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Charles D. Tourtellotte, MD, ‘57 “Honored Professor Award”
As a young man, Charles D. Tourtellotte, MD, ’57, dreamed of a career as a biochemist. At Temple, Dr. Tourtellotte melded his interest in biochemical research with an application to medicine, and has witnessed advances in biochemical treatment of rheumatic disease – to the point now that some of his patients are seeing “dramatic” improvement where there was once little hope of sufficient treatment, let alone cure. “Early in my career, not many physicians were choosing rheumatology as a specialty because treatment modalities were few,” Dr. Tourtellote recalled. “With the discovery of cortisone and its clinical application to arthritis, there was an upsurge, particularly due to the dramatic effect cortisone had on patients. Again, the excitement waned until very recently, with additional knowledge of immunology and immune processes and the emergence of new treatments. Now, as I near retirement, there are cellular inflammatory mediators that have, in many cases, made patients very much better.” Dr. Tourtellotte credits his continuing interest in biochemistry and rheumatology to a professor named Robert Baldridge, MD. “He took me under his wing, and encouraged my interest and Masters degree in biochemistry, which I received along with my medical degree,” Dr. Tourtellotte remembered. “Dr. Baldridge was relatively new then to Temple, having just arrived from the University of Michigan – where I later went for my residency.” “Temple Medicine’s teaching characteristic is nurturing, where professors take a real interest in the younger generation,” he said. It set an example for Dr. Tourtellotte as a professor and mentor, one who encouraged research along with patient care as integral components of a student’s education. Dr. Tourtellotte figures he has taught some 40 fellows in rheumatology over his years at Temple, and most have gone on to be leaders, “chiefs and chairmen,” of rheumatology sections at many of the area’s hospitals. For 33 years (1966-1998), Dr. Tourtellotte served as Temple’s Chief of Rheumatology, all the while providing professional leadership to such groups of the Philadelphia Rheumatism Society, the Philadelphia County Medical Society, the Arthritis