Steven A. Sahn, MD, FCCP, died on August 16, 2016, after an illustrious academic career. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., he attended Duke University as an undergraduate and subsequently graduated from the University of Louisville School of Medicine. He completed a pulmonary–critical care fellowship at the University of Colorado, where he served the first 12 years of his academic career. As an investigator, Steve’s early pioneering work in weaning from mechanical ventilation and pleural physiology set the stage for almost all subsequent research in these fields. He was recruited in 1983 to the Medical University of South Carolina as Director of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. During the next 30 years, he built the Division from three physicians to an internationally prominent team of clinicians and investigators. His passion for teaching blended his mentoring style with a love for sports and positive coaching.
Dr. Steven A. Sahn
He was a master clinician with remarkable diagnostic skills who attracted patients from around the world who valued his exceptional warmth and compassion. Steve’s extensive contributions to the literature resulted in numerous awards, which included CHEST’s Alfred Soffer Award for Editorial Excellence, ATS Trudeau Medal, CHEST Distinguished Lecturer for Pleural Disease, induction into the Colorado Trudeau Society Pulmonary Hall of Fame, and Distinguished University Professor of Medicine at MUSC. He contributed to the American College of Chest Physicians throughout his career serving on editorial boards of CHEST and PCCSU (Editor in Chief), on numerous committees, as co-editor of the CHEST “Pearls” section, and on the Council of Governors representing South Carolina. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his wife, Claire, and the entire Sahn family.