holder for The San Diego Opera since 1972, Dr. Shiftan served the Opera in different volunteer capacities. He was a member of the Board of Directors from 2016-2022 and remained a fervent supporter until his death.
He also served on the Board of Directors of the La Jolla Playhouse throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In his role on the Arts and Science Committee, he helped nurture a relationship between the medical/scientific communities and the arts community.
He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Maureen, sons Nicholas (Alexandra) and Benjamin (Ashli) and three grandchildren, Ada, Tommy and Sasha. Even before his first grandchild was born, he knew what he wanted to be called instead of Grandpa: Papageno, the endearing birdcatcher from Mozart's The Magic Flute.
A memorial service is planned at the family home in late May.
In lieu of flowers, donations are suggested to The San Diego Opera or the Sharp Hospital Drs. Fred Saleh and Thomas Shiftan Patient Assistance Fund, or a charity of choice.
Dr. Shiftan was born on May 3, 1946 in New York City, to Ernest and Carola (Skamper) Shiftan, who fled Hitler's Germany to settle in New York City. The senior Mr. Shiftan was a renowned perfumer and vice president of International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF).
A graduate of Scarsdale High School, Dr. Shiftan attended the University of Virginia, where he was an Echols Scholar and active member of AEPi fraternity.
A week before his graduation, he was introduced to Boston native, Maureen Clancy, in her Junior year at Hood College in Maryland. They had their first date six weeks later in Washington D.C., where she was a summer intern on Capitol Hill. A year later, they were married in Boston, MA.
Dr. Shiftan graduated from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1972. In his fourth year, he participated in Columbia's Medicine in the Tropics program, working for three months in a remote hospital in Phebe, Liberia, Africa.
An internship and residency at the University of California San Diego brought the Shiftans to San Diego in 1972. He then pursued a fellowship in hematology, working primarily in the laboratory of John Mendelsohn, M.D. and building lifelong friendships with doctors and scientists from around the world.
In 1977, he was invited by Dr. Christoph Huber to join his hematology lab at the Medizinische Universitat (University of Innsbruck) for a one-year appointment. There, he discovered the rewards of working with patients. He was a beacon for young residents, who felt they could not approach their traditionally didactic superiors for guidance. Dr. Shiftan frequently made rounds with the students and residents, who treasured his wisdom, experience, and good nature. He always viewed the year in Innsbruck as transformational and a highlight of his life.
Returning to San Diego in 1978, he joined Internal Medicine Associates with Drs. James Lasry, Merl Ledford and Michael Lee, providing the group's expertise in hematology and oncology.
In 1990, he joined Drs. Fred Saleh, Robert Barone, Paul Goldfarb and Jurgen Kogler in Oncology Associates of San Diego, where he practiced until his retirement in 2011.
During his decades at Sharp Memorial Hospital, he served as Chief of Medicine, Chairman of the Oncology Advisory Committee, and, from 1993-2011, as Medical Director of Oncology.
But he never lost his interest in research.
In 1990, Dr. Shiftan joined Drs. Ivor Royston and Allan Goodman in founding what became the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center (originally established as San Diego Regional Cancer Center SDRCC). The Center's mission was to integrate scientific discovery, clinical investigation, and patient care. As an oncologist, he witnessed how often promising experimental treatments were unavailable to patients who might have benefited from them.
The cancer center forged a significant affiliation with Sharp HealthCare and established a joint clinical oncology research program to deliver experimental therapeutics to patients in San Diego. It became a pioneering institution in the emerging field of cancer gene therapy.
In 2009, SKCC merged with the nationally recognized Burnham Institute for Medical Research.
Dr. Shiftan's priority was always his family and friends. Sons Nicholas and Benjamin provided him with new careers as Little League coach, soccer coach, ski instructor, birthday party impresario, and La Jolla Country Day School Career Day speaker.
He enthusiastically supported his wife in her career as Food editor/columnist at the San Diego Union and, later, the merged San Diego Union-Tribune. He accompanied her to thousands of restaurants, which she reviewed as restaurant critic for 28 years, writing under the pseudonym Leslie James. She leaned on his notoriously sharp memory, knowing he could easily recall an experience or an ingredient. He never forgot a detail or a flavor.
Dr. Shiftan was also an enthusiastic athlete, equally at home on the Spiral Stairs of Telluride and the Olympic cross-country trail of Seefeld, Austria. He was a menace at the net of a tennis court. He hiked hundreds of miles in the Rockies, San Juans and Sierras, and knew every peak and valley of the Dolomite mountains in northern Italy.
An avid cyclist, he was renowned for being the only member of the peloton to conquer the toughest climbs without pausing.
He loved creating new adventures for friends, proposing in 1989 the first of what would be 20 years of bike safaris. Though the trips were professionally supported, he was revered as the one who could fix any flat tire and repair any chain in any remote location.
Passionate about opera since a student at Scarsdale High, he applied in his junior year of high school to be a supernumerary at The Metropolitan Opera, and cherished being on stage alongside Birgit Nilsson in Tristan und Isolde, and Franco Corelli and Leontyne Price in Aida.
A season ticket holder for The San Diego Opera since 1972, Dr. Shiftan served the Opera in different volunteer capacities. He was a member of the Board of Directors from 2016-2022 and remained a fervent supporter until his death.
He also served on the Board of Directors of the La Jolla Playhouse throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In his role on the Arts and Science Committee, he helped nurture a relationship between the medical/scientific communities and the arts community.
He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Maureen, sons Nicholas (Alexandra) and Benjamin (Ashli) and three grandchildren, Ada, Tommy and Sasha. Even before his first grandchild was born, he knew what he wanted to be called instead of Grandpa: Papageno, the endearing birdcatcher from Mozart's The Magic Flute.
A memorial service is planned at the family home in late May.
In lieu of flowers, donations are suggested to The San Diego Opera or the Sharp Hospital Drs. Fred Saleh and Thomas Shiftan Patient Assistance Fund, or a charity of choice.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Thomas Andre Shiftan, please visit our flower store.
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