Dr. Arnold C.G. Platzker ’58

A transformative figure in children’s respiratory medicine whose research and clinical efforts helped shape modern neonatal and pediatric pulmonary care, Dr. Arnold C.G. Platzker ’58 died Nov. 27 in Los Angeles. He was known for pioneering the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in critically ill infants and children, advancing care and improving the outcomes for the sickest patients with respiratory failure. His research interests included childhood asthma, inflammatory markers, environmental tobacco smoke exposure, and lung development in newborns. He graduated from Tufts University School of Medicine and completed his residency at Boston City Hospital followed by senior and chief residencies at Stanford University’s department of pediatrics. He was commissioned as a lieutenant commander and assigned to the Naval Hospital at Camp Pendleton, where he spent two years of military service during the Vietnam War as the chief of neonatology. Following his term in the Navy, he undertook a fellowship at the Cardiovascular Research Institute (CVRI). He joined the University of Southern California in 1974 as an associate professor of pediatrics prior to his position as a professor of pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine from 1985 to 2012. He authored or coauthored more than 70 peer-reviewed papers. He was a member of numerous national and international professional societies, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the European Respiratory Society. He was also the director of the Cystic Fibrosis Center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.  He earned a Faculty Lifetime Achievement Award from the University of Southern California and was a Gold Lifetime Member of the Retired Faculty Association. He is survived by wife Marjorie, two children and their spouses, two granddaughters, and a sister.