Peter James Dyck, M.D., professor emeritus of Neurology, passed away on July 26 at age 97. Dr. Dyck transformed the field of peripheral neuropathy.

After internal medicine, neurology and neuropathology training in Canada, Dr. Dyck came to Mayo Clinic in 1959 for a neurology fellowship and became a Mayo Clinic staff member in 1961 and a professor in neurology in 1973.

Dr. Dyck was one of Mayo Clinic’s longest-serving staff members, with 63 years of service.

A pioneering career

Dr. Dyck’s career spanned seven decades, and he is internationally recognized as a preeminent clinician, investigator and educator in the field of peripheral nerve disease. He pioneered ways to measure neurological outcomes, including developing nerve biopsies, sensory testing and neuropathy grading scales. He defined previously unrecognized conditions such as CIDP (chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy) and others. He conducted the first large epidemiological study to define diabetic neuropathies in the Rochester Diabetic Neuropathy Study.

Dr. Dyck had one of the first National Institutes of Health grants at Mayo Clinic.

"What drew me to Peter Dyck was the way he spoke — in questions — always seeking to deepen understanding and expand our medical knowledge, rather than making arbitrary statements," says William Litchy, M.D., a Mayo Clinic neurologist and close colleague of Dr. Dyck.

Dr. Dyck was recognized with numerous awards and honors, including the Roy E. and Merle Meyer Professor of Neuroscience Teacher of the Year Award in the Department of Neurology (1996), Distinguished Mayo Clinic Investigator Award (2004), and Mayo Clinic Distinguished Alumnus Award (2007).

Shortly before his passing, Dr. Dyck's 1993 Rochester-based epidemiology paper was named a Hallmark Paper in Diabetic Neuropathy, a series sponsored by the NEUROdiab study group. The series features historically significant articles considered essential reading for early-career researchers in the field.

Dr. Dyck was an honorary member and past president of several organizations, including the American Neurological Association, the Peripheral Nerve Association (which later became the Peripheral Nerve Society), and many more. He wrote hundreds of peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, and wrote and edited four books on peripheral neuropathy, including the seminal textbook, "Peripheral Neuropathy."

A lasting legacy

His legacy continues through the mentoring of more than 150 international fellows in peripheral neuropathy. He inspired and educated generations of healthcare professionals. In his personal time, Dr. Dyck loved classical music, especially Bach. He enjoyed spending time at his farm on the Mississippi River, writing papers with his favorite music playing loudly in the background.

"I still find myself using explanations and words with my patients that I heard Peter J. use with patients we saw together more than 30 years ago," says Colin Chalk, M.D., a neurologist in Montreal and a fellow who worked with Dr. Dyck in the early 1990s. "Among my memories is him and me singing the beginning of the Bach Easter Oratorio to a patient. I'm not sure how much this helped the patient, but we were very pleased with ourselves! I can imagine Peter J. now at the Pearly Gates, examining Saint Peter's hands and commenting on the likelihood of the saint having diabetes. A giant has left us."

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