NEWS

Peter Norman Hirschmann was born on 20^th November 1937, to Samuel and Phyllis (née Samuels) Hirschmann. The family lived in Orpington, Kent, where Peter’s father was a medical practitioner. The outbreak of war in 1939 led to his father being called up for national service, leaving Peter, his younger brother David and their mother for the duration. Peter was a bright boy and obtained a scholarship to Sevenoaks School, from where he went on to Guy’s Hospital in London to study dentistry.

After qualifying as a dentist in 1961, Peter worked in junior hospital posts at Guy’s. He obtained his Fellowship in Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1965. He developed a research interest in Biochemistry and studied for a master’s degree, awarded in 1967, and was successful in obtaining a three-year Medical Research Council Junior Research Fellowship to continue his work in the Biochemistry field, part of which was spent at Harvard University. It was there that he met Denise Duffy, whom he married in 1968 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Peter returned to England with Denise, in the hopes of developing his academic career further and managed to obtain a position at the Turner Dental School at the University of Manchester. This post combined teaching and clinical work in the X-ray department, but also gave Peter some opportunities to continue with his research with colleagues in the medical school. It was fortuitous that this job opened a pathway for him into Dental Radiology, which became the professional focus for the rest of his career.

In 1978, Peter crossed the Pennines to start a new position as a Consultant at The Dental Hospital at Leeds (subsequently Leeds Dental Institute), with honorary status at Leeds University to recognise his contributions to teaching. From this point on, his ambitions in biochemistry research had to be put aside. His job included the leadership role in Radiology and clinical diagnostic dental work in the “front door” Admissions department, where Leeds folk with toothache would queue up each morning, along with patients with more esoteric conditions. This was also where undergraduate students were taught the diagnostic method and dental “first aid”. Peter could be quite strict with students, and many former undergraduates will recall his exasperated voice saying, “it’s not an X-ray, young man; it’s a radiograph!”, but his insistence on systematic history taking and using investigations appropriately gave students an outstanding start to their careers.  Peter faced some challenges from senior clinicians, who were unfamiliar with a consultant colleague who could fearlessly challenge their X-ray requests, but he had the will to stand his ground and introduce more rational use of radiology. For many years, Peter organised lunchtime educational sessions at Leeds, in which he had the ability to appear sound asleep for much of the lecture, only then to ask the most pertinent questions.

Peter served on numerous national committees and working parties that set standards for the use of X-rays in dentistry. He served as President of the British Society of Dental and Maxillofacial Radiology (BSDMFR) twice, in 1989-91 and 2001-03, the latter period overlapping his retirement from clinical practice in 2001. Peter received the Diploma of Dental Radiology (DDR) of the Royal College of Radiologists in 1985, but he was awarded a Fellowship (FRCR) without examination in 1998 as recognition for his national status and work for the College.  Peter was also one of the Expert Panel that developed the European Guidelines on Radiation Protection in Dental Radiology, published in 2004, in which his wisdom was highly valued.

In the international context, Peter is best known for his work as Editor-in-Chief of “Dentomaxillofacial Radiology”, a post he held from 1988 to 2001. According to Peter, “In retrospect, I became an editor by happenstance” when a bid to print the journal from the University of Leeds Printing Service proved to be the cheapest option. This led the then Editor-in-Chief, Stuart White, to offer Peter the position of Associate Editor. Subsequently, when Stuart White stepped down from the post four years later, Peter was the best placed person to take on the main role.  Until then, the journal was biannual and had little recognition outside the IADMFR membership. During Peter’s term of office, he steered the journal on a course to being a “Journal of Head and Neck Imaging”, managing several unexpected changes of publisher before identifying a safe harbour with the British Institute of Radiology just as he retired.  Peter had a policy of “interventionist editing”, for example by meticulously checking manuscripts for use of English, and by asking perceptive questions of authors. One colleague (MR) has remarked that “Many times he asked, ‘do you mean this, or something else?’ In other words, he explained to us what we actually meant but had not considered, not even in our own language”. The challenges of the job would have exhausted most other people, but not him. The journal was obviously close to his heart, as was apparent when his former trainee (FC) came to Leeds for the first time to look at the job. She was told to look out for a man at the train station who, rather than having a carnation in his lapel, would be holding a copy of  “Dentomaxillofacial Radiology”.

While he built a successful career in Dental and Maxillofacial Radiology, Peter had a wide range of outside interests, particularly in the Arts, Music and Architecture. He had a love of ceramics and prints in particular. One of the authors of this obituary (KH) recalls being whisked away from a BSDMFR meeting in London so that Peter could share the delights of the Chelsea Art Fair. Peter was not only a consumer of the Arts, but he was often a Patron who provided both his time and money.  Notably, he was a member of the Victorian Society from 1990 to 2014, chairing the West Yorkshire Group for a period of time. He was involved with the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society, The Leeds Library (2008-2013) and the Friends of Bradford Art Galleries and Museums. He was an enthusiastic attender of Opera North, of which he was a Patron, and also supported other vocal and choral works. The garden at the family home in Adel, Leeds, was immaculate. Later, when he and his wife downsized to an apartment in Harrogate, Peter took on the role of caring for the communal gardens.

Apart from his professional and cultural contributions, Peter was a stimulating and cultivated person with whom to spend time. As one colleague (MR) said, “he was a gentleman, but with a twinkle in his eye when we had differences of opinion”.  Peter Hirschmann died on Monday 19^th August 2024, and laid to rest in a quiet, green place in North Yorkshire ten days later. He leaves his wife Denise, their daughters Joanne and Catherine, and grandchildren Shoshana, Dalia, Oliver and Alexander, along with many friends and former colleagues, to mourn his loss.

Fiona Carmichael and Keith Horner

Thanks also to others who contributed their thoughts, memories and information about Peter’s life, including Madeleine Rohlin, David Zeidman and, especially, Denise Hirschmann.

Dear IADMFR members,

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Dr. Lars Hollender, an honorary member of IADMFR, at the age of 90. Dr. Hollender served as Secretary General of International Association of Dento-Maxillo-Facial Radiology (IADMFR) from 1971 to 1985, making significant contributions to the IADMFR and Dento-Maxillo-Facial Radiology (DMFR) communities.

Many of you are familiar with Dr. Hollender and his remarkable achievements. After earning his PhD in 1965 at Gothenburg, Sweden, he became the first Professor and Chair of the Oral Radiology Department at the University of Gothenburg's School of Dentistry in 1968. He held various prestigious positions, including Visiting Professor at the UCLA School of Dentistry in Los Angeles, CA, and Vice Dean and Acting Dean of the School of Dentistry at the University of Gothenburg.

Dr. Hollender's expertise in dental and maxillofacial imaging earned him international renown as one of the foremost diagnostic oral and maxillofacial radiologists. He spent nearly 30 years as a full-time faculty member at the University of Washington, where his intellectual prowess and multilingual skills facilitated collaborations with professionals worldwide.

Throughout his career, Dr. Hollender received numerous research prizes and honorary memberships, showcasing his dedication to advancing the field. In 1985 he became IADMFR honorary member. He also held leadership roles in various professional organizations, including serving as President of the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology (AAOMR) and the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology (ABOMR) in the 1990s.

Dr. Hollender's legacy extends beyond his professional achievements; he was admired for his integrity, sense of humor, kindness, and genuine concern for others. His passion for DMFR left a lasting impact on the field and those fortunate enough to know him. He will be deeply missed by the IADMFR community, and his legacy will continue to inspire future generations.

Reinhilde Jacobs, on behalf of the IADMFR board

with special acknowledgements for realising this obituary to Peggy Lee and Jie Yang

Dear colleagues and friends of IADMFR &​ EADMFR,

It is with great regret that we must inform you of the sudden death of our dear colleague, Laetitia Brocklebank, formerly Senior Lecturer in Oral Radiology at the University of Glasgow Dental School until her retirement, and latterly Honorary Senior Research Fellow.

Laetitia contributed enormously to Dental and Maxillofacial Radiology, undertaking important roles in both EADMFR and IADMFR and was a Past-President of BSDMFR. Amongst many achievements, she organised the very successful 13th ICDMFR in 2001 in Glasgow. While her professional activities have been invaluable to the specialty of Dental and Maxillofacial Radiology, it is her personal qualities that we remember with special fondness today. Laetitia supported so many students and colleagues in their professional and personal lives; her kindness and friendliness to others was exceptional. She was the life and soul of many ICDMFR congress social events. We will all miss her vivacity and good humour.

We send our deepest condolences to her family and especially to her partner and colleague, Professor Paul van der Stelt.

Her obituary can be found at this link. 

On behalf of IADMFR,

Reinhilde Jacobs, Secretary-General IADMFR

Rubens Spin-Neto, President EADMFR

Keith Horner, Emeritus Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Imaging, The University of Manchester

Acknowlegdement to Ralf Schulze

Editor-in-chief DMFR 2011-2020

Obituary

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