E. Rolland Dickson, M.D. (I ’64) Receives 2014 Mayo Distinguished Alumnus Award
Emeritus Director for Development
Professor of Medicine
Clinician Investigator, Department of Internal Medicine
Consultant, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine
Mayo Clinic Rochester
International authority on primary biliary cirrhosis and outcome metrics after liver transplantation
Joined Mayo Clinic staff in 1964 as a consultant in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine; assistant professor of medicine (1973); associate professor of medicine (1977); professor of medicine (1980); Mary Lowell Leary Professor of Medicine Chair (1987).
Dr. Dickson is nationally and internationally renowned for his contributions to the research of liver transplantation and hepatic disorders. His manuscripts are published in prestigious gastroenterological and general medical journals, and his work has been instrumental in defining key outcomes and the selection process for patients with complex liver disease, leading to liver transplantation.
By establishing interest and clinical trials in relatively rare diseases such as primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and primary sclerosis cholangitis (PSC), Dr. Dickson launched the clinical and research activities that led to Mayo’s position as the leading transplant center in the country.
Dr. Dickson’s remarkable research successes, including seminal trials in PBC and PSC, have affected clinical care in hepatology at Mayo Clinic. The clinical disease linked with him is cholestatic liver disease. His observations have had almost immediate clinical applications and have transformed care for patients with end-stage liver diseases.
The data acquired through his research was the basis and forerunner for the Model for Endstage Liver Disease (MELD) score that is used throughout the world for assigning priority to patients awaiting liver transplantation. The large databases from his pioneering work also constituted the preliminary data that supported the NIH-funded careers of junior colleagues or mentees.