Journal of Pediatric Psychology Advance Access originally published online on June 29, 2006
Journal of Pediatric Psychology 2006 31(8):749; doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsj125
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Obituary: Raymond K. Mulhern (1949–2005)
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
All correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Ronald T. Brown, PhD, ABPP, Professor of Public Health, Temple University, 3307 N. Broad Street, 300 Jones Hall, Philadelphia, PA. 19140. E-mail: rtbrown{at}temple.edu.
With the premature death of Raymond K. Mulhern, pediatric psychology has lost one of its most accomplished scientist–practitioners in the field of psychosocial oncology. Ray was born in Des Moines, Iowa on January 10, 1949; he died on July 2, 2005 in Memphis, Tennessee after battling renal cell carcinoma. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, a master’s degree in psychology from the University of Pacific, and a doctoral degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Ray and his wife Donna Mulhern have a daughter, Marissa, and a son, Patrick, all of whom reside in Memphis.
Upon receiving his doctoral degree, Ray began an appointment in the Department of Pediatrics at the Medical College of Wisconsin and was the first attending psychologist at the Midwest Children’s Cancer Center and the Children’s Hospital of Milwaukee. His early and sustained interest in psychosocial oncology spanned an exciting time when there were seminal developments in the treatment of childhood cancer, and the prognosis for many of these cancers such as leukemia improved markedly. After several years at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Ray was recruited to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where he devoted the rest of his life to the study of neuropsychological and psychosocial issues in pediatric oncology. He advanced through the ranks at St. Jude and later became the Chief of the Division of Behavioral Medicine and also was appointed as Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Tennessee, College of Medicine.
Ray accomplished seminal work in the field of psychosocial oncology that included over 165 published reports and book chapters devoted to important and cutting-edge issues in pediatric oncology including the cognitive toxicities associated with chemotherapy and radiation treatment, quality of life among pediatric cancer survivors, important work in neuroimaging, and the association between the psychological markers of cognitive functioning and the assessment of important structural impairments in the brains of children and adolescents who were cancer survivors. Many of the cancer treatment protocols used for children with brain tumors were in part influenced by Ray’s seminal work as a pediatric psychologist. Ray was actively funded by the National Cancer Institute for his cutting-edge research program designed to examine treatment approaches for the late effects of cancer that included the use of stimulant drug therapy and cognitive remediation.
Ray was a fellow of the American Psychological Association and, in 2000, was awarded the Logan Wright Distinguished Research Award, by the Society of Pediatric Psychology. He was active in several professional societies including the Pediatric Oncology Group, where he mentored numerous young psychologists and other colleagues and encouraged their participation in psychooncology research. He is known for having established productive and fruitful collaborations with physicians, nurses, and many disciplines within the field of psychology.
In the final analysis, Raymond Mulhern’s legacy is only partly revealed by his passion for science and published work that has shaped the field of pediatric oncology as we currently know it. Those who have been privileged to know and collaborate with Ray are well aware of his devotion to his wife Donna of over 30 years, his family, his zest for life, and his ongoing devotion and passion to scientific inquiry. It is ironic that Ray’s life was taken prematurely by a disease that he researched so tirelessly throughout his entire career. He has made a better quality of life for the children who are now survivors of this devastating disease. Ray’s colleagues are warmed by our fond memories of him and are better scientists and people for having known him.
There will be a conference at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in September of 2006 (see http://www.stjude.org/psych_conf for information, registration, and abstract submission) in tribute to Dr Mulhern that will be followed by a special issue in the journal, which will appear in 2007.
Received May 28, 2006; accepted May 28, 2006
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