ASH Clinical News ACN_4.13_full issue_Web | Page 22

Pulling Back the Curtain Richard W. Childs, MD In this edition, Richard W. Childs, MD, talks about his accomplishments in immunotherapy, his role in the response to the 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak, and his several patented inventions. Dr. Childs is a rear admiral (RADM) in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, Assistant U.S. Surgeon General, and the clinical director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Division of Intramural Research in the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Childs at the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps headquarters. What was your first job in the medical industry? During summer breaks from college, I worked as an orderly in a psychiatric ward at Broward General Hospital in Fort Lauder- dale, Florida. I worked in what was called the “closed acute unit,” which housed patients with psychiatric illnesses who were considered to be a threat to themselves or to the community. I performed the typical duties of an orderly – helping transport patients or assisting them with simple tasks – but I also played cards and spent time just inter- acting with them. And if they became violent, I was involved in restraining them. Did you ever consider pursuing a career other than medicine? There’s only one thing that I feel like I could ever have done, and that is to be a physician. It’s been my lifelong passion. Fortunately, I think it’s also something I excel at; I’m good at listening to patients talking about their symptoms, checking labs and collecting in- formation, and generating differ- ential diagnoses. Sometimes I feel like it’s the only true talent I have. I have always been fascinated by the detective work involved in making a medical diagnosis. It’s the biggest challenge in manag- ing and treating patients; once the diagnosis has been made, a big chunk of the challenge disappears. Making a diagnosis requires lis- tening to and synthesizing the facts – and occasionally finding the “zebras” that other people might not consider. Being a clinician is my call- ing, but I think the qualities that make me a good clinician – my creative mind and inventive streak – would also make me a good inventor. In fact, I already hold several patents. 20 ASH Clinical News Tell us about your inventions. The first patent was issued for a portable alcohol detector, which my father helped me develop when I was only 15 years old. This was during the late 1970s and early 1980s, when drunk driving was becoming an epidemic. My father and I had talked about how neat it would be if people could do a self-assessment to determine if they were too inebriated to drive safely. I headed to the library to research methods for assessing the presence of alcohol on one’s breath. The first breathalyzers relied on a chemical reaction: A person breathed into a machine, the breath was pumped through a chemical solution, and the solu- tion would change color in the presence of alcohol. Using these same principles, my father and I developed our device. He did the plastics work and I did the chemistry, figuring out what catalysts were needed to detect alcohol. We created and patented the cartridges to be used in the device, under the trade- marked name “Test and Tell.” We licensed it to a company, and it actually was used by a couple of police departments as an on-site screening tool to test drivers for alcohol consumption. I hold about 10 other patents in the medical field. Inventing things and coming up with new solutions to problems has always been something I’ve enjoyed. What other accomplishments are you proud of? First and foremost, my greatest accomplishment is my family. I am blessed with an incredibly supportive wife and great children who have allowed me to fulfill my role as a physician-scientist and as an officer in the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service. It has taken a personal sacrifice on the part of my wife November 2018