Samuel Guze

Samuel Guze was a psychiatrist, medical educator, and researcher. He was one of the most influential psychiatrists in the contemporary world. He was on faculty at Washington University in St. Louis.

As Researcher
Guze was a towering figure in establishing the "Medical Model" for psychiatry, which states that psychiatric illness should be diagnosed just as any other physical illness --through use of a scientific medical model and a biological approach. When Guze and his prominent colleagues (including Eli Robins,MD, also of Washington University)sent their first message to the then psychoanalysis dominated psychiatric community in the 1950s, it sent shockwaves through the community. Their ideas shaped today's psychiatric practice.

In 1980, Guze and his colleagues finally received validation of their work by the psychiatric community when they helped create the American Psychiatric Association's DSM-III (Third Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). The manual immediately became a best seller and is still in use today. With colleagues, he also wrote a textbook for followers of the Washington University approach. "Psychiatric Diagnosis" was published in 1974 and is considered a classic. It's fifth edition published still under Guze's name in 2004 was published four years after his death. Rumor said the publisher is recruiting his former students to continue the writing.

Guze's work also spawned great interest in the genetics of psychiatric disorders. He was among the first to use twin studies as a means of identifying the role of heredity in psychiatric illness. He and his colleagues produced key findings about genetic vulnerability to alcoholism and to other conditions such as schizophrenia and affective disorders. In addition, his research brought widespread recognition of the important role epidemiologic studies should play in psychiatric research.

As Educator
In addition to his scientific accomplishments, Guze led the school as vice chancellor for medical affairs during a time of rapid expansion and changes in medical care and medical research. He was appointed vice chancellor and president of the Washington University Medical Center in 1971, positions he held until 1989. He was head of the Department of Psychiatry from 1975 to 1989 and again from 1993 to 1997. In all, he served on the faculty for almost 50 years. He also served as psychiatrist-in-chief at Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals.

Guze, considered an outstanding teacher, trained hundreds of psychiatrists who now are leaders in their respective institutions. He and his wife, Joy, established the Samuel B. Guze Professorship in Psychiatry in 1998. To Guze's delight, the first holder of the professorship is his former student and current head of the psychiatry department, Charles F. Zorumski, M.D.

Biography
Guze was born in New York City Oct. 18, 1923. He attended the City College of New York, Washington University and its School of Medicine, receiving his medical degree in 1945. He later received residency training in both psychiatry and internal medicine.

Guze published more than 200 scientific papers and several books. He also was the recipient of numerous awards. His most recent honor was received in January when he was awarded the Thomas William Salmon Medal from the New York Academy of Medicine.

Other awards include the Sarnat Prize in Mental Health from the Institute of Medicine, the Samuel Hamilton Medal and the Paul Hoch Award Medal from the American Psychopathological Association, the Distinguished Public Service Award from the Department of Health and Human Services and an Alumni/Faculty Award from the School of Medicine.

Guze was a member of the Institute of Medicine, Alpha Omega Alpha, Sigma Xi and the Psychiatric Research Society, among other groups, and a fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, American College of Physicians, American Association for the Advancement of Science and Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Guze suffered from polycythemia veraa, a bone marrow disease. He had a fall days before his death, resulted in fatal declination. The legend said while he was in emergency room awaiting for evaluation, he saw one of his trainee psychiatrists there assessing a psychiatric patient, and he took his last chance of teaching, by commenting on the trainee's interview skill. Guze died July 19, 2000, on the position of the Spencer T. Olin Professor of Psychiatry and vice chancellor for medical affairs at Washington University. He was 76.