The Society mourns the loss of Larry Ash, PhD, professor emeritus of infectious and tropical diseases in the Department of Epidemiology at UCLA, and a member of ASTMH since 1956. He passed away August 6, 2024.
Friends and colleagues of Dr. Ash shared the following information about his long career, along with personal recollections of the dedicated professor, parasitologist and mentor.
- Mark Eberhard, PhD and Frank Sorvillo, PhD
- Ron Brookmeyer, PhD
- Barnett L. Cline, MD, PhD, MPH, FASTMH
- James W. Le Duc, PhD
- Claire Panosian Dunavan, MD, FASTMH
Mark Eberhard, PhD and Frank Sorvillo, PhD
As a Tulane graduate student studying under Tom Orihel, Mark Eberhard first “met” Larry through word of mouth, then met him in person at the 1975 ASTMH Annual Meeting in New Orleans. Frank Sorvillo came to UCLA hoping to become a cardiovascular disease epidemiologist, but—after attending two captivating lectures in Larry’s parasitology course—switched to infectious disease and asked Larry to take him on as a student.
Larry graduated from Tulane University, where he studied under the renowned parasitologist Paul Beaver. After a stint in Hawaii working with Joseph Alicata—another well-known parasitologist— and a short time at Tulane and NIH, Larry and his wife, Luana, moved to Los Angeles in 1967, where Larry quickly settled into a lifelong career at UCLA. It didn’t take long for Larry to develop his own world class program in parasitology. Very early on, his discovery of a rodent animal model for lymphatic filariasis, which was considered a momentous scientific breakthrough, allowed researchers worldwide to study in their own laboratories a disease that is now considered a target for eradication. At the UCLA School of Public Health’s 50th anniversary, this work was heralded as one of the school’s crowning achievements.
Larry mentored many students and served in various roles and capacities within the university, but was possibly best known as an award-winning educator and the most decent of human beings. However, he brooked no quarter in the classroom—he basically had a scorched earth policy! He never, ever graded on a curve—the grade you got was the grade you got! After the first lab exam there was an 80% attrition! These high standards in the classroom were motivated by Larry's concern for students and his determination to see them achieve and succeed. Larry enjoyed an incredibly close and lifelong friendship with Tom Orihel, a fellow graduate student under Paul Beaver at Tulane. This included a daily call between New Orleans and Los Angeles (early afternoon for Orihel, mid-morning for Ash); and don’t bother trying try to see either of them during this time no matter how important you thought the matter might be.
Larry’s knowledge of parasitology was encyclopedic, and he enjoyed sharing his knowledge with others. This is evident in the numerous WHO diagnostic guides to parasitology diagnosis that he and Orihel co-authored, but culminated most prominently in the three masterpieces they produced:
Atlas of Human Parasitology,
Parasites in Human Tissues and
Human Parasitic Diseases: A Diagnostic Atlas. All three are considered bibles of diagnostic parasitology and the last, a magnum opus, was published when Larry was 87 years young. These atlases brought diagnostic parasitology to life for a whole new generation of students and laboratory technicians as well as pathologists and even seasoned parasitologists, and certainly resulted in countless correctly made diagnoses that otherwise might have been questioned. Despite being an easygoing, gregarious person, Larry was a stickler for making a correct diagnosis, and didn’t really tolerate, “Well it sort of looks like…” Larry was also well-known for correcting errant misidentifications in the biomedical literature.
Larry maintained a laboratory guest book recording the numerous visitors who made their way to UCLA. It was a veritable Who’s Who of parasitology spanning more than 50 years, and included an especially broad range of parasitologists from Asia and the Pacific Rim. This undoubtedly reflected Larry’s role in the U.S.-Japan Cooperative Medical Sciences Program, where Larry chaired the filariasis group for a number of years. One could literally spend hours going through the guest book engrossed both in the visitors’ names and why they were visiting.
Larry, who was born in Holyoke, MA, and grew up in Northampton, MA, was a real sports fan, but most avidly of any team from Boston. We often teased him about whether he was ready to get in the game when a starting pitcher was flagging, a forward was not setting picks or the Bruins needed an enforcer to settle the other team down. He was always up for the banter and his pat response was, “Send me in, Coach!”
Larry knew everyone. This was especially evident when one attended a meeting with Larry. If you wanted to meet others in attendance, just spend a little time with Larry and you’d get introduced to everyone in short order.
Larry had a great sense of humor and sharp wit. Many years ago—when one of us was still a student— a young boy about 3 years old was seen defecating at the base of a small tree on Westwood Boulevard near UCLA. Arriving at school, and recounting this to Larry, he gave me a look and then said, “And you didn’t get a specimen?!” Gratefully, he was smiling.
Larry was an incredible friend and mentor to many. He gave of himself tirelessly in support of UCLA, students and colleagues. He will be sorely missed but we are all better for having known him.
Dear Colleagues,
With deep sadness, I share the news that UCLA Fielding professor Dr. Lawrence Ash passed away on August 6.
Dr. Ash, professor emeritus of infectious and tropical diseases in the Department of Epidemiology, joined the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health in 1967 as an assistant professor. He went on to become a full professor and hold positions of distinction and service at our school, including associate dean of student affairs, department chair and associate dean for FSPH.
Dr. Ash’s research focused on his long-standing interest and expertise in the diagnosis of zoonotic parasitic disease infections. His research interests encompassed intestinal nematode infections in humans and, more broadly, the epidemiology of parasitic infections. He coauthored more than a dozen books, including two reference textbooks of significant acclaim that address parasites and parasitology.
During his time at UCLA Fielding, Dr. Ash was recognized with an Award for Distinguished Service in Teaching by our school’s alumni association. He also earned a National Merit Award from the Delta Omega Society for Outstanding Achievement in Public Health and a commissioners medal from the American Society of Clinical Pathologists for continuing education.
Dr. Ash’s career in academia began after earning both his Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts degrees in zoology at the University of Massachusetts, and his Doctor of Philosophy degree in parasitology at Tulane University, where he was also a post-doctoral fellow. In 1960, he began working as an assistant parasitologist at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. Dr. Ash then became an instructor at the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, and a parasitologist with the National Institutes of Health before joining UCLA Fielding.
Widely recognized for his exceptional scholarship and teaching, Dr. Ash was a mentor and faculty member held in high regard by his peers. Dr. Ash will be sorely missed by his many friends and colleagues.
Sincerely,
Ron
Ron Brookmeyer, PhD
Dean / Distinguished Professor of Biostatistics / UCLA Fielding School of Public Health
Barnett L. Cline, MD, PhD, MPH, FASTMH, 1994 ASTMH President
Larry, eyes sparkling, pops in to visit the parasitologists in our Department of Tropical Medicine. They come alive! Paul Beaver’s mentees all, Larry’s fellow graduate students from an earlier era, their natures more reserved than his. Larry visited as often as he could: He loved New Orleans, he and Tom Orihel co-authored important parasitology publications, and a visit with his mentor topped off his periodic stay. His former classmates/roomates reminisced with abandon their glorious student days. I perked up when Larry bounced through my office door, my turn to be entertained, educated, and often challenged with suggestions or astute observations. While his departure leaves a void, Larry lives in the hearts and minds of his countless devotees. Larry!
James W. Le Duc, PhD
I was fortunate to attend UCLA in the 1970s, shortly after Larry Ash had joined the faculty. The school had developed a center of excellence in tropical and infectious diseases and Larry and the faculty offered hands-on training in parasitology and other foundational elements that a student needed to master to face the real-world problems of infectious diseases. Larry gave a no-nonsense course that introduced us to the fascinating world of parasites through lectures built on his personal experiences and augmented with incredible photos—the elephantiasis surgery is forever etched in my memory! His lectures were augmented by hands-on laboratory exercises in which we peered through microscopes to visualize virtually every important human parasite known. What a tremendous learning opportunity!
Larry was a dedicated scientist who loved sharing his knowledge with his students. He took his work seriously, but never too seriously. His favorite comment was, “It may be poop to you, but it’s bread and butter to me!”
Larry was recognized as a global expert in parasitology. While assigned to the World Health Organization, I was fortunate to be there when Larry and his wife, Luana, visited to discuss his diagnostic guides. The tremendous value of the guides to health professionals around the world was obvious, and Larry was rightly recognized as having made a truly significant contribution to the betterment of humankind.
Importantly, Larry was a kind and generous person. His gregarious smile lit up the room. He was more than a mentor, he was a friend forever, always there to help solve a problem, share a story or just listen. Like so many of Larry’s students, I feel incredibly fortunate to have had Larry in my life.
Claire Panosian Dunavan, MD, FASTMH, 2008 ASTMH President
It was my great joy to spend the last five years working with my long-time UCLA colleague Larry Ash on a documentary about
Angiostrongylus cantonensis, Larry’s all-time favorite parasite. But early in that journey, a production of even greater importance was released: a 672-page masterwork entitled Human Parasitic Disease: A Diagnostic Atlas, co-authored by Larry and Tom Orihel. This led me to publish not just a book review but a conversation with Larry that was both delightful and wise in the
American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. For a deeper look at the life of a one-of-a-kind scientist and human being, I hope some of you will read that piece, which can be accessed at the following link:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7124916/.