Mary Ellen Beck Wohl M.D.

WOHL, Mary Ellen Beck, MD Of Brookline, professor of Pediatrics, Emerita, and former chief of the Division of Respiratory Diseases at Children's Hospital Boston, on Oct. 9, at age 77. Daughter of a cardiac surgeon and a surgical nurse, Dr. Wohl was born and raised in Cleveland. A graduate of Radcliffe College and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Dr. Wohl became a leader in pediatric respiratory disease. She was a pioneer in understanding the unique properties of newborns' and infants' lungs, focusing on diseases such as bronchopulmonary dysplasia, bronchiolitis and asthma. As a doctor in the trenches, she worked tirelessly to optimize care and outcomes for children with cystic fibrosis and HIV infections. She developed several multi-center clinical trials of new treatments for those diseases, and her work helped validate a number of regimens that are now the standard of care. She began her medical career at Children's Hospital Boston in 1962 and served as chief of the Pulmonary Division from 1980 to 2002, building one of the country's major training programs in pediatric lung disease. She also directed the Cystic Fibrosis Center and served as associate director of the General Clinical Research Center. She is survived by her husband, Dr. Martin J. Wohl, retired Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, their children Alex and Laura; and four grandchildren. A memorial service will be held Nov. 13 at 2:30 pm at Memorial Church in Harvard Yard, Cambridge, followed by a reception at Loeb House. Contributions in her memory may be made to the Pulmonary Division, Children's Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave., Boston, 02115.