William A. Gahl, MD, PhD, is a 1979 graduate of the University of Wisconsin Pediatrics Residency Program and served as Pediatric Chief Resident from 1979 to 1980. He is currently a Senior Investigator at the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health.
What is your favorite part of your job? Seeing patients with rare diseases in which I have some expertise (cystinosis, free sialic acid storage disorders, Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome, alkaptonuria, Chediak-Higashi disease, CLCN7, etc.).
What skills or knowledge did you learn throughout the UW Pediatrics Residency Program that you found most useful in your career? Leadership skills in handling acute pediatric emergencies and serving as Chief Resident.
What advice would you give your fellow or trainee self? Spend a little more time with my children.
Are there any courses, professors, faculty members, experiences, or opportunities from your time training at UW that have had a lasting influence? 1. Henry Pitot, Director of McArdle Labs and Dean, was an inspiration in his guidance through my PhD. 2. Picking up children from various parts of Wisconsin to transport them to Madison or transport from Madison to a Shriner’s Burn Center. 3. ER rotation at Mt. Sinai in Milwaukee.
What is your best memory from your time in Madison? Bicycling from UW Hospital to my home on Glenway Street to be greeted by my first two children, Theresa and Rosie.