Encyclopedia of Bohemian and Czech-American Biography: Volume Iii

© 2016 Miloslav Rechcigl, Jr. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 11/09/2016

ISBN: 978-1-5246-1991-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-1992-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-1990-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016911800

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Contents

NOTABLE PERSONALITIES

XX Medicine

A. Pioneer Physicians

B. Anesthesiologists

C. Cardiologists

D. Chiropractors

E. Dentists

F. Dermatologists

G. Emergency Medicine Specialists

H. Environmental and Occupational Health Physicians

I. Family and General Practitioners

J. Gastroenterologists

K. Gynecologists and Obstetricians

L. Homeopaths & Naturopaths & Osteopaths

M. Internists

N. Nephrologists

O. Neurologists & Neurosurgeons

P. Oncologists

Q. Ophthalmologists

R. Orthopedists

S. Otorhinolaryngologists

T. Pediatricians

U. Physical Medicine, Sports and Rehabilitation Specialists

V. Podiatrists

W. Psychiatrists

X. Radiologists

Y. Surgeons

Z. Urologists

XXI Allied Health Sciences and Social Services

A. Environmental Health and Safety Scientists

B. Family and Consumer Scientists

C. Physical Educators

D. Physical Therapists

E. Nurses

F. Health Administrators

G. Public Health Specialists

H. Clinical Psychologists

I. Dieticians

J. Pharmacists

K. Gerontologists

L. Optometrists

M. Forensic Scientists

N. Bioethicists

O. Social Workers

XXII Agricultural and Food Sciences

A. Animal Scientists

B. Entomologists

C. Ichthyologists and Aquatic Biologists

D. Food Scientists and Technologists

E. Forestry Scientists

F. Horticulturists

G. Plant Breeders

H. Plant Physiologists & Plant Nutritionists

I. Plant Pathologists

J. Soil Scientists & Agronomists

K. Veterinary Scientists

L. Conservationists

XXIII Military

A. American Revolutionary War (1775-1783)

B. American Indian Wars (1775-1890)

C. War of 1812 (1812-1815)

D. War of Texas Independence (1836)

E. Mexican-American War (1846-1848)

F. Border War (1854-1860)

G. US Civil War (1861-1865)

H. Geronimo’s War (1866)

I. Korean Expedition (1871)

J. Nez Perce War (1877)

K. Spanish-American War (1898)

L. Nicaraguan Campaign

M. World War I (1914-1918)

N. Pearl Harbor (1941)

O. World War II (1939-1945)

P. Korean War (1950-1953)

Q. Vietnam War (1960-1975)

R. Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990)

S. Afghanistan War (2001-2014)

T. Iraq War (2003-2014)

U. Peacetime

V. Canadian Military

XXIV Exploration

A. Astronauts

B. Aviators & Navigators

C. Other Explorers & Adventurers

XXV Espionage

XXVI Sports

A. Acrobats and Stuntmen

B. Baseball Players

C. Basketball Players

D. Boat Racers

E. Boxers

F. Car and Motorcycle Racers

G. Figure Skaters

H. Speed Skaters

I. Football Players

J. Golfers

K. Gymnasts

L. Ice Dancers

M. Ice Hockey Players

N. Martial Artists

O. Rowers

P. Sailors

Q. Skateboarders

R. Skiers

S. Soccer Players

T. Sport Shooters

U. Swimmers

V. Table Tennis Players

W. Tennis Players

X. Track & Field Athletes

Y. Volleyball Players

Z. Weight Lifters & Body Builders

AA. Wrestlers

BB. Horse Racers

XXVII Modeling

A. Models

B. Beauty Contestants

XXVIII Recreation

A. Chess Players

B. Card Players

C. Gamblers

D. Philatelists

E. Numismatologists

F. Puzzlers

G. Magicians

General References

Acronyms & Abbreviations

Name Index

NOTABLE PERSONALITIES

XX

Medicine

A. Pioneer Physicians

Leopold Adler (1828-d.), b. Prachatice, Bohemia, was the first Czech physician in Milwaukee, where he practiced s. 1862.

James Anderson (1752-1820), b. MD, desc. f. Augustine Heřman. Physician trained under his father and at Philadelphia and Edinburgh. He returned to Maryland and opened an extensive medical practice at Chestertown. He was actively engaged in practicing medicine for more than 30 years.

František J. Arzt (1843-d.), b. Česká Třebová, Bohemia, who studied medicine in Vienna, in 1866 arrived in America and initially settled in Cedar Rapids, IA. In 1867 he came to St. Louis, MO, where he opened his medical practice.

Samuel Siegfried Karl Ritter von Basch (1837-1905), b. Prague, Bohemia, was a physician who was best known as the personal physician of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico and the inventor of the blood pressure meter (also known as sphygmomanometer). Basch was educated at Charles University in Prague and the University of Vienna. In 1857 he studied chemistry at the laboratory of Ernst Wilhelm von Brücke in Vienna, and five years later began the practice of medicine. In 1864, Basch was appointed chief surgeon of the military hospital at Puebla, Mexico. Soon after that, he was appointed as Maximilian’s personal physician. Basch remained with Maximilian until the Emperor’s execution by firing squad at Querétaro on 19 June 1867.When Maximilian realized that a few days at the most would decide his fate, he commissioned Basch to keep daily records of all that happened. When the Emperor and his entourage were betrayed to Benito Juárez by Colonel Miguel Lopez on 14 May 1867, Basch rushed to saddle his horse, but was at once overpowered by the Mexicans. Basch lost most of his memoranda, saving only cursory notes. After the execution of Maximilian, he returned to Austria with the Emperor’s body, arriving on 26 November 1867 on the Elizabeth. In 1870 Basch was appointed lecturer on experimental pathology at the University of Vienna, and in 1877 assistant professor. He was ennobled by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria for his share in Maximilian’s enterprise.

Wenzel Blumrich (1812-1862), b. Frydlant, Bohemia, a physician, settled in Grand Rapids, MI in 1848, where he opened a medical practice. He was a highly educated man, proficient in Latin, German, French and Spanish.

Samuel ‘Semmi’ Brandeis (1819-1899), b. Prague, trained as a physician at Univ. of Vienna, had a flourishing practice in Madison, IN (s. 1849), at a time when cholera was prevalent there. In 1852 he removed with his family to Louisville Kentucky. In 1860 he occupied the chair of Clinical Medicine in the Kentucky School of Medicine but discontinued that work at the outbreak of the Civil War.

Jacob George Bruckman (1800-1885), b. Loštice, Moravia, was a physician, trained in Prague, where he graduated in 1831. He immigrated to the US in 1840, settling in Salisbury, Somerset Co., PA. He practiced medicine there for twenty-seven years. Thence he removed to Monroe Co., PA. He married Sarah Lindeman, with whom he had four children. His daughter Rebecca married Dr. Americus Enfield.

Philip Bruckman, b. Plzeň, Bohemia a physician, immigrated to America around 1842, settling in NYC, where he opened a medical practice. He apparently had a large Bohemian clientele. He was married to Henrietta (née Kahn) Bruckman(1810-1888), also from Bohemia.

Anton Hugo Chládek (1796-1873), born in Zámrsk, Bohemia, studied medicine in Prague and Vienna, was a pioneer American physician. He practiced medicine in Manitowoc, WI, Cedar Rapids, IA and Chicago.IL.

F. A. Deschauer (1857-1900), b. Chicago, IL, of Bohemian ancestry, was a dentist. He became associated with his uncle, Dr. Joseph Deschauer, one of the pioneer and leading dentists in the city. At the time of his death, he had been practicing in his native city for 28 years.

Joseph Deschauer (1822-1890), b. Cheb, Bohemia, was a pioneer dentist. His early years, until he reached the age of fourteen, were spent in the public schools of Cheb, and after passing through the high school, he entered the Polytechnic University, from which he graduated in his seventeenth year. After spending several years in travel through Germany and Switzerland, perfecting himself in his profession, he returned to Vienna, and then began the study of dentistry under the direction of Dr. Carabeli, of Vienna, with whom he remained three years, until the agitation incident upon the revolution in 1848 compelled him to leave that city. Returning home, he practiced until 1856, when he came to Chicago, where he had since resided. At the great fire he lost what he had accumulated, but since then again acquired a fortune.

Anthony Michael Dignowity (1810-1875, born nr. Kutná Hora, Bohemia, came to US in 1832 and read medicine at Natchez, MS and Cincinnati, OH. After moving to Talequah, Indian Territory, he practiced there and then moved to Illinois Falls, AK. In 1846 he volunteered for service in the Mexican War and then practiced in San Antonio, TX.

Washington Emil Fischel (1850-1914), b. St. Louis, MO, of Bohemian ancestry, received medical education at St. Louis Medical Coll and Univ. of Prague, Vienna and Berlin. He was in private practice in St. Louis (s.1907). He also held the position of prof. of clinical medicine at Washington Univ. Medical Coll. (s. 1871). He was one of the founders of St. Louis Skin and Cancer Hospital.

Jacob A. Flexner (1857-1934), b. Louisville, KY, of Bohemian ancestry, was a graduate of Louisville Medical Coll. He was a pioneer in medical practice. He was the first physician in his county to apply diphteria antitoxin as soon as it was discovered.

John A. Habenicht (1840-1918), b. Čáslav, Bohemia, was educated at Univ. of Prague and later at Leipzig. He engaged in medical practice and in 1869 came to Chicago, Illinois. In 1880, he came to Wilber, Nebraska; in 1887 he moved to Schuyler and in 1890 again to Wilber, having lived in the meantime also in Dodge and possibly in other places. He did not stay long in Wilber the second time. In 1898 he returned finally to Chicago, where he died. Dr. Habenicht was rather an unusual man, an ardent lover of literature and the dramatic art. He devoted thirty years of his life to writing a history of the Czechs in the United States. He was a great admirer of Napoleon and in his large library were to be found any books he had ever heard of about his favorite hero.

Anton Nicodem Haňka (1813-1904), b. Teplice, Bohemia, trained as a physician at Univ. of Prague sailed to US in 1854 and eventually settled in New Ulm, TX, where he served for many years as a physician to the pioneer settlers. The Hankas later moved to Nelsonville, where he continued to serve the community.

Constantine Hering (orig. Hrinka) (1800-1880), b. Oschatz, Saxony, of Moravian ancestry, received medical education at Univ. of Wűrzburg. He came to Philadelphia in 1833, where he founded a homeopathic school, the first of its kind in any country. From 1845 till 1869 he filled the chairs of institutes of medicine and materia medica in the Philadelphia College of Homeopathy.

Wenceslaus James Hovorka (1857-1936), b. Bohemia, was a physician and surgeon, who attended public schools at New Prague, MN (1872-80). He entered medical dept. of Univ. of Minnesota in 1894, graduated from medical dept Hamline Univ. in 1897. He conducted drug business in St Paul (1884-97); practiced medicine exclusively at Glencoe and Silver Lake, MN (1897-1903); in drug business in St Paul (s. 1903). He was Supreme medical examiner for Western Bohemian Catholic Assn.

Henry Illoway (1848-1937), b. Kolín, Bohemia, received medical training at Miami Med. Coll. and in Cincinnati. He was a resident physician at Cincinnati Hospital (1869-70) and prof. of children’s diseases at Cincinnati Coll. of Medicine and Surgery. Later he established a practice in New York City. He was a pioneer in the field of gastroenterology and he opened a private clinic for the poor. He was the author of Constipation in Adults and Children (1897) and The Summer Diarrhea of Infants (1904).

Moses Seligman Kakeles (ca 1820-1903), b. Prague-Libeň, Bohemia, was a surgeon, who had his own practice in New York City. He was instructor in clinical surgery.

Joseph Kornitzer (1824-1906), b. Nové Město nad Váhom, of Moravian parents, a noted physician, opened an office in NYC in 1868. He removed to Topeka, KS, then Cincinnati, OH and eventually settled in New Mexico. He was first to apply hypodermic treatment in Asiatic cholera (1868), first to apply antiseptics in eruption diseases and first to apply electrolysis in tuberculosis.

Hans Kudlich (1823-1917), b. Uvalno, Silesia, in 1854, immigrated to the US, settling in Hoboken, NJ, where he opened his medical practice.

Joseph Lewi (1820-1897), b. Radnice, Bohemia, the Univ. of Prague trained physician, settled in Albany, NY in 1849. There he was appointed to the staff of the Albany Hospital, and became a member and later president of the Albany County Medical Society. During the Civil War he organized the local branch of the Union League and served as a member of the commission for the examination of surgeons for the volunteer army.

Stanislaus v. Martinitz (1845-d.), b. Bohemia, was orig. trained as a physician at Grad. School of Medicine at Goethen. He emigrated to US in 1869 where he began practicing medicine. Subsequently he returned to Prague to attend clinics of the Univ. of Prague and also took a course at Chicago Med. Coll. He had a successful practice at Cedar Rapids, IA. In 1893 he was appointed a member of adv. council of med. dept. at the World’s Congress of the World’s Columbian Exposition.

George Edward Mitchell (1781-1832), a noted American politician from Elkton, MD, graduated from the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in 1805. He practiced medicine in Elkton from 1806 to 1812.

Leopold Franz Morawetz (1818-1892), b. Roudnice nad Labem, studied medicine at Univ. of Prague and in Vienna. He settled in Baltimore, MD in 1849, where he practiced medicine till his death.

James Cheston Morris (1831-1923), b. Philadelphia, PA, desc. f. Augustine Heřman, graduated from the Univ. of Pennsylvania (A.B., 1851; A.M., 1854) and from the Dept. of Medicine (M.D., 1854). From 1856 to 1872, he worked as a physician with several organizations, including the Foster Home for Children, the Moyamensing House of Industry, and the Episcopal Hospital. He also served as a contract surgeon for the Union Army from October 1862 to August 1863.

Simon Pollak (1814-1903, born in Domažlice, Bohemia, was Univ. of Prague trained physician, who immigrated to the US in 1838 and settled in St. Louis, MO. He was the first in the city to specialize in ophthalmology. He played a key role in advancing education for the blind and visually impaired as one of the founders of the Missouri School for the Blind and was the first to introduce the Braille system of reading for the blind in the United States.

Joseph Prošek (1836-d.), b. Bohemia, a physician, initially practiced in Cleveland, OH. He later moved his practice to San Francisco, CA. He became quite prosperous, partly because of his business ventures. He owned a sawmill and an olive oil press, planted vineyards; his winery produced quality wines and vinegars.

Joseph Herman Romig (1872–1951), b. Edwards Co., IL, a frontier physician, descended from Moravian immigrants who had settled in Tuscarawas County, Ohio. He grew up with nine brothers and sisters on the Chippewa Mission Farm near Independence, KS. The Moravian Church sponsored his medical training at the Hahnemann Medical School in Philadelphia in exchange for a pledge to serve for seven years as a doctor at a mission. After getting married in 1896, the couple moved to Bethel, Alaska to join Joseph’s older sister Edith Margaret and her husband John Henry Kilbuck as missionaries to the Yupik people. For a time, Romig was one of the only physicians in Alaska. He became known as the ‘dog team doctor’ for traveling by dog sled throughout the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in the course of his work. In 1903, with his term of missionary service complete, Romig relocated the family to San Francisco, CA. He was there for the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and ran an emergency hospital in the aftermath. In 1906, he moved back to Alaska to take a job as a company physician in Nushagak. He also worked for a time as a United States Commissioner before moving to Seward to open a small hospital. In the 1920s, he worked as chief surgeon at the St. Joseph’s Hospital in Fairbanks before setting up a hospital in Nenana for the Alaska Railroad. In 1930, he was asked to head the Alaska Railroad Hospital in Anchorage. When his son, Howard, returned from Stanford Univ. Medical School, they went into private practice together. Joseph Romig was elected Mayor of Anchorage in 1937, serving a single term. In 1939, Romig was appointed chief surgeon at Anchorage’s newly constructed Providence Hospital at Ninth and L Street. He retired shortly thereafter, purchasing land on what would later be called Romig Hill. From his log cabin on the property, he started a ‘Board of Directors Club’ which eventually provided the founding members of the Anchorage Rotary Club.

Marcus Rosenwasser (1846-1910), b. Bukovany, Bohemia, received medical training at Univ. of Prague. He practiced medicine in Cleveland (s. 1896), becoming one of the city’s leading gynecologists. In 1888, he began his career as teacher of gynecology, with the title of Professor of Medical and Surgical Diseases of Women in medical dept. of Wooster Univ., of which he was for many years a dean. Later he was professor of diseases of women in the medical dept. of the Ohio Wesleyan Univ. He was a public health officer for Northern Ohio and president of the Cleveland Board of Health. As gynecologist, he was a national figure in his advocacy of the delayed treatment of ectopic pregnancy.

George Edward de Schweinitz (1858-1938), b. Philadelphia, PA, of Moravian ancestry, was Univ. of Pennsylvania trained physician. He was ophthalmic surgeon at Children’s Hospital (1885) and Orthopedic Hospital and Infirmary for Nervous Diseases (1886) and Philadelphia General Hospital (1881). He held chairs of ophthalmology at Philadelphia Polyclinic and Coll. for Graduates in Medicine at Jefferson Med Coll. In 1902 he was appointed prof. of ophthalmology at Univ. of Pennsylvania. He was the author of Diseases of the Eye (1892), published in 10 editions, which was considered the best book in the field.

Samuel L. Shober (1761- 1797), b. Bethlehem, PA, of Moravian ancestry, received his degree of MD at College of Philadelphia, later University of Pennsylvania. He located in Philadelphia, where he became an eminent physician.

Frank Slopanský (1845-1900), b. Bohemia, in 1867, began the study of medicine in Racine, Wisconsin. After completing his medical education (1872), he removed to Kansas, settling at Cuba, Republic Co., where he took up the first homestead at New Tabor. There he began practice but afterward again became a resident of Cuba, where he built the first drug store.

Lewis W. Steinbach (1851-1913), b. Vysoká, Bohemia, was trained as a physician at Jefferson Medical Coll. He was prof. of clinical and operative surgery, Philadelphia Polytechnic, secretary and later president of Polytechnic Clinic Faculty. He was a recipient of gold medal for the best report of the surgical clinics at Pennsylvania Hospitals.

Albanus Logan Styer (1825-1902), b. Montgomery Co., PA, of Bohemian ancestry, studied medicine at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia (M.D., 1849). He had his practice in the village of Montgomery Square, PA and in his later years he resided at ambler, PA, where he also owned a farm on which he conducted extensive operations, and in addition he was the proprietor of a drugstore there.

William Taussig (1826-1913), b. Prague, Bohemia, studied medicine at Univ. of Prague and Pope’s Medical College. He then started medical practice in St. Louis. During a cholera epidemic in 1849, he served the city as assistant physician and apothecary at quarantine. In 1851 he moved to Carondelet, where he soon built up a very extensive practice. In 1852 he was elected mayor of the city, and held that office until failing health compelled him to retire from the position, and also to give up his large medical practice.

Francis A. Valenta (ca 1825- 1870), b. Moravia, a physician, who came to Chicago in 1849, had his medical practice in Chicago s. 1851. Later on he also established his pharmacy on the corner of State and Van Buren Streets. His knowledge of German enabled him to practice medicine especially among Germans. After fourteen years of medical practice, he was quite rich and returned to Bohemia, reportedly with some $50,000.

Charles Winternitz (1843-1959), b. Bohemia, was trained as a physician at Univ. of Vienna. After coming to Baltimore, MD, he became a resident physician at Hebrew Hospital, Baltimore, for five years from its foundation (1868-73) and a medical examiner for Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (s. 1869).

Elias Wollin (aft 1710-d.), b. Bohemia, a ‘chirurgeon,’ came to US in 1740 and practiced dentistry in NYC. He is the first medical practitioner known to have arrived in the New World from Bohemia. In 1741 he was living in a house on Stone St.

Jan Zvolánek (1815-1890), b. Sobínov, Bohemia, was not only a pioneer Protestant minister in Texas, he was also a pioneer physician there. Zvolánek received his education as a physician in Vienna and, at his mother’s insistence, studied theology at Basel. When he and his family settled at San Felipe, Zvolánek bought a house and practiced medicine.

B. Anesthesiologists

Xenie Viktorie Bogaerts (1935-), b. Prague, Czech., received medical education at Charles Univ. She practiced anesthesiology at Jackson Heights, NY. She was also asst. prof. of anesthesiology at Albert Einstein Medical School, Bronx, NY.

Charles David Boucek (1953-), b. Pittsburgh, PA, of Czech ancestry, attended the Univ. of Chicago and the Univ. of Pittsburgh (B.S. 1974). He is a graduate of Temple Univ. Medical School (M.D. 1978), with completed residencies in internal medicine at Presbyterian Univ. Hospital (Pittsburgh) and in anesthesiology at the Univ. of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians. He was the founding medical director of the Center for Pain Evaluation and Treatment of the University of Pittsburgh. He is currently an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at the Univ. of Pittsburgh and is the coordinator of the Anesthesiology Grand Rounds program. He is a member of the Liver Transplantation and Thoracic Anesthesia Teams. His interests include abdominal transplantation, Medical Education, simulation training, and medical ethics.

Joseph Alfred Doubrava (1939-), b. Cleveland, OH, studied medicine at State Univ. of New York, Buffalo (M.D., 1959). He is licensed to practice in Nevada and Arizona. He is Board certified in anesthesiology. He practices anesthesiology, specializing in pain control, in Las Vagas. NV.

Tomáš Drábek (1966-), b. Prague, Czech, received medical training (M.D., 1991) and additional training in neuroscience (Ph.D., 2013) at Charles Univ., with residency in University hospitals in Prague. He was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Minnesota (2001-2002), before joining Univ. of Pittsburgh in 1944. He became asst. professor in the dept. of anesthesiology (2007-13), advancing to assoc. professor (s. 2013). He is engaged at the Safar Center for Resuscitation Research, University of Pittsburgh and his research focuses on hemorrhagic shock and resuscitation from both traumatic and non-traumatic cardiac arrest (CA). His group has developed a breakthrough concept of emergency preservation and resuscitation (EPR) that uses cold aortic flush to induce deep hypothermia, thus decrease metabolic demands to preserve the organs, and buy time for transport and damage-control surgery. Delayed resuscitation is then achieved via cardiopulmonary bypass. Drábek developed a rat EPR model to elucidate mechanisms associated with ischemia-reperfusion injury, and to test novel therapies. In a separate aim, Drábek’s research is focused on novel biomarkers and therapies for critically ill patients in sepsis.

Alena Fabian 1939-), b. Czech., studied medicine at Charles University in Prague (MUDr., 1963). She completed internship at Sparrow Hospital (1971) and residency in anesthesiology at the University of Michigan (1974). She joined Physician Anesthesia Service, PC in 1974. She was certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology (1978) and licensed to practice in Michigan and has practiced anesthesiology in Lansing. Dr. Fabian is a member of the Clinical Faculty of Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. She was chair of the Department of Anesthesiology at Sparrow and St. Lawrence Hospitals until December of 2001.

Vladimír Formánek (1961-2013), b. Plzeň, Czech., earned his medical degree from Charles University in Prague and completed initial training in his native country. He then completed his residency in anesthesiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), followed by a fellowship in thoracic anesthesia. He then joined the BWH staff (s.1992). Dr. Formanek was one of few anesthesiologists who performed a variety of cases—cardiac, thoracic and general. He ran the floor in the OR, was head of the Anesthesiology Faculty Board and took more calls than anyone, up until the time he was diagnosed with a brain tumor in December 2008. Dr. Formanek always sought to share his talents and volunteered regularly for medical missions that brought him all over the world to care for those in critical need. In addition to Team Heart, he volunteered with Partners in Health, the Global Smile Foundation and Medical Missions for Children.

Ernest O. Henschel (1921-1979), b. Vienna, received his medical training at Univ. of Prague. Dr. Henschel became a Professor and Chairman of the Department at the Medical College of Wisconsin in 1966.It was a post he would hold until his death from cancer in 1979. His contributions to the field of anesthesiology included investigations for improved methods for the delivery of anesthesia and for avoiding complications during surgery and post operatively.

Jiří Horák (ca 1962-), b. Czech, studied medicine at Purkyně Univ. (MUDr. 1988). with internship in internal medicine at Medical College of Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia (1995-96); residency in anesthesiology and critical care at University of Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia, PA (1996-99); and fellowship in critical care (2000-01) and in cardiothoracic anesthesia (1999-2000), critical care (2000-01) and in pain and pain and obstetric anesthesia (2001-02), all at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia, PA. He is asst. professor of clinical anesthesiology and critical care at the Hospital of the Univ. of Pennsylvania. He is also a staff anesthesiologist and director of cardiothoracic intensive care unit.

John Andrew Jenicek (1922-2009), b. Chicago, IL, of Czech ancestry, was Univ. of Illinois trained physician. He was chief of anesthesiology. and oper. service, Walter Reed Army Hospital (1962-67); with Univ. of Texas Med. Branch, Galveston (s.1967), as prof. of anesthesiology (s.1972).

Alice Kahan (1935-), b. Brno, Czech., graduated from Medical College of Pennsylvania (M.D., 1960). She is a Board certified anesthesiologist. She practices in White Plains, NY.

Eva M. Kavan (1916-2010), b. Prague, Bohemia, obtained medical training at Charles Univ. She was with UCLA (1958-65); with Univ. of Washington (1965-68); as prof. of anesthesiology, Drew Univ. (1975-77).

Hugo Keszler (1916-1994), b. Břeclav, Czech., received his medical training at Charles Univ. (Abs., 1939) and at Oxford Univ. (M.D., 1943), with additional training in Prague (CSc./Ph.D., 1960). He was with Univ. of Pittsburgh, where he held the position of prof. of clinical anesthesiology.

Miroslav M. Klain (1927-), b. Hradec Králové, Czech., was trained as a physician at Charles Univ. (MUDr., 1951). He also holds Ph.D. degree. He escaped from communist Czechoslovakia in 1968 and found refuge in the US. He has been associated with Univ. of Pittsburgh, as. prof. of anesthesiology.

George J. Lesikar (1942-2007), b. Braunfels, TX, of Czech ancestry, received his medical training at Univ. of Texas, Galveston (M.D., 1968). He was staff anesthesiologist, Scott & White Clinic, Temple, TX (1975-78); St. Francis Hospital, Tulsa, (s. 1978).

Peter Markalous (1927-2002), b. Prague, Czech., received his medical training at Charles Univ. (MUDr., 1951). He resided at Orangeburg, NY. He retired as anesthesiologist from the Mt. Sinai and St. Joseph Hospitals, NY. He was associated with Seton Hall Univ., where he held the position of clin. assoc. professor.

Diana O. Miller (1967-), b. Žatec, Czech., received medical education at Charles Univ. School of Medicine, Pilsen. She is resident physician at Univ. of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore.

Karel J. Novak (1931-), b. Czech., received medical training at Charles Univ. He has been with Univ. of Illinois (s. 1969), as clin. prof. of anesthesiology (s.1971). He was also on staff of Luther General Hospital, Park Ridge, IL (s. 1970).

Stanislav Pautler (1929-), b. Prague, Czech., was trained as a physician at Charles Univ. (MUDr., 1953) and as a psychiatrist (CSc./Ph.D, 1962).He practices anesthesiology in Pittsburgh. He was with Presbyterian Univ. Hospital, Pittsburgh (1974-76); as dir., dept. of anesthesiology, St. Francis Med. Center, Pittsburgh (s. 1979); as assoc. clin. prof. of anesthesiology, Univ. of Pittsburgh (s. 1971).

Rostislav Pavlik (1972-), b. Bohumín, Czech., received medical training at Palacký Univ. and SUNY Downstate, Brooklyn, NY with advanced clinical training in pediatrics anesthesia and obstetric anesthesia. He practiced anesthesiology at Northern Colorado Medical Center, Greeley, CO (2006-08); Union Anesthesia, Union, NJ (2008-09); Longmont United Hospital, CO (s. 2009). Scope of his practice includes: general anesthesia, pediatrics anesthesia, obstetric and regional anesthesia.

Hugo Polak (1926-), b. Hradec, Czech., received his medical education at Charles Univ. (MUDr., 1950). He was associated with St. John’s Hospital, NY.

Alena Marie Polesný (1911-2007), b. Prague, Czech., received her medical education at Charles Univ. (MUDr., 1937). She specialized in dentistry which she practiced until immigrating to the United States, at which time she became an anesthesiologist, training at Deaconess Hospital, Flushing, N.Y., and practicing and teaching in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the NY State Medical Center in Albany and becoming chief of anesthesiology at Child’s Hospital in Albany, NY. Her family arrived in the United States on November 9, 1952 and lived in Flushing N.Y., Cincinnati, Ohio, and Schenectady, NY.

Edwin Russell Ruzicka (1914-d.), b. Baltimore, MD, of Bohemian ancestry, studied at Univ. of Maryland. He was an anesthesiologist, with N.E. Deaconess Hosp., N.E. Bapt. Hosp., Glover Memorial Hosp., Needham, MA, 1946-58; with Meml. Hosp., Easton, MD (s.1958).

Peter Safar (1924-2003), b. Vienna, of Czech ancestry, received medical training at Univ. of Vienna. He practiced medicine, specializing in anesthesiology and critical care, Baltimore (1954-61) and then Pittsburgh (s. 1961). He was with Johns Hopkins Univ. (1954-61); as prof. of anesthesiology and dept. chair, Univ. of Pittsburgh (s. 1961), dir., resuscitation, res. inst. (s.1978). He is credited with pioneering cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Luboš Triner (1930-), b. Hostomice, Czech., received medical training at Charles Univ. He has been an attending anesthesiologist at Columbia Univ. Coll. of Physicians & Surgeons (s. 1974) and Presbyterian Hospital, NYC (s. 1974). He has had an academic appointment at Columbia Univ. (s. 1974), as prof. of anesthesiology (s. 1986).

Karl Frederic Urbach (1917-2003), b. Vienna, of Bohemian ancestry, was trained as a chemist and physician at Northwestern Univ. He was with PHS Hospital, Staten Island, NY. (1950-69), as chief of dept. of anesthesiology (1955-69); chief of anesthesiology, PHS Hospital, San Francisco and dir. of Hospital (1971-80).

C. Cardiologists

William Vincent Blazek (1933-2015), b. Berwyn, IL, attended St. Mary’s College in Winona Minnesota and graduated from Marquette University School of Medicine (Medical College of Wisconsin) in 1958. He completed an internship and residency at the University of Illinois in Chicago from 1958 to 1961, and was awarded a National Institute of Health Fellowship in Cardiology from 1961 to 1963. He served as a Captain in the US Army at Fort Bragg North Carolina from 1963 to 1965. He practiced internal medicine and cardiology in Chicago and suburbs throughout his professional career, serving as the director of Cardiology at Lutheran General Hospital. On the faculty of the medical schools at the University of Illinois, University of Chicago and the Chicago Medical School (now Rosalynn Franklin School of Medicine) he educated generations of medical students, residents and fellows. Following retirement, he continued to pursue his passion for medicine, practicing at the Volunteers in Medicine Clinic at Hilton Head.

Mark M. Boucek (1949-2009), b. US, of Czech ancestry, earned his medical degree from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and completed his internship and residency in the department of pediatrics at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He then finished his fellowship in pediatrics within the section of cardiology at the University of Utah College of Medicine. He served as assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Utah College of Medicine, director of Pediatric Cardiology and the Pediatric Heart Transplant Program at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and director of Pediatric Cardiology at Loma Linda University School of Medicine. Subsequently he became director of Pediatric Cardiovascular Services at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood, Florida. He was Associate Director for Pediatric Transplantation for the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation and an executive board member for the Pediatric Heart Failure Society of America. He was a prolific medical researcher and co-editor of the Handbook of Cardiac Drugs - Basic Science and Clinical Aspects of Cardiovascular Pharmacology. He was considered an expert in pediatric heart failure and transplantation and published many articles on those and other related subjects.

Robert Joseph Boucek (1919-1989), b. Pittsburgh, PA, of Czech ancestry, was Univ. of Pittsburgh trained physician. He held the position of prof. of medicine and chairman, dept. of cardiovascular diseases, Univ. of Miami School of Medicine, Coral Gables, FL (s. 1950).

Robert J. Boucek, Jr., b. of Czech ancestry, is professor of pediatrics in the Division of Cardiology of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He has been on staff of the Seattle Children’s Hospital s. 2006. He holds the Thomas Bradley Armstrong Endowed Chair in Pediatric Cardiology. He received his MD from Tulane University Medical School in New Orleans. He completed a pediatrics internship and residency at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., and fellowships in biochemistry and pediatric cardiology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN. Dr. Boucek was the first medical director for the pediatric heart transplant programs at Vanderbilt. In 1993, he joined the faculty of the University of South Florida (USF) as professor and chief of pediatric cardiology. In 2003, Dr. Boucek accepted position as chief of pediatric cardiology at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, WA.

Joseph P. Drozda, Jr. (1945-), b. Tucson, AZ, of Czech ancestry, received his medical degree from University of Nebraska College of Medicine and has been in practice for 45 years. He is Board certified in internal medicine and in cardiovascular diseases. His special expertise is in acute coronary syndrome (ACS), heart block, high blood pressure (hypertension), hypercholesterolemia, unstable angina. He is a cardiologist in Chesterfield, Missouri. He acts as both a cardiologist and director of Outcomes Research at Mercy Health System, St. Louis. He currently chairs the College’s Clinical Quality Committee, is a member of the ACC’s National Cardiovascular Data Registry Management Board, and is the ACC representative for the National Quality Forum. He has been actively involved in clinical trials for almost 18 years. In his current position, he is leading the development of a health services research function at Mercy with an emphasis on the Mercy Care Model and Mercy’s Patient Centered Medical Home and on comparative effectiveness research.

George (Jiří) Fodor (1927-), b. Užhorod, Czech., studied medicine (MUDr., 1951) and physiology (CSc./Ph.D., 1958), at Charles Univ. He was a pioneer in CVD epidemiology with Gosta Tibblin in Gothenburg and Bill Miall at the MRC unit in Jamaica. From the early 1970s to 1994 he was professor of medicine and community health at Newfoundland Memorial University and subsequently has headed research at the Ottawa Heart Institute. Currently, he is the head of Research for the Prevention and Rehabilitation Centre, professor emeritus of medicine and clinical epidemiology at Memorial University of Newfoundland, and professor at the University of Ottawa. Fodor’s research is in cardiology, lipid metabolism, and hypertension which has made him a leading Canadian expert in preventive cardiology. He has led preventive studies and programs in populations of Canada and Hungary and participated in the Women’s Heart Health project. He is presently coordinating projects in Central and Eastern Europe in cooperation with McMaster University and is conducting a study of metabolic syndrome in three geographic areas of Newfoundland. Dr. Fodor was founding president of the Canadian Hypertension Society and the Canadian Coalition for Hypertension Prevention and Control. He is honorary member of Czech and Slovak Cardiology Societies.

Eva Engelsmannová Hausner (1953-), b. Prague, Czech., is a cardiologist in private practice in Bethesda and Washington, DC. She is a summa cum laude graduate of the Medical School of Charles University and is Board certified in internal medicine, cardiology and echocardiography. She trained and later became a faculty member in the Cardiology Center at the Third School of Medicine, Charles University, Prague. After her arrival to the United States, she became a research assistant professor at Georgetown University Hospital. While a fully-fledged European trained cardiologist, Dr. Hausner completed postgraduate training requirements in internal medicine and cardiology in the US. She held the position of medical director of Cardiovascular Rehabilitation at NIH Heart Center at Suburban Hospital. In 2013, Dr. Hausner established her own cardiology center – Hausner Cardiology and serves as its director. She was recently named one of 100 best cardiologists in the Washington DC area. She concentrates on directing patients into healthy lifestyle which when supported by appropriate medication enables longevity

Edward Havranek (1955-), b. Ridgewood, NJ, of Czech ancestry, was trained in chemical engineering at Cornell Univ. (B.S., 1977), in bioengineering at Univ. of Utah (M.S., 1979) and in medicine at Univ. of Vermont, Burlington (M.D., 1983). He completed internal medicine internship and residency at the University of Colorado, and cardiology fellowship at the University of Wisconsin. He practices general cardiology at Denver’s Municipal Hospital, Denver Health Medical Center, and is director of health services research for Denver Health. He is a professor of medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He was a clinical coordinator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services-sponsored National Heart Care Projects from 1999-2005, chair of the Care Standards Committee of the Heart Failure Society of America from 2002-2006, and a member of the Governor’s Health Information Technology Advisory Committee for Colorado in 2008 and 2009. He serves on the editorial boards for several cardiology journals. Havranek has had a long-standing interest in measuring and improving the quality of care for cardiovascular disease, particularly heart failure. His current funded research focuses on causes and solutions to the problems of health disparities based on race and ethnicity.

Milton R. Hejtmancik (1919-2002), b. Caldwell, TX, of Czech ancestry, received a Bachelor’s degree in physics and mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin in 1939. Following the fellowship in physics at the University of Texas, he received his medical degree from University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston in 1943. He completed his internship at the Philadelphia General Hospital in 1944 and residency in internal medicine at UTMB in 1949. He served as a captain in the US Medical Corps in 1944-46 including 18 months in the European Theater. He completed his Board certification through the American Board of Internal Medicine in 1951 and the American Board of Cardiovascular Disease in 1963. At UTMB in Galveston, he served in the internal medicine department as an instructor in 1949-51 and as assistant professor in 1965-1980. He was also a professor of internal medicine at the Texas A&M University in Temple, Texas, in 1980-81; cardiologist at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Temple, Texas, in 1980-81, and cardiologist and medical director at the Veterans Administration Clinic in Beaumont, Texas, in 1981-85. His UTMB appointments included chief of staff, assistant director and director of the Heart Station. He was a consulting cardiologist for the USPHS and St. Mary’s Hospital in Galveston and the Mainland Hospital in La Marque, Texas. He published numerous papers, articles in books and a slide series from research activities conducted in the Heart Station, Heart Clinic and wards of UTMB hospitals in the fields of electrocardiography, vector cardiography echo cardiography, cardiac drugs and clinical cardiology. He was a medical adviser for Social Security and the local examiner for the American Board of Cardiovascular Disease for several years.

Milena Henzlová (1948-), b. Prague, Czech., is professor of medicine and cardiology at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in NYC. She received her M.D. and Ph.D. degree from Charles University in Prague. She trained in Internal Medicine and Cardiology also in Prague. After her training, she assumed a position at the Institute of Clinical and Experimental Medicine in Prague. She defected from then communist Czechoslovakia to the United States in 1981. Henzlovà briefly worked as a research associate for a pharmaceutical company in Palo Alto, California. After re-training in internal medicine in Birmingham, Alabama, she continued her re-training in cardiology at University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). She also obtained additional training in nuclear cardiology and magnetic resonance Imaging. At the completion of her fellowship in cardiology, she became Faculty member at UAB dividing her time between Nuclear Cardiology and Clinical Trials. In 1991, Henzlovà joined The Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. She is a director of Nuclear Cardiology Laboratory from 2001 and associate professor of medicine. She is certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease and in nuclear cardiology. She is a Fellow of American College of Cardiology (FACC), member of American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) and Council member of American Heart Association (AHA).

Leon Charles Kopecky (1909-2000), b. Shiner, TX, of Czech ancestry, received his undergraduate degree from St. Edward’s University in Austin in 1930. In 1934, in the depth of the Great Depression, he graduated from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. He began practicing medicine in San Antonio that same year, when 16 million people - about one-third of the workforce - in the United States were unemployed. There was little money and only a limited amount of drugs, unlike today, when physicians can choose from a huge array of medications. Back then, doctors treated patients with aspirin, codeine, morphine, mustard plasters, quinine, iodine, mercurochrome and a few other drugs. Kopecky maintained his office in the Nix downtown for more than 50 years. He specialized in cardiology. In the late 1980s he moved to the medical center with his son Chris Kopecky. He was a doctor of the old school and very devoted to his patients. On the days he didn’t see patients, Kopecky drove his pickup to his ranch in Berkheim.

Stephen L. Kopecky (1954-), b. San Antonio, TX, of Czech ancestry, received medical education at University of Texas, Houston, TX (M.D., 1981), with additional training at Mayo Clinic Coll. of Medicine, Rochester, MN (1981-87). He has been associated with the Mayo Clinic ever since, starting as asst. professor of medicine (1990-98), then assoc. professor (1998-2006), and now as full professor (s. 2006). He is a Board certified internist with specialty in cardiovascular diseases. His interests are in acute coronary syndromes, atrial fibrillation and prevention of strokes and clinical trials and is now focusing on cardiovascular disease prevention. His research interests include the role of lifestyle, including diet, exercise, and proper nutrition play in risk prediction and the development of cardiovascular disease and statin intolerance, especially as it affects patients with familial hypercholesterolemia. He is a contributing editor of the Mayo Clinic’s Healthy Heart for Life! book. Kopecky is the past president of the American Society for Preventive Cardiology and is the 2013 recipient of the Jan J. Kellermann Memorial Award given by the International Academy of Cardiology for distinguished work in the field of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention. He has also received multiple ‘Teacher of the Year’ awards from Mayo’s Division of Cardiovascular Diseases and the Department of Internal Medicine.

Josef Machač (1954-), b. Přerov, Czech., went to college at Brown University, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in biophysics in 1975, and an M.D. degree in medicine in 1978. Dr. Machač did his post-graduate training at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York; a residency in internal medicine, a residency in nuclear medicine, and a fellowship in cardiology. Dr. Machač practiced clinical cardiology and headed the stress ECG and nuclear cardiology laboratory at the Mount Sinai Medical Center from 1986 until 1995 as assistant professor in medicine. In 1992, he became director of nuclear medicine and associate professor of radiology and medicine, and in 2003, professor of Radiology and Medicine, at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. In 2013, Machač stepped down from his administrative duties, and continues to work part-time as Attending in Nuclear Medicine, at Mount Sinai. He volunteers on a part-time basis as an internist at the Bergen Volunteer Medical Initiative (BVMI) clinic in Hackensack, NJ. Dr. Machač has authored or co-authored 120 scientific papers, 18 book chapters, has given numerous lectures and presentations at national and international scientific meetings, dealing mainly with diagnostic imaging as well as in therapy, and has trained numerous medical residents, fellows, and junior faculty members.

Mary Ann McLaughlin (1962-), b. Washington, DC, of Czech ancestry, received her medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine (M.D.,1990), as a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. She completed her internship and residency at the New York Hospital/Cornell Medical Center where she received the prestigious C. Richard Bowman Award for demonstrating human warmth, scientific endeavor, and dedication to medicine. She completed her fellowship in cardiovascular medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where she received the B. Chaus Scholar Cardiology Award, and concomitantly completed her Master’s in Public Health degree (M.P.H., 1996) at Columbia University School of Public Health. Currently, she is an assistant professor in the Departments of Medicine, Health Policy and Geriatrics and Adult Development. She is the medical director of the Cardiac Health Program, and co-director of the Women’s Cardiac Assessment and Risk Evaluation Program. Her research focuses on improving the cardiovascular care of women, elderly and minorities.

Suzanne Oparil (1941-), b. Elmira, NY, of Czech ancestry, earned her medical degree at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, NY, and completed her medical residency at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital and cardiology fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital. She is professor of medicine, physiology and biophysics and director of Vascular Biology and Hypertension Program at Univ. of Alabama, Birmingham. She specializes in clinical cardiology, atherosclerosis, heart failure, vascular biology and hypertension. As a cardiologist she has a special interest in the fundamental mechanisms of cardiovascular disease and in applying this information to the development of novel treatments. Her research ranges from molecular and cellular studies to whole animal studies to clinical trials. She is past president of the American Heart Association (AHA), the American Society of Hypertension (ASH), and the American Federation for Medical Research (formerly the American Federation for Clinical Research) American Heart Association. Oparil has made many seminal contributions to vascular biology and hypertension research.

Petr Polášek (1958-), b. Ostrava, Czech, received medical education at Charles Univ. and Saskatchewan Univ. He is a clinical cardiologist and practices invasive / non-interventional cardiology at Kelowna, B.C., Can. He also holds the position assistant professor of medicine at University of British Columbia.

Alfred Pick (1907-1982), b. Prague, Bohemia, was a cardiologist trained at Univ. of Prague. Together with his wife Ruth Pick, he arrived in the US in 1949 where he joined the Cardiology Department of Louis N. Katz at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago. He was prof. of medicine, Univ. of Chicago (s. 1974). He devoted his career to the study of complex arrhythmias, together with Richard Langendorf and Louis N. Katz, and published multiple papers and books.

Ruth Pick (1913-2003), b. Karlovy Vary, Bohemia, was a pioneer in cardiovascular research at Michael Reese Hospital. Dr. Ruth Pick and her late husband, Alfred, both broke ground at Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center’s Department of Cardiology. She proved to be a pioneer in researching atherosclerosis. She studied and helped establish the relationship between dietary cholesterol and heart disease. She and her husband were Holocaust survivors.

Richard Van Praagh (1930-), London, Ont., Canada, of Bohemian ancestry, is a cardiologist. Moving with his family to Toronto at the age of 2, he grew up there and graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Toronto in 1954. Then followed 12 years of postgraduate work. In 1965, he was invited to return to Children’s Hospital in Boston, where he and his wife Dr. Stella Van Praagh founded and built the Cardiac Registry. This cardiac pathology laboratory, from its inception, was an integral part of the Departments of Pathology, Cardiology, and Cardiac Surgery. During the past 37 years (1965-2002), Richard and Stella Van Praagh and colleagues have authored more than 270 publications. They developed the segmental approach to the diagnosis of congenital heart disease that is now used, with or without modification, worldwide. In addition to clarifying the pathologic anatomy, morphogenesis, diagnosis, and management of many specific forms of congenital heart disease, they described more than a dozen previously unknown cardiac anomalies.

Karel Raška, 3rd (1963-), b. Prague, Czech, completed his medical degree in 1989 at Harvard Medical School and his internship and residency at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He has Board certification from the American Board of Internal Medicine, the American Board of Internal Medicine (Cardiovascular Diseases) and Clinical Council on Certification in Nuclear Cardiology. Since 2000, he has been president and managing partner of Morristown Cardiology Associates, Morristown, NJ and since 1995 he has been associated with Morristown Memorial Hospital and Gagnon Heart Hospital in Morristown. He specializes in cardiovascular diseases, nuclear cardiology, echocardiology, valvular heart disease and preventive cardiology.

Paul Alan Sobotka, (1954-), b. Chicago, IL, of Czech ancestry, matriculated from Stanford University with degree in chemistry (1976) and obtained MD from the University of Illinois College of Medicine (1980). He completed training in internal medicine at the University of Michigan, followed by specialty training in cardiovascular diseases at Northwestern University. Further education has been completed in health care economics and policy at the Harvard School of Public Health and Wharton School of Economics (1997). Promoted to associate professor of medicine and physiology (1997) while at Loyola University in Maywood Il, he directed intensive care clinical services and participated in the heart failure and transplant programs; subsequently serving at Wayne State University School of Medicine where he served as professor and vice chair of the Department of Medicine (1997-2002). He has previously been chief medical officer of Ardian, Inc. (s. 2006), CHF Solutions Inc (2004-06), founder of Advanced Heuristics, medical advisor at Medtronic Inc., and executive medical director, Merck, Inc. and most recently as entrepreneur in residence, the White House, assigned to the Food and Drug Administration. He is currently chief medical officer, Cibiem Inc. (s. 2012) and chief science officer ROX Medical, Inc. (s. 2013), while holding an appointment as clinical professor of medicine/cardiology at the Ohio State University and the University of Minnesota. His current research and clinical interests include neurosympathetic control of hypertension and volume homeostasis, heart failure and statistical methods.

James L. Vacek (1951-), b. Omaha, NE, of Czech ancestry, received his medical training at Creighton Univ. School of Medicine (M.D., 1977) and his Master of Science degree in clinical research at Univ. of Kansas School of Medicine (2010). He is a Board certified internist, specializing in cardiovascular diseases. He is associated with Univ. of Kansas Hospital, Kansas City; Cass Medical Center, Harrisonville, MO; and Newman Memorial Hospital, Emporia, KS. He was initially affiliated with Tulane Univ. School of Medicine, Mobile, AL (1983-86) and Univ. of South Alabama School of Medicine (1983-86). He then joined Univ. of Kansas, Kansas City (s. 1986), as clinical professor of medicine (2000-08), as professor of medicine (s. 2008). He also served as a clinical professor of medicine at Univ. of Missouri- Kansas City School of Medicine (1990-2001). He served as an editor of Mid America Cardiology Research Newsletter (1995-2009) and is currently an editorial consultant of numerous medical journals. As he himself points out, he is a cardiologist who practices clinical cardiology at a major academic medical center, and who is engaged in clinical research and bedside as well as classroom teaching. His research interests focus on population based investigations of treatment and prevention strategies.

George W. Vetrovec, b. Ohio, of Czech ancestry, received his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Virginia and his internal medicine and cardiology specialty training from the Medical College of Virginia, where he also served as a Chief Medical Resident. Since 1976, he has been on the faculty of Virginia Commonwealth Univ. (VCU), Richmond, VA, achieving the rank of full professor of medicine in 1986. Dr. Vetrovec served as Chairman of the Division of Cardiology (1991-2009), and was named to the Martha M. and Harold W. Kimmerling, M.D. Chair in Cardiology in 2005. He is also Director of the Adult Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory and is a member of the VCU Health System Board of Directors serving on the Executive Committee. Dr. Vetrovec’s research interests involve improving the management of coronary artery disease, particularly related to catheterization and interventional therapies. He has been funded for clinical trials for over 20 years. He has authored or co-authored over 200 papers, eight book chapters and has edited two texts on interventional cardiology and serves on numerous cardiovascular journal editorial boards. In addition to administrative, research and teaching activities, Dr. Vetrovec is an active clinical cardiologist, including performing catheterization and interventional procedures. In 1997, he was awarded ‘Clinician of the Year’ by his physician colleagues in the University practice. He has been listed as one of the Best Doctors in America by Best Doctors Inc. for more than 15 years.

Emil Rudolf Žák (1877-1949), b. Brno, Moravia, received his medical training at Univ. of Vienna. He held the title of professor of internal medicine at the Univ. of Vienna in the last ten years of his stay in Vienna. From 1908 until 1938 he was also a consulting physician and from 1927 until 1938 he was chief of the Herz Station (hospital) in Vienna. Throughout the years he resided in Vienna. Žák maintained a private practice in internal medicine but after 1919 focusing his attention on cardiology. He came to US in 1940 and settled in NYC. From that time until the close of his life he was an adjunct physician and asst. adjunct cardiologist at Beth David Hospital in NYC. He also engaged in private practice as a specialist in internal medicine and cardiology in that city. Žák was the author of numerous professional papers in a number of fields, including hematology, pathology, physiology, pharmacology and experimental and clinical medicine.

Alexi Zemsky (ca 1973-), b. of Moravian ancestry, graduated from the University of California in San Diego in 1995, where he majored in biochemistry. Zemsky received his medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, LA, in 2002. He completed his internship at the University of Chicago, Department of Internal Medicine where he also completed his residency and won the Outstanding Third Year Resident Award. Dr. Zemsky completed two fellowships at Harbor-UCLA, Division of Cardiology and also completed a fellowship at Kaiser, Division of Electrophysiology. He is a cardiologist, associated with Providence Health & Services in Oregon, servicing Oregon and Southwest Washington. It is a non-for-profit network of hospitals, health plans, physicians, clinics and health services. He is the author of numerous research articles and frequently presents research findings at medical conferences and assemblies. Zemsky was also appointed the Cardiology Chief Fellow by the Harbor UCLA Cardiology faculty and elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honors Society.

D. Chiropractors

Tom Kolarik, b. US, of Czech descent, is a chiropractic, trained at Sherman College of Chiropractic (D.C., 1994). He was associated with the Main Street Chiropractic Wellness Center (2009-10). Presently he has been an owner of Kolarik Family chiropractic, LLC at travelers Rest, SC. He has been in private practice since 1994. He gained valuable experience that comes with 60,000+ patient visits and well over 100,000 spinal adjustments. He specializes in chiropractic adjustments that produce desired results. He has also been the founder and part owner of Paesano’s Pizza in Traverse City, MI since 1981.

Peter Munk (1950-), b. Prague, Czech., received training at Canadian Memorial Chiropractic Coll. in Toronto (D.C., 1980). After working in a group practice, Munk opened his clinic in Toronto in 1983. His interest in spinal injuries and painful conditions affecting the back and neck led to work with athletes and dancers.

Jerome J. Rerucha (1970-), b. Columbus, NE, of Czech ancestry, studied exercise physiology at Univ. of Nebraska, Kearney (B.S., 1993). He was trained in chiropractic at Life Univ., Marietta, GA (D.C., 2000) and is licensed in the States of California, Idaho and Georgia. He is also a graduate of the Parker University Animal Chiropractic program, Dallas, TX (2011). He has lectured internationally on the use of the Erchonia Laser Healthcare’s cold laser on acute injuries, chronic pain, and sports specific injuries (s. 2002) and is the owner of the Performance Chiropractic and Wellness, Greensboro, GA (s. 2009). He is founder and developer of Fitness Integration Technique (F.I.T.) He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), certified by National Strength and Conditioning Specialists (NSCA). He was 1999 WNPF World Champion, Best Lifter Award.

Seth Sazama, b. US, of Czech ancestry, received his Bachelor’s degree from Hastings College, Hastings, NE. He then attended Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, IA, one of the most highly recognized and accredited chiropractic colleges in the world. He graduated summa cum laude, was inducted in the Pi Tau Delta International Chiropractic Honor Society, and received the Presidential Scholar Award for outstanding academic achievements. Dr. Seth is a member of the Minnesota Chiropractic Association and serves as the vice president for the central district, he is the Minnesota Chiropractic Association Key Doctor for the 10A legislative district, and he is a member of the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress. Dr. Seth is very proficient in the Gonstead technique, Thompson, Diversified as well as many other chiropractic techniques. He also has specialized training in extremity joint care as a Certified Chiropractic Extremity Practitioner (C.C.E.P.), one of three in Minnesota.

Jonathan A. Truhlar (1977-), b. Jolliet, IL, of Czech ancestry, began his education at Olivet Nazarene University, Kankakee, IL, where he studied the basic sciences such as inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, biology, along with basic physiology and anatomy courses. After completing his study there, he was accepted at Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa. During his four years at Palmer, courses included biochemistry, a major emphasis on anatomy and human physiology, x-ray, diagnosis, chiropractic adjusting techniques and patient care in the Palmer College Outreach Clinics. His elective study was focused in advanced spinal biomechanics and sports injury rehabilitation. Near the end of his study at Palmer, he served as adjunct faculty in diagnostic procedures for which he received Palmer’s Diagnostic Service Award. After graduating (D.C., 2002), and achieving NBCE Board Certification, Dr. Truhlar returned to the Chicagoland area to establish his practice. He serves as the owner and clinic director of Élan Wellness at the LU-NA Medical Complex in Aurora, IL. While in private practice, Dr. Truhlar completed post-graduate studies in naturopathic medicine (N.M.D., 2006) and achieved NABNE Board Certification. Dr. Truhlar has also achieved the prestigious Certified Nutrition Specialist (C.N.S., 2013) Board certification. Dr. Truhlar incorporates advanced nutrition protocols and naturopathic medicine into a chiropractic treatment plan to provide a broader scope of treatment for his patients. Dr. Truhlar believes that his patients deserve a comprehensive approach to their health concerns and provides this by combining traditional chiropractic treatment with advances in naturopathic medicine.

E. Dentists

Vlastimil Bažant (1936-), b. Prague, Czech., received medical training at Charles Univ. (MUDr., 1959) and dental training at SUNY, Buffalo D.D.S., 1968). He became assoc. prof. of dentistry at Univ. of Saskatchewan.

Fred N. Bazola (1906-2001), b. Chicago, of Bohemian parents, received his dental training from the Univ. of Illinois Coll. of Dentistry. From 1929 to 1932 and since 1933 he was instructor in dentistry at the Univ. of Illinois. His office was in Chicago on 26th Street.

Rudolph Beck (1868-1913), b. Prague, Bohemia, was trained as a dentist at Chicago College of Dental Surgery. He served as prof. of dental anatomy at Chicago College of Dentistry.

Theodor Blum (1883-1962), b. Vienna, of Czech father, received his medical education at Univ. of Pennsylvania and at Univ. of Vienna. In 1912 he established a practice of oral surgery in New York City, where he continued to practice until the close of his life. One of his greatest accomplishments was the promotion of oral pathology. In 1932, he helped found and became secretary-treasurer of the New York Institute of Clinical Oral Pathology, giving postgraduate