University of California Seal

IN MEMORIAM

Kenneth P. Ramming, M.D.

Professor of Surgery, Emeritus

Los Angeles

1939—2004

 

 

Kenneth P. Ramming passed away on July 29, 2004. Ken had a distinguished career in academic surgical oncology and was a member of the UCLA faculty for 30 years.

 

Ken was a graduate of Valparaiso University with majors in English and chemistry. He received his medical education at Duke, where he also was trained in general and thoracic surgery. His interest in surgical research was kindled even before residency, when he performed investigations in transplantation and immunology at Duke. He also served as a clinical associate at the surgery branch of the National Cancer Institute during his residency. In 1974, he was recruited to the Division of Surgical Oncology in the UCLA Department of Surgery. He served as Chief of Thoracic Surgery at the Sepulveda VA Hospital and rose through the ranks to become full professor until his retirement from the active faculty in 1991, when he moved his practice to St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica.

 

Ken was a member of many prestigious surgical and oncologic societies, including the Society of University Surgeons, the Society of Surgical Oncology, the Pacific Coast Surgical Association, and many others. He received awards in research and teaching over the years. He held extramural research grants during much of his surgical career, and he published more than 100 scientific papers and numerous book chapters in oncology, general surgery and transplantation.

 

Ken’s clinical work included many aspects of solid oncology, including pioneering work in cryosurgery for various malignancies. He also was a founding member of the UCLA liver transplant program and a member of its surgical faculty for seven years.

 

Ken’s dominant traits were unflappable enthusiasm and boundless energy. He was a bold and thoughtful surgeon who would often take on cases that others thought to be too complex. His quick wit, fierce intellectual curiosity and zeal for his work were exceptional and certainly will be missed.

 

 

Ronald W. Busuttil