Development News - Drs. Junker & Sommer

LEGACIES OF LEARNING

by MORGAN POPE

It was a time in the Department of Pathology when esteemed faculty members such as Dr. Bernard Fetter and Dr. Donald Hackel walked the halls of the Davison Building, and Dr. Ed Bossen and Dr. John Shelburne were just starting out in their laudable careers. Following in the footsteps of such powerful mentors and scientists, Dr. Joe Sommer had just turned 50 when a young James Junker joined his lab with a freshly minted undergraduate degree from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA. Inspired by coursework in microanatomy and histology, James came to Duke to pursue a PhD in Pathology. He specifically sought out a program where he could work with an electron microscope, and good fortune landed James in the lab of a worldwide leader in the field of cardiac muscle.

With Dr. Sommer as his graduate advisor, James’ thesis aimed to biochemically isolate and anatomically localize a calcium binding protein in heart muscle. He focused on calsequestrin, which helps internal organelles store calcium during relaxation and release calcium during contraction. Looking back on his time with Dr. Sommer, James remembers that his mentor wanted his students to be self-motivated. He encouraged his students to find an inspiring topic of study and then enabled them to pursue their best work. Dr. Sommer also had a quirky sense of humor, James recalls with laugh.

“A degree in pathology is very versatile and gives you a lot of flexibility,” James remarked. “The Duke Pathology Department gave me the opportunity to find what I wanted to do and pursue it. Dr. Sommer allowed his students such freedom that I was able to craft my own, broadly-based biomedical curriculum that served me very well in my career.” Upon graduating with his doctoral degree from Duke in 1980, James pursued two research fellowships. First, a post-doctoral position at the University of Pennsylvania’s Muscle Institute, followed by four years as a staff fellow at the National Cancer Institute. James then went on to teach comparative animal physiology for two years at Bayero University Kano in Nigeria. He credits his success in this particular teaching position to a class on animal physiology taken at Duke’s Marine Lab.

Crop from Staff Photo in 1978: 1. Dr. William Johnston; 2. Dr. Donald Hackel; 3. Dr. Joachim Sommer; 4. Dr. James Junker; 5. Dr. John Shelburne. See the whole photo and names list linked on our website Newsletter Archive.

James joined the faculty of Campbell University’s Pharmacy School in 1989 as an assistant professor. Because Dr. Sommer had not yet retired from Duke, James had the opportunity to rejoin the lab and continue publishing important research papers. One such first-author paper propelled James’ career even further, helping him secure a promotion to associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences in 1994. In total, James spent 20 years teaching first year pharmacy students at Campbell, a joy he remembers fondly. “I had the 8:00 am anatomy and physiology class for the first-year pharmacy students, which meant I got to launch around 2,000 pharmacists into their career. It gives me a great deal of satisfaction to know that I gave so many students their academic start.” After retiring from Campbell in 2009, James went to University of Maryland Eastern Shore to help start a new pharmacy school. While there, James was named the chair of the Pharmaceutical Sciences Department and later moved into academic affairs in an associate dean position, retiring in 2016.

James’ notable career and legacy will live on at Duke through a generous bequest that will be split evenly between the Chapel music program and the Department of Pathology’s educational initiatives. When asked why he chose to include Duke Pathology as part of his estate planning, James said, “I am indebted to Duke. Leaving an estate gift is one way I can express my appreciation for the excellent academic and research foundation that I received from the Duke University Department of Pathology.”

The Department is grateful to James and the many individuals who choose to provide such thoughtful philanthropic support. If you would like to learn more about leaving a legacy gift to the Department of Pathology, please reach out to DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT, MORGAN POPE, at 919-451-5093 or morgan.pope@duke.edu.

Dr. Joachim Sommer worked in Pathology from 1958 to 2011.

Dr. Edward Bossen remembers:

“Dr. Sommer’s research interest was comparative ultrastructure of the heart with animals including humans, mice, birds, and others. One of the techniques he employed was serial electron microscopic sections, a painstaking way of examining tissue. Joe, as everyone referred to him, was unfailingly cheerful, despite the demands of his work. His advice to those, like myself, who were working with him, was always thoughtful and delivered in such a way that you felt as if the whole idea was yours. He encouraged intellectual growth in his co-workers. He was a perfect research mentor for me.”

James Junker, PhD

Photo: Jim Glovier