Dr. Alexander Gottschalk

Dr. Alexander Gottschalk Dr. Alexander Gottschalk died peacefully on October 5th, 2010 after battling prostate cancer for 5 years. Born in 1932 in Chicago, Alex followed in the footsteps of his parents: Louis Gottschalk, an eminent historian and Fruma Kasdan Gottschalk, a Russian professor. Alex was a pioneer researcher and author who helped to shape modern medical imaging. He worked with the first clinically useful prototype Anger scintillation camera and performed the first dynamic camera studies of the brain and heart using technetium-99m. Dr. Gottschalk also made the first dynamic camera studies of the kidneys. A dedicated researcher, Dr. Gottschalk is author or coauthor of nearly 400 publications including peer-reviewed scientific articles, abstracts, books, and book chapters. For a decade, he was editor-in-chief of the Yearbook of Nuclear Medicine. One of the books he co-authored, "Diagnostic Nuclear Medicine" in 1976, has become a classic reference book in the field. Of his numerous awards, the ones he identified as most dear to him included the gold medals of the Association of University Radiologists (AUR) and Radiologic Society of North America (RSNA), and being named one of America's Ten Outstanding Young Men of 1967 by the Jaycees. Alex loved his work in nuclear medicine and later in MRI at Michigan State Department of Radiology. Mentoring and teaching radiology residents and fellows gave him great joy. He was always available to consult with physicians on MRI, particularly sports injuries. Naturally, he was an avid MSU football and basketball fan, and enjoyed skiing, fishing and golf. He was a beloved husband and father, married to Jane for 50 years with 3 children, Rand Gottschalk (Okemos), Karen Bakos (New York City), Amy Gottschalk (Princeton), and 5 grandsons, all of whom made him very proud. He also loved his many dogs through the years, all German and Aussie Shepherds. A memorial service will take place at 2 p.m., Sunday, November 14, at the Radiology Building on Service Road east of the Clinical Center. Donations in his honor may be made to the Alexander Gottschalk Memorial Fund, in Support of the MSU Radiology Gardens, c/o the Department of Radiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824.