Richard K. Root (December 1, 1937 – March 19, 2006) was the former chairman of medicine at Yale University, Chairman of Medicine at University of California, San Francisco, and chairman of medicine at University of Washington. He also launched the Infectious Disease division at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

while a professor there in 1971. Root received his MD from

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

in 1963 and did his residency in internal medicine at

Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is a teaching hospital located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the original and largest clinical education and research facility of Harvard Medical School/Harvar ...

from 1963-1965. He served as chief resident and instructor in the Department of Medicine at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

from 1968 to 1969. After leaving the

, Root worked on infectious diseases at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

and served as vice chairman of medicine. In 1982 he was voted medical school teacher of the year. He subsequently became the chief of medicine at the

University of California, San Francisco The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It is part of the University of California system and is dedic ...

. He later became chief of medicine at Harborview 1991 and became an

emeritus professor ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

in 2002. He was a former president of the American Federation of Clinical Research, editor in chief of a textbook, ''

Clinical Infectious Diseases ''Clinical Infectious Diseases'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal published by Oxford University Press covering research on the pathogenesis, clinical investigation, medical microbiology, diagnosis, immune mechanisms, and treatment of disease ...

,'' and, from 1986 to 1991, director of the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

's AIDS Advisory Committee. In 2006, he was invited by the University of Pennsylvania Infectious Disease Department to assist a project in Botswana. He was killed by a crocodile attack while on a wildlife tour of the

Limpopo River The Limpopo River () rises in South Africa and flows generally eastward through Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers led by Hosi Rivombo who settled in the mou ...

in the Tuli Nature Reserve. He was in the lead canoe with a guide when a

crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large, semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term "crocodile" is sometimes used more loosely to include ...

pulled him overboard. While at least one article has aligned the story to the popular notion of unstable dugout canoes turning over, the trip pictures taken by his wife reveal Root and his guide riding in a sound commercially manufactured vessel. Witnesses state that the canoe shook but was not overturned. Root's body was found four days later, near the site of the initial attack.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Root, Richard 1937 births 2006 deaths Johns Hopkins School of Medicine alumni Massachusetts General Hospital residents University of Pennsylvania faculty University of Washington faculty Deaths due to crocodile attacks Accidental deaths in Botswana University of California, San Francisco faculty