In early August, Dr. Barry Brenner, one of my mentors in Boston, passed away at the age of 86. I met him in July 1988 when he came to Mexico as a guest to the nephrology course that was held at the Ignacio Chávez National Institute of Cardiology. Scared to death, I took the opportunity to ask him if I could go to his laboratory to do a postgraduate course in research.
Brenner was the most famous nephrologist in the world. He was a rock star. In addition to his many contributions to the knowledge of the specialty, he was the editor of the book that all residents read with obsession and he was the director of the renal division of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston, one of the most iconic hospitals in the world. You stood next to him and felt the size of a fly.
Doctor Barry M. Brenner
Months later, when I showed up at his office, I realized that I had 42 interviews ahead of me. The first and the last were with him. The others were with 40 different researchers. In the renal division of the Brigham alone there were more than half the researchers than in all of Nutrition! In the final interview, I asked him why he had not spoken with someone who did renal micropuncture. He told me: “If you want to learn micropuncture, you don’t have to come to Boston for that. You can do it with Jaime Herrera in Mexico. If you are going to come to Harvard, it is because you are going to do something that does not yet exist. You come here to innovate in order to make a truly original contribution to knowledge.” With his answer, I realized that I was in front of a person with a different level of thinking.
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Dr. Brenner was an extraordinary individual. Very intelligent, very demanding and with a vision for the future that I have rarely seen. He was a clear example of why in medicine the division between basic and clinical research is ridiculous. Medicine is a continuum. He tackled problems with excellence from the molecular level to the clinical level. When the question required it, he sat down to micropuncture rat glomeruli and generated fundamental concepts for understanding glomerular filtration. Later he used experimental methods to demonstrate in rats that blocking the renin-angiotensin system is useful to prevent the progression of chronic kidney disease and then he himself designed and coordinated the controlled clinical trials that took the studies to the clinic and to FDA approval. He is the only person to have received the highest recognition from the American Society of Nephrology in basic research (Homer Smith Award), in clinical research (John P. Peter Award) and in education (Robert G Naris Award).
Brenner was a complex and difficult individual, because he was very demanding. He did not tolerate mediocrity from anyone. Accordingly, he always excelled in everything he did. One of his qualities was the unconditional support he always gave to those of us who were trained at the Brigham. I treasure the last email I received from him on the occasion of an award ceremony I received in the USA, in which he honored me with a compliment. He told me: “I am so proud of your fantastic career over the years, but I am not surprised, since your brilliance was evident from your time at the Brigham.”
Brenner is one of those teachers for whom one will always feel gratitude. The good thing is that I was able to express it to him while he was alive. I will continue to have it until my own death. Rest in peace, Dr. Brenner.
Dr. Gerardo Gamba
National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition Salvador Zubirán and
Institute of Biomedical Research, UNAM
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