Joseph B. Nadol Jr.

Joseph B. Nadol Jr., 81, passed away on August 2nd in Needham, Massachusetts. He was loved dearly by his wife of 50 years Ruth Nadol, his sons Joe and Ben, daughters in law Krista and Jen, and grandchildren Joey, Jake, Sam, Charlotte and Benny.

Joe was born in Dedham, Massachusetts, son of Joe Sr. and Rose (Abrahamian) Nadol. Joe Sr. and Rose were loving and dedicated parents who instilled in their son a commitment to help others.

With that as a North Star, following his high school graduation from The Roxbury Latin School in Massachusetts, he pursued an education in medicine: Graduating from Harvard College, and earning an M.D, from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. After years of commitment to his patients and colleagues at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Joe was named Chief`of the Department of Otolaryngology. Shortly thereafter, in recognition of his academic and clinical excellence, he was promoted to Professor of Otology and Laryngology at Harvard Medical School and became an incumbent of the Walter Augustus Lecompte Professorship of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. He was then asked to lead the Otolaryngology department at the Mass General Hospital in Boston. Throughout his tenure, the Otolaryngology department at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary was consistently ranked in the top five nationwide, often #1.

A pioneer in the surgery of the ear and temporal bone, he performed the first-ever cochlear implant surgery in New England. He also had a passion for research. During his college years, he would spend summers in Woods Hole, Massachusetts at the marine biology laboratory working to further fundamental marine biological discovery. It was this passion for research which resulted in an in depth understanding of the pathology of the ear and temporal bone during his time at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. His commitment to research also resulted in his focus on human otopathology and his efforts led to a complete change in our understanding of Meniere's disease. Later in his career, he focused on the histopathology of cochlear implant recipients, reshaping how we understand what happens following implantation. One of his lasting research and training based contributions was the creation of The Joseph B. Nadol, Jr., MD, Otolaryngology Surgical Training Laboratory, which is a state-of-the-art facility at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary offering advanced instruction capabilities for a variety of subspecialties of otolaryngology. He brought this project to life from the ground up, and his dedication helped shape countless young surgeons who trained under his guidance. In fact, his scholarly impact across the course of his career was profound. He published extensively, with more than 5,000 citations.

Joe cherished spending time with his family. He taught his sons to sail during summers in the North Shore of Massachusetts, visited his parents with his wife and his two boys for Sunday dinners, skated together as a family on frozen ponds during winters, taught his sons to play tennis, served as team doctor for his sons' athletic contests and traveled extensively with his wife to see the world and to go antiquing. He was a dedicated and loving son, husband and father determined to support his family and to help them be successful and happy. Joe set the standard for loyalty, honesty, humility and concern for others. His family will be working diligently to hold themselves to the standard he set in order to honor his memory.

Expressions of sympathy may be made in Joe's memory to the Joseph B. Nadol III Roxbury Latin School Scholarship care of Tom Guden (thomas.guden@roxburylatin.org, 617-477-6352) and to the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (https://masseyeandear.org/makeagift/give-now).

Private services will be held to celebrate Joe's life.