Spotlight

Dr. Arnold Jack Rudolph (1918– 1995), an internationally recognized expert in neonatology, was Head of Neonatology at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) from 1972 to 1986. Dr. Rudolph was a beloved medical educator with a distinct legacy, and his former students direct newborn nurseries and academic units throughout the world.

According to Dr. Joseph A. Garcia-Prats, “Dr. Rudolph’s emphasis on taking care of my own family was very much appreciated as I started learning this busy subspecialty. I cannot tell you the number of times he reminded me of that sustaining focus. He was a wonderful mentor and teacher and I can only hope that I am able to give back some of what he gave me.” Dr. Garcia-Prats is now Professor of Pediatrics and Ethics at BCM and Director of Nurseries at the Harris County Hospital District’s Ben Taub General Hospital. He and his wife are raising their 10 sons in a very closely knit, family-oriented home.

“Dr. Rudolph is dancing up there, that’s probably why Houston’s getting all of this rain,” said a smiling Dr. Gerardo Cabrera-Meza, who is a former fellow of Dr. Rudolph, recipient of the Dr. Rodolfo Robles Award and the Rotary Club’s Humanitarian Award, and Director of International Neonatology at Texas Children’s Hospital. “I know he would be proud of the Baylor Neonatology Section. He taught his students so much.” Indeed, he did. For Dr. Rudolph, ‘his babies’ came first—always.

Dr. Rudolph’s lifelong interest in neonatology was chronicled in the Atlas of the Newborn (1997, B.C. Decker), a five-volume collection of virtually every disease, disorder, and condition that can affect the newborn. Blackwell Science described the series as “a life’s work of the most meticulous photographic archivist in neonatology providing the most comprehensive collection of newborn diseases ever.”

Dr. Leonard E. Weisman, Professor of Pediatrics, current Head of Neonatology at Baylor, and an editor of the series, said, “The book is a great collection and provides a wonderful reference tool for all physicians who take care of babies and students who are studying to do so.”