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INTRODUCTION OF SHERWIN S. DESSER, RECIPIENT OF THE CLARK P. READ MENTOR AWARD

INTRODUCTION OF SHERWIN S. DESSER, RECIPIENT OF THE CLARK P. READ MENTOR AWARD J. Parasitol., 90(6), 2004, p. 1204 q American Society of Parasitologists 2004 INTRODUCTION OF SHERWIN S. DESSER, RECIPIENT OF THE CLARK P. READ MENTOR AWARD Mark E. Siddall and John R. Barta* Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park at 79th Street, New York City, New York 10024. e-mail: siddall@amnh.gov This year’s recipient of the Clark P. Read Mentor Award is with P. C. C. Garnham in London, and with Ava Zuckerman in Dr. Sherwin S. Desser. But, just who is Sherwin S. Desser? Dr. Jerusalem. However, Dr. Desser’s mentoring role got underway Desser (as he was known even then) was born in Winterpeg, on his return to the School of Hygiene at the University of Manitoba on 2 September 1937. The temperature was 240 F Toronto in 1969. From 1969 to this day, he has remained at the at Portage and Main, which is to say it was balmy for that time University of Toronto, first in the School of Hygiene, then in the Department of Microbiology from where in 1980 he led an of year. Perhaps never knowing that there were warmer places exodus of parasitologists to join David Mettrick in the Depart- further south, such as, perhaps, Fargo, North Dakota, Dr. Desser ment of Zoology. In addition to maintaining a full teaching load remained in Manitoba through his educational years and on into and an unbroken record of mentoring graduate students, Dr. University, where he excelled and was awarded a B.Sc. in 1959 Desser has held down numerous administrative positions, in- from the University of Manitoba. cluding Associate Chair, and then Chair for 10 yr, all the while Many of you know that Dr. Desser is rather athletically in- juggling the editorship of the Journal of Parasitology. clined. But this was not always the case. Around the time he From 1970 through 2004, 28 theses and dissertations were finished his undergraduate career, Dr. Desser refocused his en- conducted under Dr. Desser’s tutelage, concerning an array of ergies toward weightlifting, winning the light-heavyweight Ca- topics from Leucocytozoon itself to the full diversity of apicom- nadian Junior Weightlifting championship in 1962. Joking plexans, trypanosomes, myxozoa, aspidogastrean trematodes, aside, we bring these facts to light because it is pretty clear to viruses, and even leeches. As we mentioned, Dr. Desser taught us that we were rather lucky to have Dr. Desser as our mentor. comparative parasitology throughout his 32 yr at the University Not only could he have pursued a career more in tune with his of Toronto, even through the period in which he had a full-time prowess (he would probably make a better Governor of Cali- administrative load. This course (which was eventually split fornia for example) but, as he confided to us once, he very into 2 parts) was universally loved by students. When he was nearly did not make it into graduate school. given the Outstanding Teaching Award from his own University Dr. Desser’s undergraduate performance was not quite what in 2002, it was remarked that ‘‘Sherwin is one of the gifted and they were looking for in terms of admittance to graduate school lucky few who not only retain their full enthusiasm for a subject in Manitoba. Yet, having had the opportunity to learn about throughout a long career, but who have the knack of transmit- parasites from R. A. Wardle, Dr. Desser was determined to con- ting that enthusiasm and making it infectious ....’’ tinue studies in parasitology. Together with another current Ca- Dr. Desser seems never to be far from a microscope. In fact nadian parasitologist, Bill Evans, these 2 petitioned their de- 1 of the qualities we believe we all learned from him was the partment chair for an exception, and were admitted to graduate necessity of long arduous hours pouring over slides, and mak- studies. Sherwin completed an M.Sc. with George Lubinsky on ing countless mind-numbing observations, because nothing gets the physiology of Echinococcus multilocularis 2 yr later. turned up in this world unless someone turns it up. Dr. Desser He must have had enough of both worms and physiology for has treated us as collaborators as much as students. Indeed un- he followed on this with his dissertation on the development of der Dr. Desser’s mentorship, we were more of a team than a Leucocytozoon simondi with Murray Fallis. Surely, this was an laboratory, and then too, more of a family than a team. We exciting time for Dr. Desser. Electron microscopy was a bur- knew when he was proud of us, when he was overjoyed with geoning field, and at the Ontario Research Foundation he and something we had found, when he was deadly serious about Ken Wright were able to pour over the ultrastructure of their some point of fact, and, alas, some us even knew his disap- respective protists. But more importantly, Sherwin met the 2 pointment. loves of his life, i.e., the Wildlife Research Station in Algonquin Except, of course, when he is with his real family, Dr. Desser Park and, more significantly, Elizabeth Webster. Liz, who has is happiest when he is surrounded by his second family and welcomed all of Dr. Desser’s students into her home, is of then, moreover, at his second home in Algonquin Park for an- course well known to most of us here today as she is his fre- other summer of peeling the cosmic onion and sharing his gen- quent companion to meetings. erous spirit with the students he mentors. With that, we leave you, Dr. Sherwin (Boss) Desser, with a few images of all the After his Ph.D., Dr. Desser had the opportunity to postdoc parasites you have had around you so far in your career, as you come to accept the honor that you so deservingly receive from * Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1. the American Society of Parasitologists today. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The Journal of Parasitology Allen Press

INTRODUCTION OF SHERWIN S. DESSER, RECIPIENT OF THE CLARK P. READ MENTOR AWARD

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The Journal of Parasitology , Volume 90 (6): 1 – Dec 1, 2004
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Allen Press
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American Society of Parasitologists
ISSN
0022-3395
eISSN
1937-2345
DOI
10.1645/0022-3395(2004)090[1204:IOSSDR]2.0.CO;2
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Abstract

J. Parasitol., 90(6), 2004, p. 1204 q American Society of Parasitologists 2004 INTRODUCTION OF SHERWIN S. DESSER, RECIPIENT OF THE CLARK P. READ MENTOR AWARD Mark E. Siddall and John R. Barta* Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park at 79th Street, New York City, New York 10024. e-mail: siddall@amnh.gov This year’s recipient of the Clark P. Read Mentor Award is with P. C. C. Garnham in London, and with Ava Zuckerman in Dr. Sherwin S. Desser. But, just who is Sherwin S. Desser? Dr. Jerusalem. However, Dr. Desser’s mentoring role got underway Desser (as he was known even then) was born in Winterpeg, on his return to the School of Hygiene at the University of Manitoba on 2 September 1937. The temperature was 240 F Toronto in 1969. From 1969 to this day, he has remained at the at Portage and Main, which is to say it was balmy for that time University of Toronto, first in the School of Hygiene, then in the Department of Microbiology from where in 1980 he led an of year. Perhaps never knowing that there were warmer places exodus of parasitologists to join David Mettrick in the Depart- further south, such as, perhaps, Fargo, North Dakota, Dr. Desser ment of Zoology. In addition to maintaining a full teaching load remained in Manitoba through his educational years and on into and an unbroken record of mentoring graduate students, Dr. University, where he excelled and was awarded a B.Sc. in 1959 Desser has held down numerous administrative positions, in- from the University of Manitoba. cluding Associate Chair, and then Chair for 10 yr, all the while Many of you know that Dr. Desser is rather athletically in- juggling the editorship of the Journal of Parasitology. clined. But this was not always the case. Around the time he From 1970 through 2004, 28 theses and dissertations were finished his undergraduate career, Dr. Desser refocused his en- conducted under Dr. Desser’s tutelage, concerning an array of ergies toward weightlifting, winning the light-heavyweight Ca- topics from Leucocytozoon itself to the full diversity of apicom- nadian Junior Weightlifting championship in 1962. Joking plexans, trypanosomes, myxozoa, aspidogastrean trematodes, aside, we bring these facts to light because it is pretty clear to viruses, and even leeches. As we mentioned, Dr. Desser taught us that we were rather lucky to have Dr. Desser as our mentor. comparative parasitology throughout his 32 yr at the University Not only could he have pursued a career more in tune with his of Toronto, even through the period in which he had a full-time prowess (he would probably make a better Governor of Cali- administrative load. This course (which was eventually split fornia for example) but, as he confided to us once, he very into 2 parts) was universally loved by students. When he was nearly did not make it into graduate school. given the Outstanding Teaching Award from his own University Dr. Desser’s undergraduate performance was not quite what in 2002, it was remarked that ‘‘Sherwin is one of the gifted and they were looking for in terms of admittance to graduate school lucky few who not only retain their full enthusiasm for a subject in Manitoba. Yet, having had the opportunity to learn about throughout a long career, but who have the knack of transmit- parasites from R. A. Wardle, Dr. Desser was determined to con- ting that enthusiasm and making it infectious ....’’ tinue studies in parasitology. Together with another current Ca- Dr. Desser seems never to be far from a microscope. In fact nadian parasitologist, Bill Evans, these 2 petitioned their de- 1 of the qualities we believe we all learned from him was the partment chair for an exception, and were admitted to graduate necessity of long arduous hours pouring over slides, and mak- studies. Sherwin completed an M.Sc. with George Lubinsky on ing countless mind-numbing observations, because nothing gets the physiology of Echinococcus multilocularis 2 yr later. turned up in this world unless someone turns it up. Dr. Desser He must have had enough of both worms and physiology for has treated us as collaborators as much as students. Indeed un- he followed on this with his dissertation on the development of der Dr. Desser’s mentorship, we were more of a team than a Leucocytozoon simondi with Murray Fallis. Surely, this was an laboratory, and then too, more of a family than a team. We exciting time for Dr. Desser. Electron microscopy was a bur- knew when he was proud of us, when he was overjoyed with geoning field, and at the Ontario Research Foundation he and something we had found, when he was deadly serious about Ken Wright were able to pour over the ultrastructure of their some point of fact, and, alas, some us even knew his disap- respective protists. But more importantly, Sherwin met the 2 pointment. loves of his life, i.e., the Wildlife Research Station in Algonquin Except, of course, when he is with his real family, Dr. Desser Park and, more significantly, Elizabeth Webster. Liz, who has is happiest when he is surrounded by his second family and welcomed all of Dr. Desser’s students into her home, is of then, moreover, at his second home in Algonquin Park for an- course well known to most of us here today as she is his fre- other summer of peeling the cosmic onion and sharing his gen- quent companion to meetings. erous spirit with the students he mentors. With that, we leave you, Dr. Sherwin (Boss) Desser, with a few images of all the After his Ph.D., Dr. Desser had the opportunity to postdoc parasites you have had around you so far in your career, as you come to accept the honor that you so deservingly receive from * Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1. the American Society of Parasitologists today.

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The Journal of Parasitology – Allen Press

Published: Dec 1, 2004

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