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Show James A. Sharpe, MD, FRCP(C) (1941-2013) James Arthur Sharpe, stalwart neuro-ophthalmologist, researcher, mentor and friend, passed away peacefully at home on November 12, 2013 at age 72 from complica-tions of bladder cancer. Jim was born and raised in Brantford, Ontario, the only son of John Ernest and Lavina Mae Sharpe. He decided early in life that he wanted to pursue a medical career and obtained his Doctor in Medicine from the University of Western Ontario in 1966, graduating as valedictorian. He spent the next 6 years training between Montreal and Toronto in medicine, ophthalmology, neurology and neuropathology. Then, between 1972 and 1974, Jim completed four separate fellowships, including neuro-ophthalmological stints in San Francisco (with Dr. Hoyt), Miami (with Drs. Daroff and Glaser) and London (with Dr. Sanders). Fresh from his academic world travels, Dr. Sharpe joined Dr. J.L. Silversides in establishing the first neuro-ophthalmology clinic in Toronto. Jim was a superb clinician, serving as a final word on obscure and unusual problems upon referrals from all over Canada. He ran a busy outpatient and inpatient consultation service for over 30 years, seeing patients almost until the end. Jim expected residents and fellows to present cases accurately and efficiently, and many a trainee experienced a tense moment when historical or examination details were not crisply described. There were also droll moments in clinic, mostly of the "absent-minded professor" variety, when, immersed in a fog of clinical con-centration, Dr. Sharpe would walk out of the exam room wearing the patient's spectacles rather than his own. During his training, Jim developed a fascination for describing and measuring eye movement disorders. One of his early achievements in Toronto was the development of a state-of-the-art magnetic search coil laboratory. His inquis-itive mind and relentless work ethic led him to a sustained and vibrant record of research and clinical publication, which included over 180 papers and book chapters and 6 books. Some of this work reflected carefully planned inquiries into normal human physiology or the disorders imposed by focal brain lesions or degenerative states. Other investigations were of the classical opportunistic type, carefully teasing out the basis of abnormality in a unique patient. Jim's knowledge of neuroanatomy was legendary; many a fellow was taken to task for a lack of intimacy with the Olszewski-Baxter atlas of brainstem cytoarchitecture. One of Jim's favorite collaborators was the late David Tomlinson, PhD, whose primate neuro-physiology laboratory was next door to the human ocular motility suite. Joint discussions of the latest work in cat, rabbit or monkey eye movements often led to an investigation of normal physiology in Homo sapiens, with fellows and lab assistants frequently serving as subjects. Dr. Sharpe contrib-uted to our understanding of normal smooth pursuit, saccadic and vestibular eye movements and to the disorders that arise from focal brain lesions and degenerative conditions like Alz-heimer's and Parkinson's diseases. A continuous stream of over 30 fellows was drawn from around the world by Dr. Sharpe's reputation for clinical and research excellence. They were rewarded with a phenomenal start to an academic career. Of course, this did not necessarily come easily. To fellows and residents, Jim was a man of few wasted words, presenting a stern visage that encouraged max-imal effort. One's first clinic days had a strong "sink-or-swim" quality. One greenhorn, naively expecting a day off after driv-ing 2500 miles across North America after residency, was told that he was expected in clinic promptly at 8:00 AM the following day. Another recalls Dr. Sharpe leading him into a room on his first day, seeing a patient sitting expectantly at the Goldmann perimeter and being told to complete the unfamiliar test without delay. Jim was without equal as a research mentor. He was particularly generous of his time when it came to reviewing research projects and drafting papers. Many hours were typically spent discussing fellow's attempts at technical prose, focusing on Jim's copious written corrections, all of which were scrawled in red ink with an unmistakable left-handed tilt. Rich debates often ensued on the nuances of the English language and new words (or unfamiliar Canadian spellings) frequently entered most trainees' personal lexicons. Looking back upon our time with him, it appeared that Jim formu-lated career development plans for us without ever openly discussing them. Fellows were thus assigned to projects of ever-increasing difficulty, unaware that a scheme for success had been put into place. As a tribute, Jim's fellows organized a well-attended symposium in his honor in September 2009. Dr. Sharpe rose quickly through the ranks of academia, becoming a Professor of Neurology, Ophthalmology, and Otolaryngology at age 45. As one of the foremost neurologists in Canada, he served as Head of the Division of Neurology at the University of Toronto from 1989-2002 e6 Ranalli and Morrow: J Neuro-Ophthalmol 2014; 34: e6-e7 Obituary Copyright © North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited. and as Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Journal of Neuro-logical Sciences from 1991-1999. He worked as an editor or reviewer for many other journals and as a course director or participant at meetings worldwide. Jim greatly enjoyed sharing his latest results with colleagues at meetings, most of them highly technical eye movement studies that might not have seemed as attractive to those more interested in afferent problems. As a founding member of the humorously-named "Square Wave Jerk Club", Jim took the resultant good-natured ribbing in stride. Dr. Sharpe was particularly proud of his role in organized neuro-ophthalmology. He was an early and active member of the Rocky Mountain Neuro-ophthalmology Society and its successor, the North American Neuro-ophthalmology Society (NANOS). He served on the NANOS Board for 12 years, including two years as President (1992-1994), and was given the group's Distinguished Service Award in 2004. He served as President of the International Neuro-ophthalmology Society from 1998-2000. In his off time, Jim was a humble and devoted family man who took delight in his children and grandchildren. He was an avid golfer who spent many happy hours on his home course, the Brantford Golf and Country Club. He bought a sailboat and learned to ply the waters of Lake Ontario and the North Channel of Lake Huron. He was also an enthusiastic skier whose optimism was such that he bought a new pair of skis a few months before passing, believing that he would have plenty of opportunity to use them. Jim is survived by his children, Jason, Peter and Katie, his fiancée Adrienne, his former wife Evie and a grow-ing roster of grandchildren. He will be missed by all. Paul J. Ranalli, MD Departments of Medicine (Neurology), Ophthalmology, and Otolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada Mark J. Morrow, MD Department of Neurology, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, California Ranalli and Morrow: J Neuro-Ophthalmol 2014; 34: e6-e7 e7 Obituary Copyright © North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited. |