Charles Bernard Carpenter, MD, Professor of Medicine, Emeritus, passed away on September 30, 2011, at the age of 78.
A graduate of Dartmouth College, Carpenter was a member of the HMS Class of 1958. Following his internship and residency in New York and a brief stint in the U.S. Navy, he returned to Boston in 1962 to be trained in nephrology under John P. Merrill at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, a forerunner of Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
As part of the team that performed the world’s first kidney transplant, Carpenter was regarded not only as a pioneer in organ transplantation but also as a mentor to generations of leaders in the field. He served Brigham and Women’s Hospital for over 40 years, heading the Laboratory of Immunogenetics and Transplantation for more than 30.
His leadership extended nationally and internationally as a founding member of the American Society of Nephrology, the American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics, and the American Society of Transplantation. The recipient of numerous awards, in 2005 he was presented with the David M. Hume Memorial Award, the National Kidney Foundation’s highest honor.
Terry Strom, HMS Class of 1973, recalled his mentor as “a self-effacing academic who took obvious pride in the work of his students during and even decades after their stay in his lab. Bernie’s legacy is his devotion to a kinder and gentler means of training and developing their careers.” Strom went on to become a professor of medicine at HMS and co-director of the Transplant Institute at Beth-Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Carpenter was a longtime resident of Weston, Mass., and Bar Harbor, Maine. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Sandra Davis Carpenter; his son Bradford Carpenter and daughter-in-law Ellen; his son Scott Carpenter and daughter-in-law Tatiana; and four grandchildren.
In Carpenter’s memory, the Brigham and Women’s Renal Division has established the Charles B. Carpenter Transplant Fellowship Fund. Donations may be made to the fund in care of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 75 Francis St., Boston, Massachusetts, 02115.
