Donald Seldin

Donald Wayne Seldin (October 24, 1920 – April 25, 2018) was an American nephrologist. He worked at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and served as chair of the department of medicine for 36 years.

Seldin has been referred to as the "intellectual father of UT Southwestern Medical Center", and transformed a school housed in a dilapidated barracks into a world renowned medical center. He is noted for his contributions to medical ethics and research in kidney function.

Early life and education Seldin was born in Brooklyn, New York on October 24, 1920.

In 1951, Seldin was recruited to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where he worked for 67 years. The school was placed on probation by the accrediting agency. He was interviewed for the 2023 documentary JFK: What the Doctors Saw.

He served as chair of the department of medicine from 1952 to 1988. He also trained over 200 residents in the field of nephrology with at UTSW.

During the course of his career, Seldin was the president of seven major professional societies: the Central Society for Clinical Research, the Southern Society of Clinical Investigation, the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the American Society of Nephrology, the Association of Professors of Medicine, the Association of American Physicians, and the International Society of Nephrology.

Personal life and death In 1943, he married Muriel Goldberg. After her death in 1994, he married Ellen Lee Taylor, a physician. He has three children from his first marriage. Seldin died of lymphoma in 2018.

Awards and honors UT Southwestern's Seldin Plaza is named in his honor, and a 7-foot statue of him is displayed there. UTSW has named several professorships for him: the Donald W. Seldin Distinguished Chair in Internal Medicine, the Donald W. Seldin Professorship in Clinical Investigation, and the Sinor-Pritchard Professorship in Medical Education Honoring Donald W. Seldin, M.D.

The National Kidney Foundation has awarded the Donald W. Seldin Award annually since 1994. The American Society for Clinical Investigation awards the Donald Seldin–Holly Smith Award for Pioneering Research.

In 1985, Seldin received the George M. Kober Medal from the Association of American Physicians.

Seldin is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine.