Dr. Andrew Paley Goldberg, professor emeritus in the department of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the Baltimore Veterans Administration Medical Center, died Oct. 25 of complications from pancreatic cancer. He was 77.
A native of Queens, New York, who lived in Ellicott City, Dr. Goldberg served as chief of the division of gerontology and geriatric medicine at the University of Maryland from 1992 until his retirement in 2015.
Dr. Goldberg’s interest in medicine began after contracting poliomyelitis as a child and witnessing a classmate’s death while in the hospital. After graduating from Stuyvesant High School in New York, he attended Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he majored in chemistry. He received his medical degree from the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, and completed his internship at SUNY Kings County in Brooklyn.
From 1970 to 1972, Dr. Goldberg served in the U.S. Coast Guard and traveled to the North Pole as the medic on an expedition. He then completed his residency in internal medicine at New York University Bellevue Hospital.
Dr. Goldberg and his wife, Gail, married in 1973 and relocated in Seattle, where he conducted a fellowship in endocrinology under the mentorship of Dr. Edward L. Bierman at the University of Washington School of Medicine and Seattle VA Medical Center. In 1977, the Goldbergs moved to St. Louis, where Dr. Goldberg started his first faculty position as an assistant professor at Washington University School of Medicine.
In 1983, the Goldbergs settled in Baltimore, where Dr. Goldberg was an associate professor and served as director of research in the division of geriatric medicine at Johns Hopkins University and Francis Scott Key Medical Center for seven years before moving on to the University of Maryland in 1990.
Two years later, he was appointed head of the division of gerontology at the University of Maryland and director of the Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center at the Baltimore VA Medical Center.
A prolific researcher and champion for wellness and dignity in aging, Dr. Goldberg was awarded more than $100 million in grant funding from the National Institutes of Health and National Institute on Aging during his career. He served as principal investigator of the NIA-funded Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center and the National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases-funded Nutrition Obesity Research Center from 1992 until 2015.
He founded and was director of the Baltimore VA Geriatrics Research, Education and Clinical Center in the Baltimore VA Maryland Health Care System from 1992 until 2015.
Dr. Goldberg’s work investigated such topics as exercise and weight loss, obesity, type 2 diabetes, metabolism and the rehabilitation of patients following stroke or complications of cardiovascular disease. He authored over 200 publications in journals such as Diabetes, Metabolism, JAMA, and the New England Journal of Medicine, served on numerous committees and editorial boards, and received awards from the American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association and the Gerontological Society of America, among others.
Dr. Goldberg was committed to mentoring the next generation of clinical researchers. He mentored nearly 50 post-doctoral fellows on NIA-funded training grants and over 20 junior faculty on NIH/VA Career Development Awards. Even after his diagnosis with metastatic pancreatic cancer last February, he routinely called colleagues and former students to inquire abut progress of their research.
“I met Andy very early in my career at Duke,” Dr. Miriam C. Morey, of Durham, North Carolina, wrote on the the website of Sol Levinson & Bros. “Even though I was quite young and still bumbling my way around to get a career started, he saw my interest in exercise and was always very positive and encouraging. He was always kind to me and proud of my achievements.”
In his private time, Dr. Goldberg was an avid tennis player, wine connoisseur, and fan of the Brooklyn (and then Los Angeles) Dodgers. He was an enthusiastic booster at his sons’ Little League games and wrestling matches, delivered heartfelt toasts at their weddings, and doted on his five grandchildren, teaching them to play gin rummy and chess.
With his wife, Dr. Goldberg traveled widely, hiking and kayaking, taking thousands of photographs, and enjoying the cuisines and wines of the world. He rode an elephant in Cambodia, climbed Machu Picchu, snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef and enjoyed other adventures.
Dr. Goldberg is survived by his wife of nearly 50 years, Gail, and sons Ethan (Elizabeth) and Justin (Sara); grandchildren Greta, Rose, Peter, Vivian and Emmett; his sister, Florence Elon Zwerdling (Alex; predeceased), and nephew Tony (Ginger). Memorial contributions may be made to the American Diabetes Association in his honor at diabetes.org.
At Dr. Goldberg’s request, a private memorial event will be held in December. The family will be in mourning at 2766 Westminster Rd. in Ellicott City, beginning Wednesday evening from 6:30-8:30, Thursday 2-4:30 p.m. and 6:30-8:30 p.m., and Friday 2-4:30 pm.
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