Articles
General · 21st December 2011
by Dr Brian Schaefer
Photo taken at the Orthomolecular Medicine Today Conference in Montreal, May 2009
I first met Brian at the Orthomolecular Medicine Today conference that was held in Vancouver in 2006. Harry Foster and Abram Hoffer had arranged for Gerry Potter to speak about his cancer research so a group of us headed over. It was after Gerry’s lecture that Brian came over and introduced himself. He was full of enthusiasm and was madly scratching out drawings of various compounds trying to gain a deeper understanding of the chemistry and biochemistry underlying Gerry’s work.
In an instant I could tell that I was not going to be of much help as Brian’s depth of knowledge in these areas far outdistanced my own. I politely tried to slow him down long enough to point out that he really needed the ear of Gerry Potter rather than mine and set to finding Gerry to put the two together for a chat. From that point onwards I always made a point of introducing our visiting scientists from England to Brian, and none were ever disappointed by the discussions that ensued.
Soon after meeting Brian I learned the depth of his scientific and medical understanding. I discovered that Brian had won the Ambroise Paré Award, named after the French surgeon whose pioneering work in treating shooting wounds saved so many soldiers lives. Brian had been the head of cellular immunology at Defense and Civil Institute of Environmental Medicine (DCIEM) in Toronto and had conducted a ten-year program of research studying burn-induced immune failure. This work had taken him to Switzerland where he spent a great deal of time in collaboration with a group of Swiss clinicians and scientists. It was for this body of work that Brian won the award.
When I met Brian he had retired from DCIEM and in his words he “maintained a consulting practice.” When people would meet Brian they could not help but notice how passionate and knowledgeable he was about science and medicine. This caused many individuals to approach Brian for advice about their medical conditions or the medical conditions of a loved one. Brian worked tirelessly to assist anyone that asked for his help. He would research their condition and provide them with a detailed discussion of the biochemical and physiological processes that were failing and indicate the natural, orthomolecular treatments that would assist them while pointing out how these treatments would bring about the beneficial result. As I discovered, this was the mainstay of Brian’s consulting! Not a particularly lucrative consulting practice – he never asked anyone for anything – his reward was a successful outcome for the individual.
Since our initial meeting at the OMT conference Brian and I became good friends. We stayed in regular contact and always got together for a chat when he was on the West Coast and when I was in Toronto. Brian was always excited to hear about the latest from our research and to tell me about the individuals that he was helping. He would tell me the nuances of their medical situations, what had been suggested for them and how they were progressing. He was instrumental in bringing about some startling reversals of disease and took great pleasure from this – nothing seemed to make him happier.
I kept telling Brian that he should write a book but he always replied that he had no time and he was right! Over the years that I knew him more and more people approached him for assistance and he never said no. People also approached him for assistance with returning their pets to good health – Brian was a great dog lover. My family was one of those that turned to Brian for help when our dog developed lupus. Brian always inquired after our dog and I was pleased to inform him that his recommendations had proved brilliant!
It was a great shock to learn of Brian’s death (Sunday, December 18) and I know that many people will feel the pain of this loss. Brian was a gifted scientist and a heartfelt humanitarian. The only sense that I can make of this loss comes from my good friend Lorna Hancock, who suggested that there must be some heavenly conference being held by Abram and Harry and they have asked Brian to be a guest speaker.
I first met Brian at the Orthomolecular Medicine Today conference that was held in Vancouver in 2006. Harry Foster and Abram Hoffer had arranged for Gerry Potter to speak about his cancer research so a group of us headed over. It was after Gerry’s lecture that Brian came over and introduced himself. He was full of enthusiasm and was madly scratching out drawings of various compounds trying to gain a deeper understanding of the chemistry and biochemistry underlying Gerry’s work.
In an instant I could tell that I was not going to be of much help as Brian’s depth of knowledge in these areas far outdistanced my own. I politely tried to slow him down long enough to point out that he really needed the ear of Gerry Potter rather than mine and set to finding Gerry to put the two together for a chat. From that point onwards I always made a point of introducing our visiting scientists from England to Brian, and none were ever disappointed by the discussions that ensued.
Soon after meeting Brian I learned the depth of his scientific and medical understanding. I discovered that Brian had won the Ambroise Paré Award, named after the French surgeon whose pioneering work in treating shooting wounds saved so many soldiers lives. Brian had been the head of cellular immunology at Defense and Civil Institute of Environmental Medicine (DCIEM) in Toronto and had conducted a ten-year program of research studying burn-induced immune failure. This work had taken him to Switzerland where he spent a great deal of time in collaboration with a group of Swiss clinicians and scientists. It was for this body of work that Brian won the award.
When I met Brian he had retired from DCIEM and in his words he “maintained a consulting practice.” When people would meet Brian they could not help but notice how passionate and knowledgeable he was about science and medicine. This caused many individuals to approach Brian for advice about their medical conditions or the medical conditions of a loved one. Brian worked tirelessly to assist anyone that asked for his help. He would research their condition and provide them with a detailed discussion of the biochemical and physiological processes that were failing and indicate the natural, orthomolecular treatments that would assist them while pointing out how these treatments would bring about the beneficial result. As I discovered, this was the mainstay of Brian’s consulting! Not a particularly lucrative consulting practice – he never asked anyone for anything – his reward was a successful outcome for the individual.
Since our initial meeting at the OMT conference Brian and I became good friends. We stayed in regular contact and always got together for a chat when he was on the West Coast and when I was in Toronto. Brian was always excited to hear about the latest from our research and to tell me about the individuals that he was helping. He would tell me the nuances of their medical situations, what had been suggested for them and how they were progressing. He was instrumental in bringing about some startling reversals of disease and took great pleasure from this – nothing seemed to make him happier.
I kept telling Brian that he should write a book but he always replied that he had no time and he was right! Over the years that I knew him more and more people approached him for assistance and he never said no. People also approached him for assistance with returning their pets to good health – Brian was a great dog lover. My family was one of those that turned to Brian for help when our dog developed lupus. Brian always inquired after our dog and I was pleased to inform him that his recommendations had proved brilliant!
It was a great shock to learn of Brian’s death (Sunday, December 18) and I know that many people will feel the pain of this loss. Brian was a gifted scientist and a heartfelt humanitarian. The only sense that I can make of this loss comes from my good friend Lorna Hancock, who suggested that there must be some heavenly conference being held by Abram and Harry and they have asked Brian to be a guest speaker.