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Emphatic for Lymphatics
Lemole on Lymphatics Q: How did your interest in
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| TEMPLE HEALTH MAGAZINE | WINTER 2021
Q: Integral?
A: Yes, the lymph system is integral to every system and
process in the body, to the health of all organs and tissues. It maintains organ homeostasis by returning excess interstitial fluid to the circulation. It clears the body of dietary fats, dead cells, cellular debris, and pathogens. It absorbs essential fatty acids — like vitamins A, D, and E — from the intestines and transports them to the blood. In addition, the lymphatic system is one of the most important components of the human immune system, with major roles in innate and adaptive immunity. The contributions of the lymphatic system to health, to every function of the body, cannot be overstated. Untreated lymph-related illness can be serious, even deadly.
SAMEER KHAN/FOTOBUDDY
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ith a $5 million gift, Gerald M. Lemole, MD ’62, and his wife, Emily Jane, have established the Lemole Center for Integrated Lymphatics Research at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University. There are only a handful of research centers of its kind in the United States. Lemole, an internationally known cardiovascular surgeon, has been fascinated with the lymphatic system since training under transplant pioneers Debakey and Cooley at the Texas Heart Institute in the 1960s. Today we know much more about the lymphatic system, but it’s still a vastly understudied system of the body, with many mysteries to decrypt. “Exciting discoveries await us at the Lemole Center that could alter our approach to human disease,” says John M. Daly, MD ’73, FACS, Interim Dean and Dean Emeritus of the medical school. “We’re grateful to the Lemoles. Transformative philanthropy like this accelerates science.” As the following discussion reveals, the lymphatic system — and Lemole’s appreciation for it — run deep.
lymphatics begin? A: In my early days in Houston, I was puzzled by unexplained poor heart transplant outcomes and suspected lymphatics were somehow involved. So little was known about this system at the time that it was largely overlooked. Then, serendipitously, when I returned to Temple as Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery in 1969, I met two scientists who were studying lymphatics and immunology. We started looking into how the surgical team could handle the lymphatic system during transplant surgery. Temple was one of the first institutions to appreciate the significance of lymphatics research. For the most part, scientists tend to approach it tangentially as they study other things. Temple recognizes it as the integral system that it is.
