From UCSF Today
First Appeared 10.27.03

"Pat" Patterson remembered

Hugh “Pat” Patterson, PhD, 61, distinguished anatomy professor and research scientist who taught generations of students at UCSF, UC Berkeley and UC Davis, died unexpectedly Wednesday in Davis, California.

A memorial service was held in Davis on Sunday (Oct. 26). A UCSF service to celebrate Patterson’s life will be held on Dec. 12.

Patterson, who taught gross anatomy and embryology to medical students at UCSF and the Joint Medical Program at UC Berkeley, was beloved by his current and past students, who showered him with affection and numerous teaching awards and by his colleagues who respected his pioneering work in anatomy education, according to David A. Kessler, MD, dean of the UCSF School of Medicine.

Patterson received four Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation awards for excellence in teaching and the Kaiser Career Achievement Award. Most recently, he earned the UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program Award for Humanistic Teaching. During his tenure at UC Davis he received five Outstanding Basic Science Instructor awards and the Educational Opportunity Program 25th Anniversary Service award. He also won awards for developing innovative educational software.

In a meeting held on Thursday, Oct. 23, at which Dean Kessler announced Patterson’s death to a hushed gathering of medical students, Ralston gave the students a message from Betty: “Pat loved each and every one of you.” In reply, the students sent their message back to her: “We loved Pat.”

In addition to his excellence in teaching, Patterson worked with UCSF colleagues to redesign the UCSF medical school curriculum. Part of the redesign included the elimination of traditional anatomy classes, which involved complicated dissection of cadavers. Instead, students now examine pre-dissected anatomical specimens. Patterson was long a proponent that this is a better way to teach anatomy – both more efficient and effective.

As a charter member of the UCSF Academy of Medical Educators –the first entity of its kind in the country dedicated to enhancing medical school education -- Patterson was influential in encouraging interdisciplinary approaches to undergraduate medical education, providing funding for innovative educational programs, supporting gifted teachers, sponsoring faculty development and mentoring teachers. Devoted to public education, Patterson was an instructor at UCSF’s Mini-Medical School and for many years led tours of the UCSF anatomy lab for local high school students.

In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Patterson enjoyed a multi-faceted research career. Among other things, he investigated the anatomy and physiological responses of the auditory central nervous system, circulatory anatomy related to pelvic fractures, and the biomechanics of the knee joint and mechanisms of knee injury. He and his colleagues developed computer-controlled robotics that enabled the gathering of accurate experimental data about the behavior of the knee under normal and injury-producing loads. This work gave Patterson and his colleagues a better understanding of normal knee function, the mechanisms of knee injury and design considerations for knee prosthesis.

Patterson was born in St. Charles, Illinois. He received his BA in psychology from Suffolk University in Boston in 1968. He then went on to receive his master’s degree in psychology from Northeastern University in Boston in 1970. He completed is PhD in anatomy at Boston University in 1976. Pat and his wife, a family practice physician who graduated from the UCSF School of Medicine, raised three children: Ross Alexander Patterson, Karen Elizabeth Heather Patterson and Paul Alexander Patterson. His hobbies included tennis, skiing and flying. One of his most satisfying accomplishments was having taught his kids to ski so well that he could no longer keep up with them on the slopes.

Source: Maureen McInaney