Edward R. Arquilla

Edward ("Ed") Arquilla, MD, PhD, founding chair of the UC Irvine Department of Pathology, passed away on May 24, 2010, at the age of 87. Dr. Arquilla was born in Chicago on September 10, 1922. He earned his B.S. degree from Northern Illinois University in 1947 after a three-year stint in the US Army during World War II. Following his M.S. in Physiology from the University of Illinois in 1949, Dr. Arquilla obtained his MD and PhD degrees from Western Reserve University (now known as Case Western Reserve University) in 1955 and 1957. He completed his residency in Pathology at Case Western in 1959, and became board certified in Anatomic Pathology in 1963.

Following his training, he moved out west to Southern California, where he remained for the rest of his academic career. After being an Assistant Professor at USC (1959-61), he moved to UCLA where he rose through the ranks to Professor. In 1968, Dr. Arquilla agreed to become the founding chair of the Department of Pathology at UCI. Dr. Arquilla served as chair for 18 years (1968-86), and he remained at UCI until his retirement in 1994. At UCI, Dr. Arquilla also held appointments in Molecular Biology & Biological Chemistry, Medical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, and Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Dr. Arquilla was famous for his diabetes research. He held several NIH and extramural grants focused on the biochemistry and immunology of insulin, and published over 80 articles on diabetes in top journals such as Diabetes and Science. He also held many patents, including developing the first pregnancy test and among the first immunogical tests for measuring proteins and hormones. He directed a focused research program in diabetes at UCI, and served on several diabetes-related committees and boards at the local, state, and national levels, including several NIH panels. Beyond diabetes, Dr. Arquilla also served the Orange County and American Heart Associations, American Association of Pathology as chair, Association of Pathology Chairs as a council member, and on NIH panels related to pathology training. Dr. Arquilla held numerous leadership roles at UCI as well, including Chief of Staff at the UCI Medical Center and Chair of the School of Medicine Faculty Executive Committee.

For his work, Dr. Arquilla received a number of awards and honors, including a long list of speaking engagements, Visiting Professorships, and election to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 1982. Colleagues who knew Dr. Arquilla will remember him not only as a scholar who made seminal contributions to pathology research and academic medicine, but also as a proud pathologist and staunch defender of the profession. He is survived by his wife, Mary Virginia, and four children, who have established, in perpetuity, an outstanding research award for pathology residents in Dr. Arquilla's name.

Edwin S. Monuki, M.D., Ph.D., Chair
Pathology and Laboratory Medicine