K. FRANK AUSTEN

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Amherst College

K. AUSTEN Obituary

AUSTEN--Dr. K. Frank, of Wellesley, MA, and Damariscotta, ME, a noted physician- scientist in immunology/allergy and rheumatology and mentor to many physician scientists for six decades at Harvard Medical School (HMS), died at his home in Maine on June 23, 2023, at the age of 95. His many contributions to medicine were recognized by his election to the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and by his induction into the Royal Society (UK) as a foreign member. He received numerous awards, including the Gairdner Foundation Award (Canada), the Waterford Prize shared with Bengt Samuelsson, the Warren Alpert Foundation Prize from Harvard Medical School (HMS), and the Kober Medal of the Association of American Physicians. He received honorary degrees from l'Universite Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris, Hofstra Medical School, and Amherst College. He was honored with the creation of an endowed K. Frank Austen Professorship by Harvard University and Medical School and the K. Frank Austen Visiting Professorship at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Dr. Austen served three terms as a trustee for Amherst College and continued to serve for another 18 years as a Life Trustee. Dr. Austen most enjoyed his role as a mentor in postdoctoral education of physicians. He challenged them with difficult questions and supported them with confidence in their ability to unravel the unknown. More than 200 of his students achieved the rank of professor at universities and institutions in the US and abroad. Dr. Austen is survived by his loving wife Joycelyn Chapman Austen, his four children and their spouses, Leslie Parsons (Bill), Karla Austen (Pam), Timothy Austen (Marcie) and Jonathan Austen (Katherine); eight grandchildren and spouses, Matthew (Karyn), David (Caroline), Thomas (Kate), Anna, Elizabeth Parsons, Daniel, Caleb and Eliza Austen; and three great-grandchildren, Isabelle and Charlie Parsons and Louise Mendez-Parsons. He is also survived by his beloved dog Piper.

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Published by New York Times on Jun. 29, 2023.

Memories and Condolences
for K. AUSTEN

2 Entries

Mary Elizabeth Sunday

July 23, 2023

7.23.23
Dr. Austen was the original super-mentor of my first mentor in Toronto, Dr. Bob Orange, who spent 6 years working with Dr. Austen (in Boston). While at the University of Toronto, I spent 2 summers doing research in Dr. Orange's laboratory, then moved to Boston as a first med student at Harvard Medical School (HMS). Dr. Austen taught us about immunology, especially mast cells, eosinophils, and the complement system, which led to a famous skit in our second-year class show, with inflammatory cells degranulating (popping of balloons) and activation of the compliment cascade on stage (Lookin' good!... Love your hat!... So smart!...). Then there was a sudden tragedy in October 1977, Bob Orange passed away, and Dr. Austen kept much of his research alive. The next summer (1978), I worked in Dr. Austen's laboratory, committed to all that I learned, reaching peace with the continuation of science being greater than any of us.
May Dr. Austen rest in peace, realizing that his life's work is continuing in perpetuity. Most importantly, he surely is surely delighting with the angels in his love for his wife Jocelyn, his four children and their spouses, 8 grandchildren, 3 great-grandchildren, and his dog Piper. He has always been a kind and compassionate soul, focused on Jocelyn and the rest of his family, with extension to caring for his dozens of trainees and science itself.
He is sorely missed, yet lives on through his family, everyone who worked with him and learned from him, and the enormous body of science he nurtured, his brainchild, which now has a life of its own.

Joshua A. Boyce

July 2, 2023

I had the great honor of Dr. Austen´s mentorship and was his colleague of over 30 years. His immense passion for science was infectious. He also cared deeply about the people he worked with and was fiercely loyal to his friends, family and colleagues. His contributions to medical science were exponential and will live in perpetuity through the generations of people who he trained. I´m grateful to have known him.

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