C. WAYNE BARDIN

1934 - 2019

BARDIN--C. Wayne, M.D., One of the true greats of science left us peacefully at his home on October 10, 2019. A pioneer in the field of endocrinology, a gifted mentor, teacher and author, Dr. Bardin's legacy extends beyond his research contributions and over 500 publications. He played a monumental role in his field, leading towards innovative discoveries and practices. His work and legacy go on with the FDA approval last year of Annovera, a three to five year vaginal contraceptive ring and two male contraceptive pills soon to be presented to the FDA. Born on 18 September 1934 in McCamey, West Texas to Jim Bardin and Irene Barnett, Wayne attended school in Odessa, TX where he played football. At the age of 10, his mother tricked him in attending Franz Lehar's opera, "The Merry Widow." Wayne was hooked. His all-time favorite was Puccini Turandot. To save him from further football injuries, the family moved to Fort Worth, where his father took a desk job from his oil company and Wayne attended Pascal High School. From there, he went to Rice University and on to Baylor College of Medicine. Upon graduation, Dr. Michael DeBakey, who wanted to keep Wayne in his service, wrote him an introduction to New York Hospital. He received his internal medicine training at Cornell University, New York Hospital, where he was mentored by Dr. Ralph Peterson, an expert in male reproductive sex steroid metabolism, and enrolled in the Coast Guard. In 1964 at the invitation of Drs. Mort Lipsett and Griff Ross, Wayne moved to the Cancer Institute at the National Institute of Health (NCI NIH). At NCI, he welcomed to his lab, Pierre Corvol of the College de France, his first post-doc trainee. Wayne's resiliency led him to understand the necessity of practicing fundamental research in tandem with clinical research. In 1970, he was recruited to create a new medical school at Hershey and be Chief of the Division of Endocrinology at Penn State University. There, he quickly recruited a group of clinicians and investigators who competed effectively for NIH research funding. In 1972, he was the second (the first being President Nixon) to be granted a visa to visit China at their request to help rebuild their medical infrastructure after the Cultural Revolution. In 1978, John D. Rockefeller III invited him to become the Vice President of the Population Council at Rockefeller University, created to address the need for population control worldwide. As Director of the Population Council's Center for Biomedical Research, Dr. Bardin invited post-docs from all over the world to come to his lab. He developed Norplant, an intradermal implant for contraception in women that would provide effective prevention of fertility over a period of three to five years, as well as other contraceptives such as, Mirena. Major recognition for his achievements earned Dr. Bardin numerous awards across the globe and his election to presidency of the Endocrine Society and American Society of Andrology. Wayne is considered one of the "Giants of endocrinology" over the last 40 years, a great human being, and an inspiration to those who follow in his footsteps. His dry humor, wisdom and gentle kindness is greatly missed by his family, friends and countless colleagues. He is survived by his wife, Beatrice and his daughters Charlotte Merritt and Stephanie Torre, as well as his stepchildren and grandchildren. To celebrate Dr. Bardin's life, a funeral service will be held 10:30am on October 26 at the Church of Heavenly Rest, 1085 Fifth Avenue at 90th street, NYC, NY 10128. Burial will be private. Donations in Wayne's honor may be made to the Endocrine's Society Travel Award Fund or to Planned Parenthood.