Dr. Arnold Strauss meets with chief residents Jason Kastner and Matt Cox, Dr. Rebecca Swan, Dr. Margaret Rush and Dr. James Gay to review rankings for the 2002-2003 Pediatric interns. (photo by Anne Rayner Pollo)
For the kids — Arnold Strauss leads Children’s Hospital into new century
Strauss and research fellow Ute Spiekerkotter, Ph.D., discuss results of recent findings. (photo by Anne Rayner Pollo)
Strauss hugs daughter Lara after a rugby match. Lara played rugby for the U.S. Rugby Team.
Strauss, chair of Pediatrics, believes that particular genes in children trigger heart disease. Strauss is one of the nation's leading authorities in pediatric cardiology research. (photo by Dana Johnson)
The Strauss’s two daughters are Lara, left, and Natasha.
Children are Arnie Stauss’s passion. For more than 30 years he has treated sick children, advocated for children, and researched ways to cure heart defects that children are often born with. As a self-described workaholic, this nationally known physician-scientist spends most of his waking moments thinking of kids and how to better their lives.
It’s a role that he learned naturally. His mother was a homemaker, and as the wife of a Methodist minister she was often called on to care for other people. And his father, the minister and part-time businessman, was heavily involved in the community and stressed the importance of helping others. He is one of four children, with the rest of his siblings being girls. The caretaker theme runs deep in his family—his two living sisters are nurses.
To most on campus, Arnold Strauss is a physician and director of Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. To his peers, he is known as the top scientist in the nation in pediatric cardiology with an impeccable reputation.
He joined Vanderbilt in August 2000 as the James C. Overall Professor and Chair of the department of Pediatrics, professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, and director of Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. He came to Vanderbilt after more than 25 years as a faculty member at Washington University School of Medicine and more than 30 years at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
Strauss grew up on Lake Michigan and it was there that he developed a love for the water. He learned how to swim before he took his first steps, and by the age of 6, he had mastered the art of sailing. When the lake would freeze during the winter months, he would go ice-skating. He never missed a chance to be on or near the water. Someday, he would like to own a log cabin on a nearby lake.
He graduated second out of 200 in his high school class and went on to study philosophy and religion at Stanford University. It was during one of his summer breaks in college that he met his wife of 32 years, Pat.
In 1963, he was back home in Michigan working for his father, who owned half-interest in a pie baking company. Arnie delivered pies to area restaurants and, while on one of those deliveries, a certain young coffee shop waitress caught his eye.
“He had inquired about me,” his wife said laughing about that summer. “I wasn’t about to go out with a truck driver. But he was persistent, and I learned he was a student at Stanford, so I agreed to a date when he promised me we’d go to Chicago for dinner and a play.”
Their first date wasn’t exactly the most romantic. The car ran out of gas on the way to Chicago. They finally made it to the play, but missed dinner.
Pat was attending Indiana University majoring in German. After graduation she pursued her own interests and lived in Germany for four years. But Strauss persisted, and in 1970 they married.
After graduating from Washington University in St. Louis, Strauss spent the next four years as an intern, resident and resident-fellow in Cardiology at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
Their first child, Natasha, was born in 1974; a second daughter, Lara came along three years later. Pat left her job as a German linguist to raise the girls.
“Our daughters are the joys of our lives,” Pat said.
Growing up, Natasha and Lara watched their parents become caretakers of others; their father, treating the children in the community, and their mother, taking care of their grandparents and elderly neighbors. It was during this time that Pat instilled in their daughters something she and Arnie had come to love—the joy of learning and exploring. Science, history, and music nature were subjects that Pat would teach the children, as well as the importance of reading.
Natasha developed a love for animals, especially horses. She owned a Thoroughbred, Timmy, and rode him “like the wind.” She also became an accomplished field hockey goalie and graduated Phi Beta Kappa, as an English major from Washington University. Now 27 and living in St. Louis, she plays the violin, writes poetry and concentrates on her artistic work.
Lara, 24, will soon graduate from UCLA Law School and take a position as a biotechnology and patent lawyer with Morrison and Foerster Law Firm. She, like her older sister, is athletic and played rugby for the U.S. Rugby Team. Her national rugby team experience has taken her from New Zealand to Scotland to play in international matches.
“They are both focused on helping other people,” Pat said. “And Arnie and I could not be prouder.”
Strauss said he always knew at a young age that he would pursue a career in medicine. He loves to read and loves science. During college, he sought a broad-based education, one that embraced science courses as well as those on the liberal arts side.
“I always knew medicine was the best fit for me,” he said. “I knew I liked science, and I grew up in a caregiver environment. I really enjoy discovery. I find that very exciting.”
His lifelong work and research in pediatric cardiology caught the attention of two institutions. Vanderbilt was courting him to lead its Children’s Hospital into a new era, and the National Institutes of Health was also seeking his expertise as a pediatric researcher. It was a difficult decision. He and his wife had lived in St. Louis for more than 30 years. They would leave behind many friends and memories.
In the end, they chose Nashville and Vanderbilt. Nashville was a city that more closely resembled St. Louis, and Strauss was impressed by the vision and dedication that Vanderbilt had for its new Children’s Hospital. And the people impressed him. People like David Bader, Ph.D., professor of Medicine in Cardiology and Cell Biology, and Dr. Tom Hazinski, professor and associate chair of Pediatrics and director of Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine.
Now, under Strauss’s direction, the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt is quickly taking shape. Strauss said the new freestanding hospital, coupled with the Medical Center’s emphasis on research, will provide even more avenues to help children and help him reach his goal for it to become one of the top children’s hospitals in the nation.
It’s not a goal he takes lightly. His hours at Vanderbilt are long and often tedious. He spends weekends in his office playing catch-up with paperwork and e-mail. During the week, he is involved in constant meetings, mediating and facilitating discussions, reaching out to community pediatric physicians, and attending what may often seem like an unending number of social functions.
“He works his heart out for the kids,” his wife said. “And when he gets home, he is exhausted.”
Like most, home is his refuge. It’s where he can retreat to sit outside with a science fiction novel, or play with his dog of 14 years, Huckleberry. He is also a bit of a sports fan, especially baseball and basketball. While in St. Louis, he held season tickets to the St. Louis Cardinals. He enjoys Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball and this past year was an honorary coach for one of their games.
Strauss has an “anti-car” passion. You won’t see him driving a fancy sports car or a gas-guzzling sports utility vehicle. You might see him in his old red Ford Escort, with a “women play rugby” bumper sticker, or his other car of note, a green 1976 Chevy Nova that has weathered time well. To Strauss, a car is simply a means of getting from one place to another and no more.
Pat has been busy since the move to Nashville, setting up their new home in the West Meade/Hillwood area, and getting involved in church activities with Saint Henry’s Church.
A devout Catholic, Pat has been warmly welcomed by the parishioners at Saint Henry’s and at Villa with Monsignor Ruhling.
“They have been very supportive and kind,” she said. “The priest and church have gone out of their way to make me feel at home. They’ve just been wonderful.”
In the end, it’s the joy of discovery that makes life fulfilling for Strauss—be it discovering a new advance in his field of heart disease in children, or watching a student learn the wonders of science. He looks forward to each day so that he can help other people. He loves training new fellows, researchers and students and watching as they develop their careers. Like a father watching his children grow up, Strauss looks to guide these “youngsters” and teach them the importance of caring for others, much like his parents taught him.
“My goal in life is just to do my job well,” Strauss said. “I love what I’m doing, and I enjoy helping other people.”