In their own words
What was one of your most surprising discoveries?
Jeannette: During the anthrax attacks, we received lots of tissues on live patients, particularly skin biopsies from different parts of the country where pathologists had concerns that there was anthrax. From New York, we received more than 50 skin biopsies and discovered that the necrotic lesions suspected of anthrax had Rickettsia in them. In other words, we discovered that rickettsialpox – a mite-borne infectious disease – was circulating in the city, which was unknown at the time.
Describe a challenge that you overcame:
Carlos: When I was appointed as director of the National AIDS Council of Mexico (CONASIDA), I was quite young, only 32 years old. I had to learn to listen to others who had expertise and institutional memory, to respect their opinions, and at the same time to push for change. A huge challenge was the role of the Catholic Church and conservative groups that were adamantly against condom promotion. Thus, I learned how to advance policies based in science without being confrontational.
Have you ever been famous for anything other than your work?
Jeannette: In 2017, a tree fell on our house during Hurricane Irma. It fell right on my husband’s office a few minutes after he left the room. Fortunately, I have always been small and flexible, and I crawled through the rubble to save our valuables before they were ruined by the rain. Later, a local Atlanta TV news crew was in the neighborhood reporting on the damage, and I told them to come to our house if they wanted to see real damage. That night, we were on the local news.
Power couple Paul and Mary Klotman
When Mary Klotman, MD, was offered an opportunity with the National Institutes of Health in 1991, Paul Klotman, MD, didn’t hesitate to resign his post at Duke University, Durham, N.C., and join his wife in Washington. Paul says he wanted to support Mary’s aspirations, even though it meant an uncertain track for his own career.
Dr. Paul Klotman and Dr. Mary Klotman pose for a 2002 photo while on a visit to Barcelona for an international AIDS conference.
Fortunately for the Klotmans, the move proved instrumental for both of their careers and spurred one of their proudest scientific breakthroughs.
At NIH, Mary was a member of the Public Health Service and worked in the laboratory of tumor cell biology, and Paul became chief of the institute’s molecular medicine section in the laboratory of developmental biology. Together, their work led to the first animal model of HIV-associated nephropathy using transgenic techniques. The Klotmans and their team demonstrated that HIV resides in and evolves separately in kidney cells, a critical step in HIV-associated kidney disease.
“That’s where our longstanding collaboration around HIV-associated nephropathy started,” Mary says. “Paul and I have a passion for research, and we’ve had the same grant together for 25 years.”
After their successful stint at NIH, the Klotmans next climbed the ranks at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where Paul started as chief of the nephrology division and became chair of medicine, and Mary became chief of infectious diseases and co-director of Mount Sinai’s Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute.
Today, Mary and Paul are the first – and only – married couple in the United States to lead separate medical schools. Mary is dean and vice chancellor for health affairs at Duke, and Paul is president and executive dean of Baylor College of Medicine, Houston.
Despite their 1,100-mile separation, the Klotmans manage their relationship in an unconventional way that some might balk at: Every Friday, one spouse hops on a plane and travels to the other for a date night and weekend.
“When we started this crazy lifestyle, we committed to being together every weekend,” says Mary. “And in 10 years – before COVID – we missed only one weekend together.”
The Klotmans say the scheduled time together places a hard end to each work week and enables them to truly enjoy their quality time.
“Friday at noon, I’m on the plane going to Durham, and I know that in 2 hours I’m going to have a date with my wife,” Paul said. “There are institutions that we’ve run into that think you have to be 7 days a week on site. But Duke and Baylor have been very supportive [of our situation].”
No doubt, the arrangement means a lot of time in the air for the couple. Paul says he travels about 150,000 miles every year by plane.
Having dual leadership positions in academic medicine has kept the Klotmans tightly connected, and the couple says their strong partnership has contributed to their success.
“It’s really been helpful having a deep understanding of our career paths, because we’ve been able to understand when one of us needed to be really focused on work and the other one would step back a bit with the kids and vice versa,” Mary said.
“There’s no question that we wouldn’t be in the positions we are in now if it weren’t for the fact that we’ve had each other,” Paul said.
In their own words
What is a little-known title that you have?
Paul: Purse-carrier for my wife. When she is honored at a national meeting or event, she often stands up and hands me her purse. I now make sure I have on an appropriate outfit that matches the purse.
Tell us about your children.
Mary: We had a very traumatic first pregnancy that we lost. Six years later, we adopted our first child, which was an amazing blessing. Our second son was Duke’s first successful frozen embryo transfer.
Describe a memorable moment in your relationship.
Paul: As we were leaving for our honeymoon, Mary’s dad handed me this booklet. It was the receipts for Mary’s medical school loans for the next 10 years. He said, “Congratulations, she’s all yours!”
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.