IN MEMORIAM Tribute to Dr Laskin

Tribute to DR LASKIN

By Nabil Samman Hong Kong

DANIEL LASKIN was a remarkable man for his many achievements and varied contributions to academia and oral and maxillofacial surgery. He was active in the profession until his passing on December 8, 2021.

Dr Laskin was a tour de force of the profession and is remembered for his many different contributions only some of which I am able to recall in this setting. Each one of us has their own image of Dr Laskin’s work and its impact as they see it. Mine, limited as it is, hopefully serves to encompass an overview suitable for the younger generation that will have not had the opportunity and experience of meeting him or appreciating his work in real time.

To me, Dr Laskin’s work as editor was most remarkable. He was chief editor of JOMS for 30 years, a journal that was and continues to be a leader in the field and a trend setter in the clinical direction of our specialty. He wrote an editorial for every issue without fail, and the topics he chose covered the gamut of issues, academic, social and political, facing the profession at the time. Since stepping down, he continued editorial work as a reviewer. I can definitely say that his reviews until the very last one were as incisive and focused as a review can ever be. He reviewed for IJOMS until his passing and in 2021 alone, he had reviewed 218 manuscripts for IJOMS. His legacy in editing is unparalleled.

Dr Laskin the academic was long standing professor and department chair at Virginia Commonwealth University. As an educator, he had massive global impact through his published articles and textbooks. As an authority on the temporomandibular joint in the widest sense, he was a definitive and compelling opinion in the subject with a perspective that enabled colleagues and authors to clearly see the place a particular work occupies or should be aimed at. When he lectured on the TMJ, this otherwise complex subject melted into simplicity. One other side of Dr Laskin’s is his leadership role for the American (1976-77) and International (1983-86) associations as president. Throughout his life, he continued to work for the benefit of both associations and was the recipient of multiple awards too numerous to list. The IAOMS Foundation has honored him with the establishment of the Laskin Society, a well-deserved legacy that sums up the IAOMS Foundation’s educational portfolio under Dr Laskin’s symbolic representation.

It is with confidence and humility that I conclude this word with a statement that I make on behalf of all colleagues in fondly remembering Dan Laskin the academic, the editor, the surgeon and the man. ■

A teacher and a reference for numerous generations of oral surgeons around the world. September 3, 1924 / December 8, 2021