Dr. Rudolf Altschul, Department of Anatomy, in a lab setting; microscope in foreground.

Bio/Historical Note: Dr. Rudolf Altschul was born 24 February 1901 in Prague, Czechoslovakia. He graduated as a Doctor of Universal Medicine from the German University in Prague in 1925, and did postgraduate work in neurology and neuropathology in Paris and Rome. In September 1939 the Nazi Occupation forced Altschul and his wife Anna (née Fischer, b. 1903) to flee to Canada. The Altschuls were aboard the S.S. Athenia, the first Allied ship to be torpedoed in World War II. They survived, but lost all their possessions and scientific records. They eventually arrived in Canada, and Dr. Altschul accepted a position in the Department of Anatomy at the University of Saskatchewan. By 1955 he was head of the department. Prior to coming to Canada he had to his credit 32 scientific papers, and in the following years he contributed another 71 papers dealing with various subjects, including pathology of the nervous system, skeletal muscle degeneration, cell division and in particular, arterial degeneration. He published Selected Studies on Arteriosclerosis (1950), and Endothelium - Its Development, Morphology, Function and Pathology (1954). His later research led to niacin therapy for lowering blood-serum cholesterol and in 1964 to the publication of Niacin in Vascular Disorders and Hyperlipemia. His most notable contribution was in demonstrating the cholesterol-lowering effect of nicotinic acid. Dr. Altschul died 4 November 1963 during a mid-day’s rest from work. The Altschul Symposia Series, relating to different areas of scientific research, was established by an endowment left by Anna Altschul and other contributors. The series is held at the U of S; the first symposium was in 1990, with the last symposium held in 2008.