Aaron J. Marcus: in pursuit of perfection

Dr. Aaron Jacob Marcus, Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and distinguished physician-scientist in hematology and vascular biology, passed away on May 6, 2015. Marcus was born in 1925 in Brooklyn, New York, where he attended Boys High School. His formal education at the University of Virginia was interrupted by his service as a pharmacist's mate in the US Navy during World War II. Marcus's contributions to hematology are legendary. In his initial research papers, he carried out the first comprehensive isolation of platelet lipids and demonstrated that phosphatidylserine was unique in its ability to replace platelets in thromboplastin generation and prothrombin consumption tests. He was totally dedicated to biomedical research and demanded perfection and precision in his experimental work. He eschewed offers of administrative leadership in order to pursue science, despite the long hours and diminished financial rewards that it entailed.