Dr. John T Wilson

Dr. John T Wilson, III, a talented, kind, compassionate, and gentle man, passed away peacefully in Shreveport, LA, on March 25, 2023, at the age of 84. He was born on April 27, 1938, in Gainesville, TX, to Stella Tyler Wilson and John T Wilson, II. His family later moved to Wichita Falls, TX, where Wilson attended public school and graduated from Wichita Falls High School in 1956. He then moved to New Orleans, LA, to pursue his education at Tulane University from which he earned three degrees in seven years: BS in 1960, MS and MD degrees in 1963. He loved the city of New Orleans and Tulane University until the day he died.

Following medical school, Dr. Wilson completed his internship and residency in Pediatrics at Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA, after which he pursued a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA. Continuing his passion for research, he completed numerous protocols and studies at the well-regarded National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, and became dual board certified in both Pediatrics and Clinical Pharmacology.

Dr. Wilson served as a Professor of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN. While at Vanderbilt, Dr. Wilson was given the opportunity to advance his research by spending a sabbatical at the prestigious Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.

Early in his career, Dr. Wilson's research findings revealed that 78 percent of drugs lacked sufficient information for use in children. Years of research followed and contributed to Congressional passage of the 2012 FDA Safety and Innovation Act which memorializes Dr. Wilson's lasting impact on children's safety. This Act secures the enhanced labeling of drugs for children which was one of his important career objectives. Additionally, he was invited to the White House where President Clinton personally congratulated him and recognized his ground-breaking work.

In acknowledgment of his lifetime body of work, the Tulane Medical Alumni Association honored alumnus, Dr. Wilson, with the 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the field of pediatrics and child public health. In spite of his many achievements, Dr. Wilson remained humble. At the award ceremony, he complimented his fellow classmates as a strong group of achievers that pushed him to better himself and strive further in his academic studies. Giving a nod to Alice in Wonderland, Wilson told his classmates, "I had to run twice as fast just to stay in the same place with you."

On the international front, Wilson was honored with the Paracelsus Award from the University of Amsterdam for his work on the pharmacokinetics of drugs in breast milk for which he had published numerous peer-reviewed articles and texts.

Dr. Wilson's legacy will continue not only through his personal research but also through those he taught and mentored. Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics, located in Kansas City, MO, created the Dr. John T Wilson Endowed Lectureship Award in Pediatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics. The endowment honors the contributions of Dr. Wilson by hosting an annual lecture, which allows leaders in pediatric clinical pharmacology and therapeutics to share and disseminate new knowledge in a public forum. Funding for this lectureship at Children's Mercy was made possible through a philanthropic gift to the institution from Gregory L. Kearns, PharmD Ph.D., and Kathleen A. Neville, MD, MS, both of Children's Mercy, in recognition of their mentorship by Dr. Wilson.

Dr. Wilson's achievements, awards, and volumes of top-tiered publications are too numerous to list. In short, children all over the world enjoy better health because of his dedication and research. At the time of his retirement in 2015, he was Professor of Pediatrics, Chief of Clinical Pharmacology, and Director of the Children's Clinical Research Center at LSU Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, LA.

On the personal side, it should have come as no surprise to his family that he devoted his life to research. After all, while in high school Dr. Wilson commandeered one of his mother's walk-in closets and turned it into a chemistry lab. Sounds of explosions were common, but thankfully the frequency decreased through the years. He endeared himself to his siblings and their families through his famous crawfish boil each summer at Possum Kingdom Lake in Texas. His children and grandchildren were beneficiaries of his abundant love, and they relished time spent with Pops. Tennis was a sport he pursued from his teen years and still enjoyed his time on the tennis court decades later at Piermont Oaks Tennis Center. John was also committed to ensuring the protection of wildlife, especially wolves. He found great pleasure in raising and showing his Australian Shepherd dogs, and they loved him in return.

He is survived by his wife, Catherine Jacobs; his three children, Lauren Wilson Campbell (Sean) of Richmond, VA, Abigail Wilson Hardin (Wesley) of Huntsville, AL, and his namesake Dr. John Tyler Wilson, IV (April) of Dunn, NC; his stepchildren, Sarah Elizabeth Peterson and Robert Connell Peterson, Jr. both of Shreveport, LA; his brothers Ben Wilson (Pat) of Wichita Falls, TX, and Bill Wilson, of Los Angeles, CA; his sister Gail Wilson Cunningham (John) of Wichita Falls, TX; and 10 grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Pediatric Department, Tulane School of Medicine, Office of Advancement, Attn: Cynthia Hayes, 1555 Poydras Street, Suite 1000, New Orleans, LA 70112.