Professor Franciszek Kokot

The editors and all the editorial team members are deeply saddened that Professor Franciszek Kokot passed away on January 24, 2021 at the age of 91 years. He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years. He played a vital role in building the standing of Polish Archives of Internal Medicine (Pol Arch Intern Med) into one of the best Polish scientific journals. He served as Co-Chair of the Scientific Board since February 2012 when Professor Andrzej Szczeklik passed away unexpectedly. Despite his advanced age, he was actively involved in launching new editorial projects including the change from a Polish journal name to the current one that was introduced in January 2017.

Professor Kokot’s research contributions that were focused on the understanding and treatment of kidney disease were enormous. To many, his most memorable contribution was the work on acid-base disturbances, a clearly written textbook that has inspired medical students, residents, and experienced clinicians for more than 40 years. Professor Kokot was highly regarded by trainees at all levels for his teaching of physiology, in particular, electrolyte balance and kidney function. Even after his retirement, he continued to attend internal medicine congresses, teaching and inspiring at least 2 generations of physicians with his intellectual rigor and unique sense of humor. In this issue of Pol Arch Intern Med, three eminent Polish scientists have written about Professor Kokot as their mentor, teacher, and collaborator.

Dr. Andrzej Januszewicz, Professor of Medicine at Warsaw Medical University, an internationally renowned and highly respected internist, has been appointed to take on the role of the late Professor Kokot, taking advantage of the 4-year period of serving as a member of the Scientific Board of Pol Arch Intern Med. His main research interests include the mechanisms of essential and secondary hypertension along with its diagnostic workup and therapy. He authored more than 250 peer-reviewed papers and edited and coauthored several textbooks on hypertension. His curriculum vitae has been presented on the next page.

It is difficult to overstate Professor Kokot’s impact on Polish clinical medicine. He was truly a giant in the field of internal medicine and science in Poland. He will be deeply missed by all who had the honor to know him and work with him. We hope that we will be able to follow in his footsteps and continue to support the growth of our journal with such dedication as he did.

Professor Andrzej Januszewicz

Professor Andrzej Januszewicz (Figure 1) was born in 1957 in Warsaw, Poland. He is married to Magdalena, an associate professor of radiology, and they have 2 children: Elżbieta, who holds a PhD degree in biology, and Władysław, a gastroenterology specialist.

Figure 1. Professor Andrzej Januszewicz in 2020 (author’s private collection)

Professor Andrzej Januszewicz studied medicine at Warsaw Medical University, at which he received his MD in 1981 and completed his internship between 1981 and 1982. In the years 1981–1982 and 1984–1985, Professor Andrzej Januszewicz was a visiting fellow at the Department of Hypertension, Cornell University Medical Center, New York, United States, headed by Professor John Laragh, and at the Department of Hypertension, Ochsner Medical Foundation, New Orleans, United States, headed by Professor Edward D. Frohlich, respectively.

In 1986, Professor Andrzej Januszewicz began his work at the Department of Hypertension and Internal Medicine, Warsaw, Poland (headed by Professor Włodzimierz Januszewicz), which remained at Warsaw Medical University until 1998. He received his PhD degree in 1986, was appointed an associate professor of medicine in 1993, and nominated as a professor of medicine by President of Poland in 1998.

From 1998 until now, Professor Andrzej Januszewicz has been working at National Institute of Cardiology and he has been Head of Department of Hypertension since 2000 until now. In the years 2008–2017, he was Chairman of the Scientific Council of National Institute of Cardiology, and he has been Vice-Chairman of the Scientific Council since 2017 until now.

From 2010, Professor Andrzej Januszewicz has been a member of Polish Academy of Sciences. Between 2004 and 2006, he was President of the Polish Society of Hypertension and, currently, he is a Council member of the Society.

From 2017, Professor Andrzej Januszewicz has been a member of the Council of the European Society of Hypertension and Secretary of the European Society of Hypertension from 2019 until now.

His main research interests in the field of hypertension include the role of atrial natriuretic hormone, endothelin 1, and the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in the pathogenesis of essential hypertension. As a visiting fellow at Cornell University, he was working in the research team who, as one of the first groups in the world, presented the structure and biologic activity of atrial natriuretic hormone (Nature 1985).

The current research of Professor Andrzej Januszewicz relates to the clinical aspects of renovascular hypertension, pheochromocytoma-paraganglioma, and primary aldosteronism. Other areas of interest include obstructive sleep apnea, resistant hypertension, and interventional treatment of difficult-to-treat and resistant hypertension. Clinical and molecular aspects of fibromuscular dysplasia represent the current topics of his particular interest.

Professor Andrzej Januszewicz has a wide experience in clinical research, including the membership of steering committees of several international trials on hypertension, diabetes, and lipid disorders that have been relevant to clinical practice. His publications encompass over 500 articles, book chapters, and books. He has published 260 original scientific articles and review articles in the leading journals such as Nature, Nature Genetics, New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, Hypertension, Journal of Hypertension, Cardiovascular Research, American Journal of Human Genetics, JACC Imaging, JAMA, and Kidney International. He has an h-index of 40 and an impact factor of 760, and his publications have been cited over 7755 times.

Professor Andrzej Januszewicz awards and distinctions include the following: Award of the Polish Ministry of Health (1998), The Blood Pressure 10th Anniversary Research Prize (2002), Award of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences (Cracow 2002), Award of the Prime Ministry of Poland (2002), MISTRZ Award of the Polish Foundation of Sciences (2008), Kościuszko Foundation Award (2017), and Gloria Medicinae Medal (2020).