Stanford Report, August 9, 2006

Aug. 15 memorial service for Nowels

BY ADITI RISBUD

Kent Nowels

A memorial service will be held Aug. 15 for Kent Nowels, MD, associate professor of pathology, who died April 20 at the age of 48 after a long illness. The service will take place at 5 p.m. at the Faculty Club.

Nowels was an expert in fine-needle aspiration, a procedure that extracts diseased or cancerous cells through a thin needle. This technique helps doctors determine in a minimally invasive fashion whether a mass or lump in the body needs to be removed.

"Kent Nowels was a highly respected and beloved figure in the Department of Pathology and Stanford Hospitals & Clinics," said Stephen Galli, MD, professor and chair of pathology. "In addition to having remarkable expertise in cytopathology and surgical pathology, especially of diseases of the breast, he was an effective and sought-after mentor and teacher. This reflected not only his professional expertise, but also his selfless devotion to the highest standards of patient care, and his upbeat, positive and nurturing personality. He will be greatly missed."

"In his eyes, people were no different or better because of their titles," said Gerald J. Berry, MD, professor of pathology. "Everyone was part of the team. He was a generous teacher who freely gave of his time and his talents."

Born in Portland, Ore., Nowels was an honor student and played trumpet for the Portland Junior Symphony. He received his MD from Northwestern University in 1983, and stayed on as a resident in anatomic and clinical pathology. Nowels went on to complete a fellowship in cytopathology at the University of Illinois-Chicago. After spending one year as an instructor at UC-San Francisco, Nowels joined Stanford in 1989 as director of the cytopathology service. He became an associate professor in 1990.

In addition to his teaching and research efforts, Nowels was active in the Church of the Epiphany in San Carlos, where he served on the vestry and sang in the choir.

Nowels is survived by his son Brendon; companion Maureen Chang; father Guy Nowels of Portland, and sisters Nanette Nowels-Stenholm of Stockholm and Lynn Nowels of Boston.

For more information about the memorial service, please contact Cynthia Llanes at cllanes@stanford.edu or 724-3725.

Aditi Risbud is a science-writing intern in the School of Medicine's Office of Communication & Public Affairs.