Correspondence: Dr. John R. Stanley, Milton B. Hartzell Professor and Chairman, Department of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 211 CRB, 415 Curie Blvd., Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA

Some people are larger than life. Albert Kligman is one of those people. His life and career are a mixture of major academic contributions to dermatology, tremendous generosity, outrageous anecdotes, and more than his fair share of controversy. Not only that, but at 90 years old, he hasn't by any means exhausted his incredibly resilient ability to keep surprising us. How is it possible to characterize such a man?

For a man who really needs a talented biographer to write a multivolume history, a short editorial will not do him justice. However, in celebration of his 90^th birthday I will select some highlights of his life and his contributions to dermatology.

Albert Kligman was born on St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 1916, and is proud of that fact (Figure 1a).

Figure 1.

Albert Kligman at various stages of his life.

Full figure (45K)

The first remarkable observation about Albert is that he has exactly the same facial expression as a man as he had as an infant (compare Figure 1b with Figure 1a, c, and d). His face bears the stamp of a curious and mischievous demeanor (Figure 1d). His curiosity and delight at surprising us with his erudition, iconoclastic opinions, or sometimes simply outrageous mental associations have been a hallmark of his career, probably carried by some unusual gene, not yet characterized. Some might say that his propensity for these unusual mental gymnastics is a type of genius. They have certainly resulted in major advances in our field. As Albert himself put it when I asked him what he considered to be his major contributions to research in dermatology, "[I made] a bevy of ...original observations which make up my life work..., not all of which were stellar or even true!" However, he was certainly able to pursue the ones that were true, and these have advanced our knowledge to the benefit of our field and our patients.

What have been Albert's most important research accomplishments? I asked him this question, and he felt that topical tretinoin for acne and photodamaged skin was what he would be remembered for most (Kligman et al., 1969; Kligman et al., 1986). However, these discoveries probably compete with the periodic acid-Schiff stain for visualizing fungi in tissue (Kligman and Mescon, 1950); his description of the human hair cycle (Kligman, 1959), telogen effluvium (for which he also coined the term) (Kligman, 1961), and hot comb alopecia (LoPresti et al., 1968); his studies on the pathogenesis of acne vulgaris (for instance, comedogenic properties of sebum (Kligman and Katz, 1968)); the maximization test for identifying new contact allergens (Kligman, 1966); and the coining of the terms "photoaging" (Kligman and Kligman, 1986) and "cosmeceuticals" (Kligman, 1993). Many of his observations debunked various dermatologic myths (for example, that chocolate causes acne (Fulton et al., 1969)). This array of major advances in our field, most of which we now take for granted, is truly remarkable.

In doing such studies, Albert worked with and trained some of the most famous names in dermatology. His coauthors include H. Mescon, D.M. Pillsbury, J.S. Strauss, W.L. Epstein, H.I. Maibach, H. Pinkus, E. Christophers, G. Plewig, A.B. Ackerman, and J.J. Leyden, among others. Of course, he wrote some of his most famous papers with his spouse, Lorraine Kligman (Kligman et al., 1984; Kligman et al., 1985).

These achievements alone would mark Albert as a giant in our field. However, his contribution to dermatology goes well beyond his scientific and clinical work. His most important impact may be his vision for dermatology. He realized, early on, that the morphologic clinical approach to understanding dermatologic disease would have to be supplemented with a more scientific, logical study. When I asked Albert what he was most proud of in his career, his answer was, "I foresaw the need to replace...dermatologic teachings based on descriptive, morphologic, didactic systems with a radical new system based on investigative, experimental dermatoscience." His own work has embodied this approach. His training of many leaders in dermatology amplified it. And his generosity will help perpetuate it.

As chairman of the Department of Dermatology at the University of Pennsylvania, I can appreciate directly how Albert's philanthropy has allowed us to develop outstanding research programs. He has made major contributions to our endowments, which include the Albert M. Kligman Professorship (a chair held by Drs. Alain Rook, William James, and, now, George Cotsarelis), the Albert M. Kligman Dermatology Fund to support education and research, and the Sandra Lazarus Professorship to support bright young clinicians. Albert and Lorraine have also been incredibly generous in setting up endowments to support the tuition of our medical students.

Albert's vision has also guided his contributions to the Society for Investigative Dermatology. He has served the Society in many capacities, including as a member of the board of directors from 1957 to 1962, as the vice president in 1963, and as the president in 1978. He was made an honorary member in 1988. In 1976 he received the Stephen Rothman Memorial Award, the highest honor of our Society. An important part of Albert's vision has been his support of the young investigators who are our future. In that context, he has generously supported the Albert M. Kligman Travel Fellowships. Since 1996, these fellowships have allowed over 250 young dermatologists and scientists to attend our annual meetings.

Albert Kligman is, among many other things, a dreamer. Through his vision and its implementation he has been a major force in directing dermatology toward a better future. His dermatologic dreams have been well realized.