Remembering Jay Lawrence Goldstein, MD
Professor of Medicine, Distinguished Alumnus
It is with great sadness that we announce the untimely passing of Jay L. Goldstein, MD. Dr. Goldstein graduated from the University of Illinois in Urbana summa cum laude in 1974, received his MD with honors from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in 1978, and then completed his residency, chief residency, and gastroenterology fellowship all at UI COM. He remained at UIC till his retirement in 2012 as Professor of Medicine and Vice Head of Department of Medicine. Upon his retirement from UIC, Dr. Goldstein became the Division Head in Gastroenterology and Vice Chair of Medicine at NorthShore University Health System.
During his tenure at UIC, Dr. Goldstein achieved academic excellence as a clinician, educator, researcher, and administrator and garnered many awards along the way. However, he is most remembered for his mentorship, unconditional friendship, and selfless giving to others. During his time at the College of Medicine, Dr. Goldstein devoted himself to serving as a primary mentor and advisor to over 150 medical students, over 100 internal medicine residents and over 50 fellows in gastroenterology. Many of these relationships became life-long friendships. He had the dedication and knack to stay in touch with his mentees throughout their careers, celebrating their achievements and providing guidance as needed. His friendship and mentorship extended to junior faculty, his colleagues and staff at all levels.
Dr. Goldstein’s research focused on injury of the upper gastrointestinal tract including the effects of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in causing GI injury, COX-2 specific inhibitors, GERD, as well as disease states associated with Helicobacter pylori. He conducted a highly sought after course on “Methodologies in Healthcare Outcomes in Gastroenterology” through American Gastroenterology Association for 14 years. This course, which enrolled over 1,000 participants, was designed to expose and educate gastroenterology fellows and junior faculty on the basics and essentials of clinical research.
In 2019, Dr. Goldstein was honored with the UIC Distinguished Alumnus award. During this presentation, Dr. Mrinalini Rao and Dr. Thomas Layden highlighted his tremendous contribution to the University of Illinois College of Medicine, as the ideal alumnus: a quadruple threat “who embraced and practiced the best of what this institution has to offer in building a career dedicated to patient care, research, education and service.” His creativity and dedication to the University was legendary and ranged from instituting vertical peer mentoring to innovative fund-raising efforts, concepts ahead of their time.
During the event, Dr. Goldstein summed up his views on medical education as follows:
“Nobody practices Medicine in isolation, Medicine is a team sport,” Dr. Goldstein said. “You need to learn how to talk and develop a synergy with other people to deliver better health care and to provide education to a greater degree.”
His acumen to ask insightful questions, friendship and love for others will be missed by us all