FEATURE
The Escobars
Miguel A . Escobar , MD , may just be one of the oldest practicing hematologists in the world . At the age of 87 , he still sees patients regularly in his hometown of Cali , Colombia , where he works in transfusion medicine . Dr . Escobar was the first practicing hematologist in Cali ; spent many years as the dean of the medical school at Universidad Libre de Colombia ; and , until the mid- 1980s , ran a foundation that treated children with leukemia at no cost .
His son , also named Miguel A . Escobar , MD , is a pediatric hematologist / oncologist at Children ’ s Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston , Texas . He is also the medical director of the Gulf States Hemophilia and Thrombophilia Center , a federally funded hemophilia treatment center affiliated with the University of Texas Health Science Center – Houston Medical School .
an interview with the younger miguel escobar
How did your father become a hematologist ? My father was in the first residency class in internal medicine at the University del Valle in Cali , Columbia . I ’ m not sure how he became interested in hematology , but at the time , there were no fellowships in Latin America , so he went to the University of Chicago in 1950 to do a hematology fellowship .
I was born in Chicago , but after he finished his fellowship , my father returned to Colombia to care for my grandfather . I was raised [ in Colombia ], went to medical school there , and then returned to the United States for my residency and fellowship .
What interested you in hematology ? Even in high school I was involved with my father ’ s work ; I went on rounds with him at the hospital and
The younger and senior Miguel Escobar .
to his clinic . I knew early on that I was going to be a doctor , and once I started to understand more of what he does and witness the way he practices – the respect he has for patients and families , his strict adherence to moral and ethical principles – I decided , “ This is what I want to do .” I wanted to be the same kind of doctor .
Does your father have any plans to retire from practice ? I hope so ! He still goes to work every day . Actually , just last week he told me that he was invited to a symposium to give a talk on transfusion medicine , so he ’ s still active in seeing patients and teaching .
Have you had the opportunity to work together ? He was the dean of my medical school and he taught me during hematology rotations . It was amazing because he was the one who handed me my diploma . Of course , he had high standards for me , so I had to live up to them ! I was the top graduate in my class in 1989 .
“ Hematology was always my first choice , and that had a lot to do with my father .”
— MIGUEL A . ESCOBAR , MD
We never worked together after medical school , when our fields diverged – I went into hemostasis and thrombosis , and he does mostly general hematology – but we have written a few papers together .
Did he encourage you to become a hematologist ? He never explicitly told me to ; rather , he encouraged me to do what I felt I would enjoy and where I felt I ’ d be able to help patients and contribute to the scientific community . Hematology was always my first choice , and that had a lot to do with my father . By my first year of medical school , I was already performing bone marrow biopsies with him .
Do you think your children will go into hematology ? My daughter just graduated from high school and definitely wants to be a doctor . She has spent time at the hospital with me – just like I did with my dad – and she might want to be a hematologist , but we ’ ll see how that turns out . never been able to force me to do anything in my life ! [ MN agrees .] They never pressured me , but , growing up , I saw how much my mother and father loved their careers . I loved science , so I applied to medical school . I became interested my father ’ s work and hematology , so I just followed right in his footsteps without him planning it at all !
Was this a sore point with your mother , that you didn ’ t choose pathology ? AN : I ’ m pretty much a carbon copy of my father , so anything I do , she says , “ Oh , just like your father !” It was kind of predestined .
Mohan , how did you react when she chose hematology ? MN : I was surprised ! The first patient she met in clinic at the University of Pennsylvania had sickle cell disease , and the second patient had Diamond-Blackfan anemia . These are the two areas of research I ’ ve been working on for many years . She called and asked for some information and some slides .
AN : My attendings were confused about how I had such detailed research slides in a day . I may have taken credit for them …
Do you ever work together ? AN : I ’ ve published papers with my father over the years , and I recently published a hematology-related paper with my mother . It ’ s a circle of nerdy , family fun .
What would you be if you weren ’ t hematologists ? MN : My first choice was to be a mathematician , and though I ’ m in biology , my background in analytic science and mathematics was helpful . In the late 1960s and ’ 70s , biology was quite a descriptive science ; there was not as much analytic quantitation , so I think having that ability gave me an advantage .
AN : I would be a combination of a teacher and a socialite . On the more serious side , I love teaching , and I wish I could just go to school every day and learn new stuff ; I also like to hang out and wear fabulous things and travel to lovely places .
“ Growing up , I saw how much my mother and father loved their careers ... so I just followed right in [ my father ’ s ] footsteps without him planning it at all !” — ANU NARLA , MD
When asked what compelled them to enter hematology , the younger generations we spoke with issued a common refrain : the love their parents had for their chosen profession . Every day was “ Bring Your Kid to Work Day ,” with many of the interviewees intimately involved with their parents ’ work lives . The connections seemed to grow organically as well . Parents never pushed their children into the family business . That ’ s food for thought for others hoping to keep the blood lines flowing . — By Debra Beck ●
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