Gerald Lee “Jerry” Mandell, MD, one of the world’s foremost experts on infectious diseases, died at his home in North Garden, Virginia, on July 13, 2023, at the age of 86. Jerry was born on August 20, 1936, to Herman and Sylvia Mandell. He was raised in Brooklyn and Manhattan and graduated from Stuyvesant High School, Cornell University, and Cornell Medical School. He was Captain of his high school swim team and an Eagle Scout. At Cornell he was on the varsity men’s swim team, elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and was a member of Phi Sigma Delta fraternity. At Cornell Medical School he was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha.

During his senior year (and her freshman year) at Cornell, he met the love of his life, who would become his wife of 62 years, Judith “Judy” Rensin. Judy graduated a semester early to join Jerry in Manhattan, where he completed medical school at New York Hospital - Cornell Medical Center (now Weill Cornell) and also completed his residency and infectious disease fellowship. They married in 1960 in his parents’ Manhattan apartment.

The young Dr. Mandell was a physician on the Navajo reservation in Tuba City, Arizona, in the Indian Health Service, from 1962 to 1965, where he became close friends with many in the Navajo Nation, and developed an appreciation for Navajo art and fry bread.

In 1969 he followed his mentor, Dr. Ed Hook, from New York City to Charlottesville, Virginia, and the University of Virginia Medical Center, where he became the founder of the Division of Infectious Diseases, which has since trained many current leaders in the field. He was the Owen R. Cheatham Professor of Sciences, Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases and Professor of Medicine at the University of Virginia School of Medicine until his retirement.

Dr. Mandell’s many honors, awards, and appointments included President of the Infectious Disease Society of America, Chair of the American Board of Internal Medicine section on infectious diseases, and President of the American Clinical and Climatological Association. The Infectious Diseases Society of America honored him with the Bristol Award for lifetime achievement.

He was a founding editor, along with Gordon Douglas and John Bennett, of the world’s leading infectious disease book, Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett’s Principles and Practice of Infectious Disease (now in its 9th edition and edited by John Bennett, Raphael Dolin, and Martin Blaser). He was elected to membership in the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, served on the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Council, and advised the Centers for Disease Control on SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). He was a member of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Subspecialty Board in Infectious Diseases and was selected to chair that board. He was a member of the Board of Governors of ABIM. He was on the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and was a member and then Chairman of the Pfizer Scholars Advisory Board. He served on the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on Microbial Threats to Health and chaired the task force on Bacterial, Rickettsial and Chlamydial Threats to Health. He chaired the Harold Neu Symposium on Infectious Diseases for two years and was a member of the NIH-NIAID Blue Ribbon Panel in Emerging Diseases.

Dr. Mandell’s research focus was the interaction of neutrophils and bacteria, for which he received an NIH Merit Award. He created award-winning films on leukocytes and was named University of Virginia Inventor of the Year in 1994 for the discovery of pharmacological inhibition of TNF activity on neutrophils. The University of Virginia established a Chair in Internal Medicine in recognition of Dr. Mandell’s accomplishments and contributions to the University. He was selected as the Cornell University Medical College Alumnus of Distinction for 2002.

Mandell was on the editorial board of the Medical Letter, wrote portions of the antimicrobial therapy section of the Goodman and Gilman pharmacology textbook, and was the editor for infectious diseases for the Cecil Textbook of Medicine, the Year Book of Medicine, and the Merck Manual. He was the founding editor-in-chief of the journal Current Infectious Diseases Reports, and a 13-volume Atlas of Infectious Diseases.

He has been honored by selection to Who’s Who Top Doctors in America, Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Mastership in the American College of Physicians, and as a Cornell Medical College Centennial Lecturer. He was elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians. He published more than 300 original papers, books, chapters, and reviews.

But even with all these professional accolades, he would say that his proudest achievement was his family. He leaves behind his beloved wife, Judy; his sister, Susan (Howard) Lattman; his children, James (Elizabeth) Mandell, Pamela (Jon) Freedman, and Scott (Meg) Mandell; his grandchildren, who brought him so much joy: Joshua, Zachary, Matthew, and Emily Mandell; Will and Alec Freedman; Kira, Jordan, and Maxwell Mandell; and his marvelous mutt, Maple.

Work/life balance was important to Jerry, and he found time for a variety of hobbies. He was an avid nature photographer and darkroom developer of his own photographs and a tropical fish enthusiast and breeder starting at age 10 when he was known in his neighborhood for treating fish infections. He enjoyed building things and rowing on the pond on his rural property. He played squash, was a runner before it was trendy, and exercised every day of his life until the very end. He enjoyed searching for the perfect pastrami sandwich, regularly reading the New York Times, and singing and listening to songs of his alma mater, Cornell University (from which all three of his children and two of his grandchildren graduated).

On his behalf, the family would like to thank Jerry, Elaine, George and Kramer, as well as John, Paul, George and Ringo, for countless hours and decades of entertainment and listening pleasure. They would also like to thank his stellar colleagues and friends at UVA, his cohort in the global infectious disease community, his doctors and nurses at UVA Health, and the wonderful caretakers of Commonwise Home Care and Hospice of the Piedmont. According to his wishes, immediate family will have a private remembrance and celebration of his life. Donations may be made to Hospice of the Piedmont, the North Garden Volunteer Fire Company, or a charity of your choice.

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