Folsom Funeral Service

Melvin E. Clouse, MD, Emeritus Chair of the Department of Radiology and former Director of Radiology Research at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, former Deaconess Professor of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, passed away on July 25, 2024 at age 90.  He was born in Vinita, a small town in northeastern Oklahoma. At age four, he was inspired to become a physician due to the care he received from the local doctor following an industrial accident on the family farm. He left Oklahoma to earn his Bachelor of Science degree from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth (1957) and his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston (1960).

His career spanned more than five decades of cutting-edge research and clinical contribution in academic medicine that shaped our understanding of cardiovascular and interventional radiology, introducing less invasive diagnostic imaging and interventional techniques, and publishing over 235 scholarly articles in peer-reviewed journals. He served as Chair of the Department of Radiology for 23 years at New England Deaconess Hospital (NEDH) and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Dr. Clouse established an academic radiology department with a radiology residency, fellowships in interventional radiology, body imaging, and nuclear radiology, and a national cancer research training program. He became known as a consummate academician with a remarkable talent for identifying and recruiting brilliant young staff, trainees, and researchers. He trained and mentored clinicians and researchers from Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and South America and along the way made many lasting friendships with clinicians from around the globe.

During medical school, he was awarded a summer fellowship in research at Brookhaven National Laboratory, in Upton, Long Island, NY. He decided on Radiology after an internship at Philadelphia General Hospital (1960 – 1961). Following his radiology residency training at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), he spent a year as a clinical fellow in radiology at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Washington, DC. Dr. Clouse then returned to MGH and later moved to NEDH in 1969, where he became Chair of the Department of Radiology in 1975.

Dr. Clouse began his academic research career as a resident at MGH when he developed a method of lymphangiography to diagnose disease in the peripheral and deep abdominal lymphatic system. He later developed methods for diagnosis and treatment of disease in the liver and biliary ducts. Advancing the science of hepatic chemoembolization, he established the protocol for catheter-directed treatment of liver tumors. In 1985 and 1991, he was awarded grants by NIH for his work on MR spectroscopy of liver transplants and in 2006, another NIH grant for the development of CT coronary artery angiography. He pioneered the use of Computed Tomography for non-invasive imaging of the heart, evaluating the use of electron beam CT in clinical trials. Active in international multicenter cardiovascular imaging trials, he fostered interpersonal relationships and the exchange of research ideas among researchers on a global scale. Among his many accolades, he was distinguished as a Fellow of the Society of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology and New England Society of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology.

In 2017, he was honored with an endowed Chair at Harvard Medical School, the Melvin E. Clouse, MD, Deaconess Professorship in Radiology, and the Melvin E. Clouse Professorship Chair in Radiology at his alma mater, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston.

Dr. Clouse is survived by his beloved wife, Marian (Upty) Upton Clouse; brother, Herb (Cora) and sister Cuba; son, Graydon (Kimberly), and grandchildren, Sydney and Ryley; son, Thomas, and grandchildren, Pippa and Jensen; and many nieces, nephews, and extended family members.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend his Memorial Service, Saturday, September 14, 2024 at 11 am at the Church of the Redeemer, 379 Hammond Street, Chestnut Hill. The service can also be streamed online at: https://www.youtube.com/@redeemerepiscopalmedia4943/streams 

or

 https://www.facebook.com/redeemerchestnuthill/videos

In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of Melvin Clouse may be made to Dr. David Simon’s Research Fund at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center or Clouse Family Endowed Medical Scholarship at Texas Christian University’s Burnett School of Medicine. Contributions to Dr. Simon’s Research Fund may be made by visiting www.bidmc.org/giving or by check made payable to “Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center” with “Melvin Clouse/ Dr. David Simon’s Research Fund” in the memo line. Contributions can be mailed to: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Office of Philanthropy, 529 Main Street, 4th Floor, Charlestown, MA 02129. Contributions to the Clouse Family Endowed Medical Scholarship at TCU’s Burnett School of Medicine may be mailed to University Advancement, TCU Box 297044, Fort Worth, TX 76129 or online at https://advancement.tcu.edu/new/makeagift/ (Please write “Clouse Family Endowed Medical Scholarship” in the comments field).

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