Jean-Pierre Benhamou, a tribute (July 13, 1927 to September 17, 2008)
Authors: Manuela G. Neuman, Serge Erlinger
Journal: Hepatology (2008)

In September 2008, Professor Jean-Pierre Benhamou died at his home in Paris, France. Prof. Benhamou, the father of the modern discipline of Hepatology in Europe, was a man of unlimited energy and knowledge in the field of liver disease. For Prof. Benhamou, the liver was the most important organ in the human body, and he studied this fascinating organ with passion. Prof. Benhamou was a highly successful scientist and an outstanding clinician, and yet did not desert the education of the new generation. As an inspiring teacher he thought students, fellows, and co-workers were the link between the clinic and humanity, between the clinicians and the scientists. He spent his boundless energy learning and teaching hepatology as science and clinical liver pathology. His fellows coming from every corner of France and from many parts of the world will never forget his outstanding clinical advice and his imaginative research. Most of all, they will not forget the man who helped them in life with a kind smile and respect. Jean-Pierre Benhamou As a clinician, he was concerned for the individual patient and would listen to each one of them. Prof. Benhamou was a long-term editor of the Journal of Hepatology. As an academic leader, Prof. Benhamou understood that the progress made in cellular and molecular biology and the use of new sophisticated techniques would help his ultimate goal to reveal the basic mechanism(s) of physiological phenomena in liver disease and therefore could contribute to development of safe and efficacious therapies. Prof. Benhamou was born in Algiers, Algeria, where his father was the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine. He spent his entire life in the Parisian liver community dreaming and succeeding to make his beloved Liver Unit in Beaujon Hospital, Clichy, an outstanding place renowned for clinical and scientific successes in the study of the liver. This is a unique milieu where clinicians and scientists from the academic institutes worked together in intellectual harmony stimulated by the weekly rounds and conferences held by him and by his fellows. He would never miss these events. Over the years, he attracted around him co-workers whom he directed toward every important aspect of the discipline: bile secretion, bile acids and transport, drug metabolism and drug-induced hepatitis, liver morphology and ultrastructure, liver circulation and portal hypertension, fulminant hepatic failure and intensive care, viral hepatitis, and vascular disorders of the liver. Each of them, with constant encouragement and support from him, made internationally recognized contributions in all these fields. Each of them established with him not only a strong professional and intellectual relationship, but also a solid friendship. In addition to his energy, enthusiasm, and scientific knowledge, he had a vast literary and artistic culture. He loved music and painting, he would not miss an important art exhibit, he regularly encouraged his fellows to read the last interesting book he had discovered. But perhaps as important, he had an irresistible sense of humor, which could make a large audience laugh and helped to defuse the most tense situations. As the years passed, he continued to fight the physical and emotional stress. Prof. Benhamou fought his illness with dignity and courage. Among other tasks together with other editors, he continued working at the second edition of the "Oxford Textbook of Clinical Hepatology", which is a complete resource for every hepatologist, clinician, and scientist. Prof. Benhamou balanced his love for science with his love for his children: Anne-Françoise, Mathieu, Laurence, and their families. Perhaps the most beautiful image of this love are the words that his grandson told me when I visited him last April: "I love my grandfather; he is my best friend". Those who knew Prof. Benhamou also knew his beloved wife Françoise. She was his sensitivity, patience, exquisite intellect, and his lifetime modest, dynamic friend and support to whom he repeatedly credited his success. Jean-Pierre Benhamou's prolific research work resulted in many publications. His voluminous bibliography included original articles, lectures, and chapters in books, as well as reviews, editorials, and books. Let us remember the human and scientific contributions made by Professor Benhamou.