It is with great sadness that I share with the endocrine community news of the untimely passing of Dr. Norman Fleischer, professor emeritus in the Department of Medicine and former chief of endocrinology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine – Montefiore Medical Center.
Norm was brilliant. An accomplished researcher in the field of diabetes, a gifted clinician, a devoted teacher and mentor, he dedicated his life to building one of the first and largest diabetes centers in the country and a world renowned Endocrine Division and training program. He skillfully and tirelessly educated hundreds of fellows who will pass on his wisdom.
Norm completed his medical internship and residency at Bronx Municipal Hospital. He then returned to Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, where he had earned his medical degree, for a fellowship in Endocrinology with Dr. Grant Liddle. Norm enjoyed telling the fellows he would train decades later that during his fellowship he would get up at 5 a.m. to collect the patients’ urine for adrenal metabolites, he would spend the entire day at the lab, to finish rounding on admitted patients at 6 p.m. He described how his life dramatically changed when these hormones became measurable in blood.
An accomplished researcher in the field of diabetes, a gifted clinician, a devoted teacher and mentor, he dedicated his life to building one of the first and largest diabetes centers in the country and a world renowned Endocrine Division and training program.
Norm moved on as faculty at Baylor College of Medicine before being recruited to Einstein in 1972 as chief of endocrinology, a position he would hold for the remaining 46 years of his life. In 1975, Norm helped establish — from the ground up — Einstein’s diabetes center, one of the first diabetes research centers in the U.S. In honor of his pioneering research and seminal contributions to the field of diabetes and metabolic disorders, a ribbon-cutting ceremony is being planned in the upcoming weeks to introduce the newly formed Fleischer Institute for Diabetes and Metabolism (FIDAM) at Montefiore-Einstein.
On a personal level, Norm was a unique human being. In the midst of a grant renewal, he would teach a newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes patient how to inject insulin. Similarly, he would make the time to round and listen to his fellows with his characteristically unhurried demeanor. He treated his colleagues as peers and created a warm working environment.
Norm was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather, and both he and his wife Eva instantly welcomed new friends into their family.
Norman Fleischer was undoubtedly one of the giants of his time and his legacy will live on for generations to come.
We will deeply miss him.
– Laura Boucai, MD, MSc, is a former fellow, friend, and colleague of Norman Fleischer. She has written this on behalf of all the fellows and colleagues who were touched by his knowledge and charisma.
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