Ronald S. Weinstein

Ronald S. Weinstein (November 20, 1938 – December 3, 2021) was an American

He is past president of six medical organizations, including the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology and the International Society for Urological Pathology, which he co-founded. He is a cancer researcher, an educator, and an inventor.

Early life and education

Weinstein was born on November 20, 1938, in

In 1988–89, Weinstein was president of the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology.^[16] In 1995–1996, he was president of the International Society for Urological Pathology.^[17] In 2003–04, he was president of the American Telemedicine Association.^[18] In 2010–2011, he was president of the Association for Pathology Informatics.^[19]

Development of telepathology and telemedicine

While a department chair at Rush Medical College in Chicago, Weinstein carried out the first public demonstration of satellite-enabled robotic telepathology, between El Paso, TX. and Washington, DC, in 1986.^[20] In 1993, Weinstein patented telepathology systems and telepathology diagnostic networks.^[21][22] He established an international telepathology service network linking the United States, Mexico and China.^[23][24] Weinstein has been referred to as the “father of telepathology” in a 2011 journal article written by a student and a faculty member from an Indian medical school.^[25] Weinstein received the Association of Pathology Informatics’ Lifetime Achievement Award.^[26]

In 1996, he became Founding Director of the Arizona Telemedicine Program (ATP), which he co-founded with Arizona State Representative Robert "Bob" Burns.^[27] The ATP links 160 sites in 70 communities by broadband telecommunications and has provided telemedicine services for 1.4 million cases in 61 subspecialties of medicine. He became executive director of the Institute for Advanced Telemedicine and Telehealth (T-Health Institute), a Phoenix division of the ATP, in 2004.

The ATP includes: the Tucson-based Warren Street Clinic, a dual-purpose clinical education facility which provides real-time tele-medicine specialty services across the network and hands-on training for participants in the ATP's regularly scheduled full day telemedicine courses;^[28] the T-Health Amphitheater, a video conferencing center located at the T-Health Institute on the Phoenix Biomedical Campus is in downtown Phoenix;^[29] and the federally-funded Southwest Telehealth Resource Center, which provides technical support and staff training for telehealth programs in the southwestern United States.^[30]

Research and development

Technology innovations, classifications, and validations

Weinstein has had a career-long interest in the development of medical science research technologies including: freeze-fracture electron microscopy;^[31][32] urinary bladder flow cytometry;^[33] image analysis;^[34] holographic microscopy;^[35] robotic telepathology;^[36][37] quantitative immunohistochemistry;^[38] array light microscopy;^[39] and digital pathology.^[40]

Cancer research

Weinstein studied mechanisms of carcinogenesis, pre-cancer development, and cancer invasion and metastasis.^[3][13] He studied cell membrane properties in normal epithelium, pre-cancers and cancers.^[41]

Medical science education reform

To encourage the democratization of medical science knowledge, Weinstein developed a series of class-room courses on “mechanisms of diseases” that have been utilized in middle schools, high schools, and universities.^[42]

Global health

Weinstein was involved in the creation and evaluation of multi-national telemedicine and telepathology programs.^[23][43] In 1981–1983, he was International Councilor of the International Academy of Pathology. In 1998–1999, he was president of the International Council of Societies of Pathology, a World Health Organization registered entity. Weinstein was an advisor on telemedicine for the Minister of Health in Mexico, China, and Panama.^[43] He was a frequent lecturer at international medical conferences.

Publications

Weinstein has published over 300 articles in peer reviewed scientific and pathology journals, 57 book chapters, and 11 books. These have been cited over 11,000 times in the science literature.^[44]

Honors and awards

Weinstein is president emeritus of the American Telemedicine Association.^[18] In 2013, he was inducted into the United States Distance Learning Association "Hall-of-Fame".^[45] The T-Health Amphitheater, in Phoenix, AZ, a "Classroom-of-the-Future" co-designed by Weinstein, received the 21st Century Achievement Award, Education and Academia category, from the International Computer World Honors program.^[46]

Involvement in business

In 1982, Weinstein, and his sister and business partner, Beth Newburger, co-founded OWLCAT, Inc., an early entrant in the IBM computer-based,

For his work in university technology transfer, he received the University of Arizona's "2012 Technology Innovator-of-the-Year" Award.[50]

Personal life

In 1964, Weinstein married the former Mary Corabi; they met while they were both working at Woods Hole. They have two grown children and two grandsons.^[1] Dr. Weinstein died in December 2021 of heart failure.

References