Honoring the memory of Maria Buse, M.D. and John Buse, Jr., M.D.

Following the 23rd Annual Diabetes Fall Symposium, the Division of Endocrinology hosted a reception honoring the memory of Maria Gordon Buse, M.D. and John F. Buse, Jr., M.D.

Two of Maria and John’s three children, John B. Buse and Paul Buse joined Timothy Lyons, M.D. and the Division of Endocrinology to celebrate the remarkable lives of their parents.

As the first trained endocrinologists in the state, John Buse, Jr., M.D. focused on clinical work and teaching, while Maria Buse, M.D. concentrated on laboratory based translational and basic research. Their remarkable partnership changed the lives of innumerable people, both patients and trainees.

As co-founder of the Department of Endocrinology (1957) Maria Buse earned many honors and awards over the course of her fifty-plus years of service to MUSC. Most notably, she was the first female recipient of MUSC's Distinguished University Professor award (2003). She is also believed to hold one of the longest running NIH grants in the country. In addition to her work in the Division of Endocrinology at MUSC, she founded the Division of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Radiology.John established the first federally funded endocrine training program in the state, and received numerous ‘Golden Apple’ teaching awards.

Their storied partnership was unique and highly productive in every sense: both were deeply beloved and will long be remembered, not only by colleagues at MUSC, but by many people all over the world who they mentored and trained.

In Remembrance

MARIA GORDON BUSE, M.D. (1927-2019)

Maria Gordon Buse, M.D., was born in Budapest, Hungary. She was 16 years old when the German army occupied the city in 1943. After three difficult years, and with her country now ‘liberated’ by the Soviets, she entered medical school in Budapest. As the facilities were inadequate, she finished her first year at the University of Basel, Switzerland and emigrated to Argentina to finish her medical degree at the University of Buenos Aires in 1952.

Her formal research training ensued in the laboratory of Nobel prize-winner Prof. B. Houssay. Her work there led to the prize for ‘best faculty thesis’, and with it, a fellowship to the University of Pennsylvania. Arriving in the U.S., she was met at the airport by John Buse, M.D., of Charleston, SC, a fellow researcher from her new laboratory. ‘Dr. Maria’ and ‘Dr. John’ were married in 1957 and moved to faculty positions at the then ‘Medical College of South Carolina’ - at the time, they were the only trained endocrinologists in the state. Their remarkable partnership changed the lives of innumerable people, both patients and trainees.

Maria was a consummate clinician researcher. Her NIH grant “Factors that modify insulin action” was funded continuously for an extraordinary 54 years (1960 to 2014). In addition to her work in the Division of Endocrinology at MUSC, she founded the Division of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Radiology. Among her numerous awards, her most valued was the American Diabetes Association Albert Renold Award in 2003. She mentored innumerable clinical and scientific trainees, generating a devoted ‘adopted family’ whose rigorous training is today being passed to a new generation. Her marriage, family life, and career were inextricably combined: the Buse lab and the nearby Buse home were meeting places where exciting new ideas and many lasting personal and professional friendships were developed. Maria and John leave three children - one of whom, John B. Buse, M.D., Ph.D., is a world renowned clinical diabetes researcher – and 11 grandchildren.

JOHN F. BUSE, JR., M.D. (1921-2001)

John F. Buse, Jr, M.D., was a native of Charleston. He served in the Navy during World War II, and upon returning home, enrolled as a medical student at the Medical College of South Carolina (now MUSC). He graduated in 1950, and after residency was selected as chief resident and focused his efforts in diabetes care programs, troubled by the lack of effective treatments and the burden of complications, particularly in the poor. At the encouragement of the Chair of Medicine, he pursued a research fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. F.D.W. Lukens at the University of Pennsylvania to study the effects on insulin action in muscle. There he was soon joined by a newly arrived graduate student from Argentina, Maria Gordon. Working together, they published several manuscripts, and, John ‘invited’ Maria to join him upon his return to Charleston in 1957. Maria accepted this proposal, and they were married that year. Their honeymoon was the drive to Charleston as the first trained endocrinologists in the state.

Over ensuing years and decades, John focused on clinical work and teaching, while Maria concentrated on laboratory based translational and basic research. Their storied partnership was unique and highly productive in every sense: both were deeply beloved and will long be remembered, not only by colleagues at MUSC, but by many people all over the world who they mentored and trained. Together they covered all the core activities of an academic medical center, and living nearby the school, their home on Bennett Street, with its large porch, was a gathering place for progeny both biologic and professional.

John established the first federally funded endocrine training program in the state, and received numerous ‘Golden Apple’ teaching awards. He had a unique sense of humor and an original, infectious wit – it included many amusing made-up words that his students and colleagues soon assimilated and will long remember. These endearing attributes were combined with extraordinary clinical skills and knowledge, and a transparent kindness and commitment to his patients, students, and all around him. John left us 18 years ago: he was survived by Maria, their three children, and at the time, eight grandchildren.