It i
s with great sadness and sorrow that I am writing to inform you of the passing of Nathan Hellman, MD, PhD, and founder of the Renal Fellow Network Blog. I worked with Nathan in the Division of Nephrology of the Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Boston, where we were both fellows. He passed away on February 13, 2010 at the Massachusetts General Hospital after a short illness.
Born in Houston, Texas, on December 8, 1973, Nathan grew up in Duluth, Minnesota. He attended Yale University, graduating magna cum laude. After Yale, he went to Washington University St. Louis, where he obtained his MD/PhD. He did his residency training in Internal Medicine at University of Pennsylvania and became a member of the Division of Nephrology in 2007 as a clinical fellow in Nephrology. He was completing his fellowship as a research fellow and member of Iain Drummond’s research group. He was to be appointed a faculty member in July 2010. Nathan was most importantly a wonderful husband, father, son and brother. At work, he touched all of our lives with his warm heart and spirit, great sense of humor and remarkable intellect. He was an exceptional scientist, a talented and insightful clinician and a remarkably kind and humble human being. He is survived by his wife, Claire, his two children, Sophie and Max, his parents, Dr. and Mrs. Hellman, his two sisters, and their families.
A Memorial Service will be held to celebrate his achievements and commemorate his contributions to the MGH community at the O’Keefe Auditorium on Wednesday, February 17th at 2pm, followed by a reception in the Thier Conference Room at 3.30pm.
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be sent to:
Nathan Hellman Memorial Fund
PO Box 471044
Brookline Village, MA 02447
This is a big loss to family, friends and the renal fellow community. He has built a blog that will definitely immortalize him. RIP.
Koech K Mathew
Internal Medicine Resident
Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital
Kenya
I'm heartbroken and incredulous, like the rest. A kind, gentle, thoughtful person, quickly befriended by everyone during our time at Mount Desert Island. I still have handy a photo with him, as one of very few brave souls willing to get into the cold Atlanic Ocean. It will take a long while to let this settle. My thoughts and prayers are with Nate and the whole Hellman family. Peace be with all of you.
Pedram Fatehi
UCSF Nephrology
It is a shock. Nate has truly inspired so many young budding Nephrologists. Looking at his blog, his family pictures, he indeed appears to be a great person, loved by all. May God bless his family with the strength. May this Blog, always remain dedicated to its founder, Nathan Hellman, and carry on the tradition of reaching out to Nephrology fellows all across the world. Nathan, from heavens above, hope you find, that the tradition is carried on for years and years, just like you would have wanted..just like you would have done..May your soul rest in peace.
I am shocked. I just heard the news last week. Could not believe that. His website is my favorite . It gave me inspiration to keep a log of the cases that I had seen during my fellowship.
Sarika Kadam
Nephrology fellow ,
University of Arkansas, Little Rock.
I just read the news now. I was shocked to hear the sad news. He is a great loss to the medical community but his educational work will always be appreciated and his good deeds will live on. May he rest in peace and my sincere condolences to his family and loved ones. I also pray for his family at this most difficult of times.
Ahmed Omar
I still can't believe this has happend. Great loss to renal community. My deepest condolences to his family.
I was totally shocked by reading this news today. I am terribly saddened by this news. I started readind Nate's blog about a year ago, when I stumbled on his blog while studying for my fellowship exam. I have been addicted ever sice. To echo everyone, the nephrology community mourns the loss of a tremendous leader and writer. My deepest sympathies to Nate's family.
Pierre-Antoine Brown
Nephrologist, University of Ottawa
I am so shocked and saddened to read this news. I started following Nate's posts after using this amazing resource to put together a quiz for our renal fellows. What a brilliant mind and spirit, what a terrible terrible loss to the world. My sincere condolences to Nate's family, his colleages and to the Nephrology community at large. To those who do continue to post on the Renal Fellow Network, thank you for doing so in honour of Nate's work.
Tiina Podymow
Nephrologist McGill University
Montreal
This is shocking! I just got back from vacation and logged onto my favorite blog only to be shocked by this sad news.
My prayers and thoughts go out to his family. We all were touched by Nate's passion for Nephrology; he was an inspiration to all of us.
Nathan – a true inspiration and pioneer.
Truly shocked and saddened by the turn of events.My thoughts and prayers go out to his family during this difficult time.
He will be greatly missed by friends, family and the whole nephrology community which has lost one of its leading lights.
Rest in peace Nate.
Karthik
LSUHSC-Shreveport
Shocked and deeply saddened. Nathan was a shinning star for the future of nephrology. His blog was my and many other nephrologists favorite. My thoughts go tp Dr.Hellman's family. This is a huge loss for the family, friends, medical and nephrology community.
My deepest condolences,
May he rest in peace.
Saddened beyond words.Rest in peace Nathan, we will miss you.
Hope that we will all be able to continue Dr Hellman's blog and extend his gift to those to come.
Renu Gupta
Nephrology fellow
LSUHSC
Shocked, like all, about this very, very sad event. What an amazing person. His effect has been world-wide!
I hope that this blog will continue on in honor of Dr. Hellman. I hope Dr. O' Seaghdha and possibly others will find the strength to continue to write daily on the blog as a tribute to Dr. Hellman.
Speechless.
A great loss.
My thoughts go out to his young family.
Shocked,very saddened and a great miss. This is what I feel. I very much liked reading Nathan's blog.
Deepest condolences
Rene Bakker
Nephrologist, Amphia Hospital, Breda, The Netherlands
Still cannot belive this. Nathan has touched many hearts without even personally meeting many of them. All my wishes go for his family and friends.
Nishant
I can not believe it, Nate blogs were so inspiring I pray for his family in this difficult time. The nephrology community has lost a great leader. Rest in peace Nate.
Neeraj
Nephrology Fellow
New York,NY
I found Nathan's blog over a year ago as a fellow and shared with my "fellow fellows"… We often talked about the latest posting and used some of his pearls for Renal Jeopardy. I looked forward to reading the blog daily. His love for nephrology was inspirational. He will be missed…
I discovered this blog just a month ago. I am just a patient; I am not an expert in nephrology or any other sort of ology…I'm on the wrong end of the science, being a renal patient for 18 years and about to start dialysis. I learned so much from this blog; I visited it so often so that I could be my own best advocate, and I am shocked to hear of Dr. Hellman's death. For once in my life, I am speechless…
It´s hardly believable. What a cruel destiny. Nathan, thank you for your great job you have done posting your blog commentaries.
Deep condolences to Nathan´s family and friends.
Roman Kantor, nephrologist
B. Braun Avitum Dialysis center
Třinec, Czech Republic
A terrible tragedy and big loss to nephrology.
My deepest condolences to his family and colleagues.
Jay Patel
Renal Fellow LSU, New Orleans.
I am deeply saddened by this news. I never met Dr. Hellman, but his enthusiasm, curiosity, and dedication to medical education inspired me through this blog. This is a great loss to the Nephrology community. My thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues.
Premila Bhat
My heart goes out to Nathan's father, Dr Richard Hellman, a wonderful man who I had the fortune to work with during my residency and fellowship at IU. Imagining his pain is beyond my comprehension . I hope he finds some comfort in Nathan's children who survive him.
Christian Pelte
I am just shocked by this sad news… Although I never met him but I had met his father during my interviews for fellowship. His blog was a daily source of education for me and many others.
My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and may God give them strength to go through this difficult time.
This is so sad.I ve been following his blog for a while now and it's truely a great loss. Iam still unable to digest the news…it's beyond shocking to me. He is truely a great inspiration to many anonymous followers like me who want become nephrologists. My sincere condolences to his family and friends.I feel that I lost a great friend.thank u for all ur contributions Dr.Hellman.RIP.
Wow. I am stunned. I only knew Nathan from his work online and some brief dialogue.. but what a tragedy.
My deepest condolences to Nathan's family
This is the worst kind of shock. My thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family.
I can't believe what happened. Although I never knew Nathan, I read his blog religiously. He was clearly incredibly intelligent and wonderfully devoted to medicine. It is a sad day for the nephrology community.
My Deepest Condolences,
Lauren Stern
Nephrology Fellow
Mount Sinai School of Medicin, NYC
My deepest condolences to Dr Hellman's family. He inspired me and many others through this truly remarkable blog.
Very shocked to hear the news. My prayers for the family.
I'm stunned and deeply saddened by this news…I was so impressed by his website and the person he obviously was – bright, inquisitive, a lover of knowledge adn teaching. What a terrible loss to our community. My prayers and condolences to his family.
I am shocked and very saddened by this news.
He had an unique approach to kidney disorders.
He will be greatly missed by renal community.
AK
I am extremely shocked and saddened.I have been a regular reader of Dr. Hellman's blog and I was looking forward to meet him at MGH this year but alas! this won't be possible.
My condolences to his family and friends.
Imran Sajjad
My deepest condolences to his family. Nathan's intellectual drive was inspiring. I will miss his unique spirit.
My deepest condolences to his family. I have never known him personally, but I have been following his blog, and he is surely one great teacher. It is a sad day not only for his family but the entire nephrology community.
This is a very sad news. I do not know Nathan personally but his father has been my great mentor since I was a resident. He's always proud of his son, and introduced me to this renal fellow network. His works are impressive, his passion towards renal science is inspirational for me. This is a great loss to nephrology. My deepest condolences to his family.
Chun K Chong
Nephrology Fellow, Indiana University
Very sad to hear this news. Condolences to his friends and family.
Daniel Lotspeich
Nephrology Fellow
Oregon Health & Science University
Portland, OR
I am shocked to read this news. Condolences to his family and friends. His blogs have been a wonderful addition to the web, read worldwide!
JS Sanders, Nephrology Fellow, Groningen University, The Netherlands
Very sad news. This has been a very unique and inspiring blog, and Nate's passion and dedication clearly made it so. I too feel that through his blogging I came to know a part of him.
He wll be missed. My condolences go out to his family and friends.
Jay Shah
Renal Fellow
University of Pittsburgh
I am completely shocked! An enormous loss to the Hellman family and to the renal community. My heart goes out to his wife, children, and father in Indiana. Truly, speechless. Nate inspired many of us all around the country. He'll never know how far his enthusiasm, intellect, and inspiration reached.
Resident Indiana University
Future Renal Fellow
I am terribly saddened by Nathan's untimely passing. Although I never knew him, his reputation preceded him. We had asked him to help give the U.S. Nephrology Training Program Directors the benefits of his insights into fellow education – his website was an inspiration to us and a sign of his dedication to, and love of, teaching. He will be sorely missed. My thoughts go out to his friends and family.
Donald Kohan
ASN Director of Education for Fellowship Training
I am very shocked and still cannot believe that our colleague has really passed away .. I didn't know him personally but I used to check up everyday his contributions on this interesting and convivial website .Rest in Peace Dr Hellman .
My sincere condolences to his family and colleagues .
Dr Abraham Haskour,MD , nephrologist .
Pierre Bérégovoy Hospital
Nevers
France
Very shocked by this new
May his soul rest in peace
His blog was inspiring to me personally and others in the renal community.
Even without meeting him, I felt that we all knew him from his blog.We have lost a great leader in nephrology who had made it big even at such an early phase in his career.
I am shocked by this sad news.His work has inspired lot of nephrology fellows.I pray for his family in this difficult moment.
Ashish Dhungel
Nephrology fellow
St John hospital & Medical Center
Detroit,MI
Im shocked.I still cant accept the fact…my deepest condolences to Dr.Hellman's family. He has been a great inspiration for me.Iam a IM resident, and his blog has been my home page for a while. Iam going to miss his blogs.
samson
IM Resident
Bridgeport Hospital
I am shocked,Great Loss to nephrology.
My deepest condolences to his family and his friends at this difficult time.
This site is truly innovative and inspirational. I am saddened beyond words to hear of Dr Hellman's passing.
My deepest condolences to his family and friends.
Graham Abra
Chief Medical Resident
University of California, San Diego
I am so sad. Nathan was a wonderful addition to our board at ASN Kidney News. I will miss him terribly.
My thoughts go out to his family.
I am totally shocked. He has inspired many a people like me to enjoy the joy of science and would continue to live in our memories forever.
I am shocked, dismayed and very saddened by this news! He will be greatly missed by the Renal community.
My thoughts and prayers are with Nathan and his family, friends and colleagues.
Stanley Crittenden
Nephrology Fellow
Weill Cornell Medical College
Unbelievable! Nate is such a creative and remarkable renal fellow who is an inspriration for all renal fellows in the nation. This website that he created has become homepage for many renal fellows' personal computers and invaluable educational tool. May his soul rest in peace.
Sridhar Reddy Allam,
Nephrology Fellow, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York.
I'm shocked by this news, it just doesn't seem possible. My thoughts go to Dr. Hellman's family, I wish I had some words to bring comfort but I am speechless.
With deep condolences,
Bill Peckham
Shocked and saddened. Still can't comprehend that this has actually happened. Nate was truly a gifted individual. His passion for understanding kidney disease was infectious. He has inspired many people to continue this search. I pray for his family in this difficult time. The nephrology community has lost a great leader. Rest in peace Nate.
Matt Sparks
Nephrology Fellow, Duke University