DOI: 10.1148/radiol.2443072532
(Radiology 2007;244:935-936.)
© RSNA, 2007
Robert Anton Nebesar, MD
Justino Fernandes, MD and
John Ostheimer, MD
Dr Robert Anton Nebesar died in Laconia, NH, on July 19, 2006.
Dr Nebesar was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in 1932 and came to America in 1939, when his father, who was chief aviation engineer for Avia aircraft, managed to escape with his family after the German occupation of their homeland. He and his parents settled in the twin cities of Bristol, Va, and Bristol, Tenn.
A precocious student, Dr Nebesar graduated from Bristol High School at the age of 16 years. At the age of 19 years, he received his BA degree from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md. In 1956, he earned his MD degree at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. After an internship at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC, he completed a year of medical residency at the University of Colorado in Denver. He then served as captain in the U.S. Army Medical Corps in Korea from 1958 to 1960. After military service, he moved to Boston to begin a radiology residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital. During his residency, he was simultaneously a senior clinical trainee of the U.S. Public Health Service and a training fellow of the American Cancer Society. He received additional training at the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies in Tennessee. In 1964, he was appointed assistant in radiology at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass, and subsequently held the position of clinical assistant professor of radiology at Harvard until his retirement. He was also an instructor in radiology at Boston Children's Hospital from 1966 to 1969.
In 1970, after a brief period as radiologist at St Luke's Hospital in New Bedford, Mass, Dr Nebesar joined the radiology group at the Cardinal Cushing Hospital in Brockton, Mass, where he was appointed chief of nuclear medicine and ultrasonography. During his 25-year practice there, he introduced many technologic innovations. A perennial academic, he maintained his academic affiliations throughout his career and regularly attended the weekly radiology conferences at Massachusetts General Hospital while in community practice. In 1995, he left community practice and worked at Boston Medical Center until 2001, where he was appointed associate professor at Boston University School of Medicine. He was also a fellow of the American College of Radiology.
His major research interests were angiography in the diagnosis of liver and pancreatic disease, congenital heart disease, and the diagnosis and natural history of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. He taught courses at the Radiological Society of North America, published 41 articles, and authored or co-authored three books. Perhaps his best known work was the book for early angiographers, The Celiac and Superior Mesenteric Arteries: A Correlation of Angiograms with Anatomic Dissections, which he co-authored with a colleague and good friend, James Pollard, and published in 1969. When asked about their partnership in writing the book and many articles, Jim recalled that they never had an argument in all the years they worked together because of Bob's remarkable sense of fairness in sharing credit.
Those of us who knew and worked with Dr Nebesar will always carry the memory of this bright and caring physician. His uncompromising commitment to excellence was a constant inspiration to all who had the good fortune to work with him. He was truly a "radiologists' radiologist." But beyond his professional accomplishments and demeanor, we will cherish his warm personality, good humor, inviting smile, and sparkling eyes. A day working with "Neb" was always a good day. He loved the outdoors. Swimming, gardening, and skiing were among his favorite activities. He and his wife, Betsey, were active instructors in a skiing program for handicapped children at Mount Sunapee, NH. He enjoyed traveling, and in his later years he traveled often to the Czech Republic to reunite with family.
He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Betsey; his son, Peter; his brother, Charles; his niece, Darren; and his nephew, Alex. He was preceded in death by his son, Rob.
