Association of University Cardiologists
Home
Constitution and
Bylaws
Upcoming
Meetings
Officers
Membership
Roster
Deceased
Members
Membership Nomination
Abstract Forms
How to Contact Us
James K. Alexander, M.D.
1920 - 2009
Dr. Alexander, Professor Emeritus of Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, was born December 25, 1920 in Evanston, Illinois. Dr. Alexander was an outstanding academic physician, who performed innovative research, introduced new procedures and technological advances into the practice of clinical medicine and excelled as a teacher.
He earned degrees at Amherst College and at Harvard Medical School and later fulfilled a 2-year military commitment in the U.S. Army, traveling to Guam and Japan. He received his earliest clinical training at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, under the mentorship of Dr. Andrew Cournand, a Nobel Laureate. He was then awarded a research fellowship with Dr. Landis at Harvard and later trained at Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan under another Nobel Laureate, Dr. Dickenson W. Richards.
In 1954, Dr. Alexander joined the faculty of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, where he served until 2007. During his tenure at Baylor he introduced selective coronary angiography, then a new technique, into his laboratory and mastered the study of heart hemodynamics. He later incorporated and developed ultrasound techniques and used echocardiography to study the function of the heart and blood circulation. Among his many research interests, cardiac disease in obese patients and high-altitude medicine led the list. During his years at Baylor Dr. Alexander served as Chief of Cardiology at Baylor, at Ben Taub Hospital and at the Veterans Administration Medical Center, where he tirelessly performed clinical and teaching duties.
His professional and hospital appointments, his medical society memberships, his scientific papers, review articles and books were numerous and far reaching. He is especially remembered as a great diagnostician and teacher, who exemplified compassion, skill, integrity, curiosity and grace, extending his legacy of clinical excellence through his students.
Dr. Alexander's pastimes included chamber music, jogging, cycling, mountain climbing, hiking in wilderness areas, and his special passion: fly fishing. He served several terms on the Board of the Houston Friends of Music and also enjoyed performances of the Houston Symphony for many years. As an Eagle Scout, he had camped on the Mall in Washington D.C. to celebrate scouting's 1937 Jamboree.
Dr. Alexander's epitaph, describing the ideal aim of every physician, is a quote from the memorial statue of Dr. E.L. Trudeau and will live on with the many students whose lives and professions have been so enriched by his teachings: "Guerir quelquefois, soulanger souvent, consoler toujours", "Cure occasionally, relieve often, console always".