Shaul G. Massry

Shaul G. Massry was a preeminent Israeli-American nephrologist and physician-scientist whose pioneering work fundamentally advanced the understanding of kidney disease and its systemic complications. He had a distinguished career spanning over five decades, primarily at the University of Southern California School of Medicine and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he trained generations of specialists and led groundbreaking research into mineral metabolism and uremia. Massry's investigations into the pathophysiology of secondary hyperparathyroidism and the toxic effects of aluminum in dialysis patients were particularly influential, reshaping clinical practices worldwide.

Biography

Shaul G. Massry was born on October 10, 1931, in Baghdad, Iraq, into a Jewish family. He immigrated to the newly established state of Israel in 1951, where he pursued his medical education. He earned his M.D. degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1958, completing his internship and residency in internal medicine at the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem. Following his clinical training, he served as a research fellow at the University of Southern California under the mentorship of prominent physiologist Louis G. Welt, a move that launched his prolific academic career in the United States. Massry passed away on his 92nd birthday, October 10, 2023, in Los Angeles.

Academic and research career

Massry joined the faculty of the University of Southern California School of Medicine in 1967, rising to become a professor of medicine and the director of the division of nephrology. He later served as the Leona and Harry Helmsley Chair in Nephrology and was a senior physician at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He was a founding member and president of the International Society of Nephrology's Commission for the Global Advancement of Nephrology (COMGAN). Throughout his tenure, he was a prolific editor, serving as the editor-in-chief of the journal Kidney International and the textbook *Textbook of Nephrology*, which became a standard reference. His leadership extended to professional societies, including the American Society of Nephrology, where he was a council member.

Contributions to nephrology

Massry's research made seminal contributions to several key areas of renal physiology and disease. He was a leading authority on the disorders of mineral metabolism in chronic kidney disease, elucidating the mechanisms of secondary hyperparathyroidism and renal osteodystrophy. His work was instrumental in identifying aluminum toxicity as a cause of dialysis dementia and adynamic bone disease in the 1970s and 1980s, leading to major changes in water treatment for hemodialysis and the use of aluminum-based phosphate binders. He also conducted extensive research on the uremic syndrome, exploring the toxicity of parathyroid hormone and other middle molecules, and contributed to the understanding of acid-base balance and potassium homeostasis in kidney failure.

Awards and honors

In recognition of his lifetime of achievement, Massry received numerous prestigious awards from the global nephrology community. He was the recipient of the International Society of Nephrology's highest honor, the Jean Hamburger Award, and was awarded the American Society of Nephrology's President's Medal. He also received the National Kidney Foundation's David M. Hume Memorial Award and the Italian Society of Nephrology's Camillo Golgi Award. His legacy is further honored through the International Society of Nephrology's Shaul G. Massry Prize, established to recognize outstanding contributions to nephrology.

Selected publications

Massry authored and edited hundreds of scientific articles and several influential textbooks. Key publications include his role as editor of *Textbook of Nephrology* (with Richard J. Glassock) and *Phosphate and Mineral Metabolism* (with Eberhard Ritz). His seminal research papers, often published in the *Journal of Clinical Investigation*, *Kidney International*, and the *American Journal of Physiology*, covered topics such as "The effect of parathyroid hormone on uremic neuropathy" and "Aluminum intoxication in chronic renal failure."

Category:1931 births Category:2023 deaths Category:Israeli nephrologists Category:American nephrologists Category:University of Southern California faculty Category:Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni