Collegium Ramazzini

March 15th 2024

Remembering Dr. Richard “Rick” W. Niemeier

It is with profound sadness that we announce the death of retired National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) employee, Dr. Richard “Rick” W. Niemeier, who worked for NIOSH for 36 years.

November 15th 2023

Death of Fellow Joseph LaDou, November 10, 2023

Our colleague Joseph “Joe” LaDou of Aspen, Colorado, died unexpectedly on November 10, 2023, after a brief illness.*

July 13th 2022

Remembering John Radford Froines

John Radford Froines, PhD, a powerful advocate for social justice, a leader in occupational and environmental health, and a Fellow of the Collegium Ramazzini died on July 13, 2022 in Santa Monica, California. He was 83. His death was caused by complications of Parkinson’s disease.

John Froines is best known as a member of the famed Chicago Seven, the group accused of conspiring to incite a riot during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. That aspect of John’s life is brilliantly recounted in his New York Times obituary of July 14, 2022

NY TIMES OBIT

May 30th 2022

Death of Fellow Raúl Harari (1 August 1948 – 30 May 2022)

It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of Dr. Raúl Harari. Raúl was born in 1948 and passed away on May 30th, 2022, with his family at his side.

Raúl was born in Córdoba, Argentina. He held a Medical Degree from the National University of Córdoba, Argentina, a Specialization in Public Health from the Central University of Ecuador and a Doctoral Degree in Occupational Medicine and Industrial Hygiene from the University of Milan, Italy. After working as a medical practitioner in Internal Medicine for a few years in Argentina, he moved to Ecuador during the years of the military dictatorship. In Ecuador, he worked as a medical practitioner in rural Andean areas. Subsequently in Quito, he did a pioneering effort aimed at improving safety at work and preventing occupational diseases, in cooperation with local unions. Raúl advised many Ecuadorian trade unions in dozens of collective bargaining agreements.

February 13th 2022

Goodbye to CR Fellow Richard Wedeen

Published by New York Times on Feb. 13, 2022.

Richard P. Wedeen, M.D., passed away Wednesday, January 26, 2022, after a difficult battle with COVID-19 pneumonia at Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, N.J., the town he resided in since 1969. Dr. Wedeen attended Friends Seminary in NYC, Harvard University class of 1955, and NYU Bellevue Hospital Medical College class of 1959. He was an internist and nephrologist, and Professor of Medicine and Professor of Occupational Medicine at UMDNJ (New Jersey Medical School), and Associate Chief of Staff for Research & Development at the VA New Jersey Health Care System. Dr. Wedeen was the author of Poison in the Pot: The Legacy of Lead, and creator and co-editor of Toxic Circles - Studies in Occupational & Environmental Hazards from the Workplace into the Community. Richard, commonly known as Dick, always loved a good discussion, mentoring and becoming lifelong friends with students. He was a founding member and past president of the New Jersey History of Medicine Society, and an enthusiastic participant in the Collegium Ramazzini, a society concerned with ethics and health in public policy. Through Operation Crossroads Africa, he led a medical team in Nigeria in 1964 and also worked as a doctor in Sierra Leone and Ghana, subsequently winning grants for medical care and research. Dick was a man of research and science, a lover of the arts and the cultures of humanity. He was an adventurous world traveler, collector of art treasures, and a prize-winning photographer of people and their creative works in Africa and Central and South America. Dick was also a talented sculptor. As an athlete he loved skiing and cycling until hampered by Parkinson's. Dick was the beloved husband of 64 years to Roberta Rubien Wedeen, a loving father to son Timothy and daughter-in-law Christine Kavanagh, and a delighted grandfather to their daughters MacKenzie and Tierney Wedeen. He was a cherished brother to his sister Joan Wedeen Blumenfeld, now deceased. He is mourned by nieces Karen Blumenfeld and spouse Andrew Nierenberg; Laurie Russo and husband Robert Russo; and by nephews Eric Blumenfeld, David Rubien, Andrew Rubien and partner Christine d'Ascoli. Patriarch of a warm extended family, Dick will be sorely missed by family, friends and colleagues. "Good night, sweet prince, And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!" . Visitation on Thursday, February 17, from 11am- 11:45am at the Barrett Leber Funeral Home, 148 Dean Dr., Tenafly, NJ. Funeral Service at 11:45am at Barrett Leber Funeral Home. Interment to follow at Brookside Cemetery, 425 Engle St., Englewood, NJ. Livestream information will be available on our website at www.barrettleber funeralhome.com. (201-568-8043). The family requests that guests wear masks. A Memorial will be held at a more favorable time in the future.

October 18th 2021

Obituary for CR Fellow Professor Yonah Amitai, 1947-2021

The Collegium Ramazzini mourns the death of our dear friend and Fellow of the Collegium Ramazzini, Professor Yonah Amitai of Israel, who died on October 16, 2021 at the age of 74.

Obituary

September 17th 2021

Morris Greenberg: occupational health specialist on a lifelong quest to make the world asbestos free

Read the obituary of CR Fellow, Morris Greenberg just published in the British Medical Journal. The article was written by John Illman and is called “Morris Greenberg: occupational health specialist on a lifelong quest to make the world asbestos free”

Read full BMJ article here

August 23rd 2021

Remembering CR Fellow Morris Greenberg

Morris Greenberg, one of the earliest members of the Collegium Ramazzini, died on August 19th. Please click below to read his eulogy, prepared by CR Fellow Barry Castleman and the CR statement issued in 2011 when Morris won the Ramazzini Award.

August 13th 2021

Eulogy for Robert “Bob” Rinsky

The Collegium Ramazzini sadly announces the death of former CR Fellow, Robert "Bob" rinsky. Click below to read the words of the eulogy prepared for him by the CDC.

April 11th 2021

Eulogy for Professor Vito Foà

We sadly report that Collegium Ramazzini Emeritus Fellow, Vito Foà passed away on 19 October 2020.

November 20th 2020

In Memoriam: Prof. Dr. Lygia Therese Budnik

With great sadness, the Collegium Ramazzini announces the death of Professor Lygia Therese Budnik a very engaged Fellow of the Collegium since 2014. Lygia passed on November 20, 2020 after her long, valiant battle with cancer.

June 24th 2020

New York Times Article celebrating Collegium Ramazzini Fellow Eula Bingham

June 15th 2020

Eulogy for Eula Bingham

With great sadness, the Collegium Ramazzini announces the death of Professor Eula Bingham, long-time Fellow and Past President of the Collegium Ramazzini, a globally recognized champion for the health and safety of working people. Here below is the text of her Eulogy and attached a document with poignant memories of Eula from her community of friends and colleagues around the world.

March 2nd 2020

Eulogy: Dr. Charles Xintaras, Sc.D.

Collegium Ramazzini Fellow (emeritus) Dr. Charles Xintaras passed on March 2, 2020, at the age of 91 years, 6 months, in peace at his daughter's home in Cincinnati, Ohio.

In Memoriam