Dr. Nicholas Petrakis

1922 - 2015

Dr. Nicholas Louis Petrakis

Professor Emeritus of Medicine at UCSF, died at home in San Francisco on December 15, 2015 at the age of 93, after a long struggle with Alzheimer's disease. He met this disease with dignity and courage. He is survived by his wife of sixty-eight years, Patricia, his children, Steven, Susan, and Sandra, and five grandchildren: Caitlin Petrakis Childs, Alexander Petrakis Childs; Tyrone Nicholas Petrakis (Jacqueline Baty), Roy Petrakis, Lisa Petrakis, and their mother, Rose Rowan; and by his sister-in-law Julia Petrakis. Nick's younger brother Pete died in 2011. He is also survived by many cousins, nieces and nephews in the USA and in Lakonia, Greece.

Nick was born in Bancroft, IA in 1922 to Louis and Stamata (Boosalis) Petrakis. He and his brother grew up in Sioux Falls, SD, where their parents ran a small grocery store. There he attended Augustana College, where he studied under Dr. Orrin Loftus, an inspirational professor of biology who fostered Nick's interest in science, and encouraged him to pursue degrees in zoology and chemistry. From then on Nick knew that he wanted a career in medical research, a decision which may also have been influenced by the fact that his mother was dying of breast cancer at that time.

At the onset of World War II, Nick had just started a medical degree at the University of South Dakota. He joined the US Navy, which sent him to complete his medical studies in an accelerated MD program at Washington University in St. Louis. He completed an internship at Minneapolis General Hospital where he met his future wife, Patricia Elizabeth Kelly, who was an RN at Minneapolis General. They married in June 1947 and moved to San Francisco where the Navy had assigned Nick to a two-year post at the Hunter's Point Naval Radiation Laboratory.

Nick spent his medical career at UCSF where he was Professor of Medicine. His early clinical interests involved hematology and cancer treatment. His first work for UCSF began in 1950, when he accepted a position with the US Public Health Service at the Laboratory of Experimental Oncology, a cancer-treatment program housed at the Laguna Honda Home, and supported by the National Cancer Institute. In 1953, he moved to the Cancer Research Institute and what was then called the Department of Preventive Medicine at UCSF. In the early 1960s, he shifted the focus of his research to investigating causes and origins of cancer, specifically breast cancer.

Nick was a pioneer in the study of breast fluids and hyperplasia in various racial groups in relation to breast cancer. More generally, he was a strong advocate of the position that epidemiologists should be connected to laboratory studies and should have an understanding of the basic biology of the diseases they were studying.
Nick produced much original and innovative research involving human ecology and the relationship of physiology, genetics, and environmental factors to breast cancer risk.

In 1974 he became chair of the Department of Epidemiology and International Health and director of the Hooper Foundation, a position he held until 1989. He retired from the department in 1992, but continued his research and publishing for another 15 years.

Nick was a generous and enthusiastic mentor who did his utmost to provide opportunities for his students to present their work at conferences, participate in research grants, and help them on their paths to professional careers in medicine and research. His enthusiasm for his own research was inspirational for a generation of students who went on to make important advances in the genetics and epidemiology of cancer.

After a sabbatical year in London, with family in tow, Nick drove from London to Madras, India and then flew to Malaysia. Along the way they stopped to make observations on frequencies of wet earwax in populations across Asia, producing a paper that became a textbook example of a genetic cline, linking the genetics of earwax to breast cancer rates.

His intellectual curiosity was boundless; on the side, he published observations on such topics as the ear-lobe creases found in the portrait busts of Emperor Hadrian. He was a gifted artist who created unique wire sculptures based on classical forms. In his last years he was investigating the ancient Greek concept of the humors and the role of stasis in disease. He was writing a paper on this subject when his disease overtook him.
Nick was a loving husband, father, teacher, and friend who lived a rich and active life doing the things he loved. May his memory be eternal.

A private burial service was held on December 22, 2015. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Memory and Aging Center at UCSF. Please make checks payable to "UCSF Foundation," and include "Memory and Aging Center" in the memo line. Please include "in Memory of Nicholas Petrakis" in your cover note. Checks should be mailed to: UCSF Foundation, Box 45339, San Francisco, CA 94145-0339.