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22 T M C N E W S . O R G In what would be their first of many moves, the Klotmans left faculty jobs at Duke and moved to Washington, D.C., for new jobs at NIH. Mary was a member of the Public Health Service and trained and worked in the laboratory of tumor cell biology, while Paul became chief of the molecular medicine section in the laboratory of develop- mental biology. While there, they had their first scientific breakthrough as a couple. "Fortuitously, another lab in my institute was working with transgenic [genetically modified] mice and they created the first HIV transgenic mouse," Paul said. "The mouse developed a disease, but they were not sure what it was. I was one of the few physicians in the entire institute, so they came up to me with this mouse that they thought was obese and asked me, 'What's wrong with this mouse?' I said, 'It looks like ascites [abnormal build-up of fluid in the abdomen] and edema [swelling], not fat, and that would be liver or kidney disease.' As it turns out, it was a disease very much like the one caused by HIV in man. I began to study this new major problem in the nephrology field, so our research converged." After a few years in their respective labs, the Klotmans made their next move to New York City and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Paul was the Irene and Dr. Arthur M. Fishberg Professor of Medicine and chief of the division of nephrology and eventually became the chair of medicine. Mary was the Irene and Dr. Arthur M. Fishberg Professor of Medicine and eventually became the chief of the division of infectious diseases, as well as co-director of Mount Sinai's Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute. "We did everything together," Mary said. "We had our labs together, our offices next door, we walked to work together—not because we were obsessed with each other, but because it really worked. We loved our science, we loved our trainees—so it just worked." While the Klotmans were building their med- ical careers, they were also determined to start building a family together. After adopting their first son, Sam Klotman, their second son, Alex Klotman, became the first baby born from in-vitro fertilization (IVF) at Duke University. "We had a rough time starting a family," Mary said. "We had very painful loss of pregnancies early on. It was really the beginning of IVF. They weren't even freezing embryos at first. It was primitive and expensive back then, but it was interesting to see that field change the options for women in so many ways. It was stressful, but we just did it." Once their children were raised, opportunity came knocking again for the couple. Mary was recruited by Duke University to chair the depart- ment of medicine and Paul was recruited by Baylor College of Medicine to serve as president and executive dean. At the time, Baylor was still reeling from a split with Methodist Hospital and Above: Mary and Paul Klotman coordinate their busy schedules for the next few months. Go further. At the TWU Institute of Health Sciences – Houston Center, you can earn your graduate degree in health care administration, business, nursing, nutrition or physical or occupational therapy. Get the support you need every step of the way. Learn more at TWU.edu/houston Southwest Central Church of Christ 4011 w. bellfort | swcentral.org @ southwestcentral church +%,% - %& *) % ** % " $ " # #