The Zadek family relationship with Johns Hopkins began more than 100 years ago when ISADORE ZADEK entered the School of Medicine. He studied general surgery under Dr. William Halsted, before becoming the fourth resident in Hopkins’ Orthopaedic Program under Dr. William Baer (1915-1918). Dr. Zadek entered the U.S. Army Medical Corps, caring for the wounded on the Western Front until Armistice in 1918. Isadore returned to lead an orthopaedic service at The Hospital for Joint Diseases in New York and establish a private practice in Mt. Vernon, New York. His son, Robert, came to the Johns Hopkins School of Arts & Sciences receiving a Bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1950 and began Hopkins Medical School, which he completed in 1954. He spent a year as an intern at Duke Hospital and served as a Navy Medical Officer (1955-57). He returned to Baltimore to train under Dr. Mark Ravitch at City Hospital (1957-58) before entering the Hopkins Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Program, which he completed in 1961. (This became the first of nine father-son Hopkins orthopaedic surgeon pairs in our history, which would later include Dr. Lee Riley Jr. and Dr. Lee Riley III.)
Dr. Zadek began a private practice in Baltimore with Dr. Robert Abrams, who was the Chief of Hopkins Pediatric Orthopaedic Service. At this time, there were only two full-time Orthopaedic faculty at Hopkins, Drs. Robinson and Settle. It was the community physicians, such as Drs. Zadek and Abrams, who served as Hopkins’ volunteer staff, training residents and caring for patients. Dr. Zadek later became Chief of Orthopaedics at Sinai Hospital (1968-1990) where he started and ran a resident education program. He also served as Chief of the Scoliosis Service at Kernan Hospital. Dr. Zadek is a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He is the author of several studies on Paget’s disease and a book chapter “Orthopedic Management of the Child with Multiple Handicaps.” In 1999, when Dr. Zadek retired from medical practice, he became a volunteer tutor with Baltimore Reads, which he continued until its closing. Dr. Zadek’s wife of 62 years, Miriam, is a graduate of Barnard College and Columbia University’s NY School of Social Work. For 19 years, she was a social worker with the Hearing and Speech Agency of Baltimore and has served on their Board of Directors for 20 years.
The Zadeks’ four daughters and their husbands, and each of their 11 grandchildren contributed philanthropically to the establishment of this endowed professorship. We are deeply grateful to Sarah and Jim Umberger, and their children Charlie Umberger and Sam Heron; Sue and Steve Mandel, and their children Ben, Kate, and Tom; Beth Zadek and Joph Steckel, and their children, Henry, Isabel, George, and Lily; and Barbara Zadek and Tom Moses, and their children, Molly and Matt.
