VCU news

By Joe Kuttenkuler

RICHMOND, Va. – He was one of the first physicians in Virginia to use fiber optics to diagnose patients with lung disease and his research publications on chronic respiratory failure have been cited more than 10,000 times in various medical journals, but where Orhan Muren, M.D., Professor Emeritus in the Division of Pulmonary Medicine in Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Medicine, truly excels is teaching. These and other outstanding qualities and achievements led to the creation of the Orhan Muren Professorship fund more than two years ago – and now, a generous $415,000 gift from Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield will endow the fund at the Distinguished Professorship level.

The Orhan Muren Distinguished Professorship was presented during a ceremony held today (Nov. 4) in the Alumni House on VCU’s Medical Campus, 1016 E. Clay St.

In addition to preserving Muren’s legacy and maintaining the high teaching standards he established, the Distinguished Professorship will provide money to recruit and retain faculty to the Division of Pulmonary Critical Care at VCU and ensure faculty have dedicated clinical research time. 

Dick Grinnan, M.D., knows Muren’s attributes well.  A 1960 graduate of the medical school and past chief medical officer for Anthem (formerly Trigon Blue Cross Blue Shield), Grinnan trained as a Fellow in Pulmonary Disease under Muren.

“He was a phenomenal physician and educator in every sphere – exceptionally intelligent, well-read, and up-to-date.  He was the kind of teacher who knew where the students were in their learning curves and how to stimulate them to get to the next level. He went out of his way to further his students’ education and is an amazing person,” said Grinnan, who currently is responsible for quality support services at Anthem.

Over the last two years, many of Muren’s former students have contributed generously toward the professorship – evidence that the value of his influence has made a tremendous impact.

“Perhaps even more important than his skills at patient care was his influence on the hundreds of physicians – medical students, residents, fellows and colleagues, with whom he had contact, said Chair of the Division of Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine, Alpha Fowler, M.D., who completed his residency training at the VCU Medical Center (then MCV Hospitals) in 1979. “I was fortunate enough to be one of them, and the impact he had on me was lifelong. Dr. Muren is not physically a large man, but he casts a huge shadow.” 

The Turkish-born Muren began his medical education in 1939 by capturing one of only a handful of coveted spots in the freshman class at the University of Istanbul. He later served in the Turkish Army Medical Corps. Following his immigration to the U.S., Muren attended the Albert Einstein College of Medicine where he trained as a fellow in Pulmonary Diseases and Tuberculosis. He subsequently completed a fellowship in Cardiology at Howard University before coming to VCU (then the Medical College of Virginia) in 1958. 

In the late 1960s, Muren became one of the institution’s and the nation’s first intensivists in the newly established Respiratory Intensive Care Unit. During his tenure, Muren cared for literally thousands of patients and was repeatedly recognized as one of the institutions most accomplished clinicians and teachers – winning the Best Faculty/Teacher Award for the School of Medicine for 22 consecutive years. In 1991, Muren became Professor Emeritus, retiring from full-time physician duties. 

"Anthem's gift is a wonderful contribution to the teaching of pulmonary and critical care at VCU and to the legacy of Orhan Muren," said Sheldon Retchin, M.D., vice president for Health Sciences for VCU. “In his long career, Dr. Muren exhibited a love for teaching that was unprecedented - and will be difficult to duplicate."

At 82, Muren continues to teach in the weekly Chest Clinic at the VCU Medical Center.