Jack B. Alperin, MD
Raised in Marianna, Arkansas, Dr. Alperin attended the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine at Memphis in 1957. The following six years of his postgraduate medical education at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago included an internship, an internal medicine residency, a hematology fellowship, and a year on the faculty of Chicago Medical School. In 1963, Dr. Alperin moved to Galveston as a senior research fellow in hematology and remained as a member of the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) faculty and staff for nearly 59 years.
As a clinician in the Hematology Division of the UTMB Department of Internal Medicine, Dr. Alperin served as a classical hematologist with special interests in hemorrhagic and thrombotic disorders. As a full professor, he held appointments in the Departments of Internal Medicine, Pathology, and Human Biological Chemistry and Genetics. He also developed a great interest in transfusion medicine, serving for many years as associate director of the UTMB Blood Bank. A participant in clinical investigation, Dr. Alperin authored or coauthored more than 125 peer-reviewed papers and abstracts covering a wide range of hematologic topics.
An outstanding educator and compassionate physician, Dr. Alperin received many awards from students, house staff, and colleagues for his teaching and mentoring skills. In 2000, he was honored to be named as one of the six inaugural Osler Scholars in the John P. McGovern Academy of Oslerian Medicine and was instrumental in the establishment of the academy’s program. He retired from UTMB as an emeritus professor in 2022.
In reflecting on his many years in medicine, Dr. Alperin acknowledged having received valuable advice and counsel from some very wise physicians including Drs. William Levin, William Deiss, Frank Gardner, and Don Powell. Dr. Alperin believed the guidance and wisdom these excellent mentors imparted to him played a welcomed role in his professional development. Recognizing the importance of mentoring in the development of young physicians, Dr. and Mrs. Alperin established in the Department of Internal Medicine the Alperin Mentor of the Year Award.
The Recipients of the 2024 Alperin Mentor of the Year Award: