Joel Moake, MD, considered a career drawing Mickey Mouse before going into biomedicine

Joel L. Moake, MD, is senior research scientist and associate director of the J.W. Cox Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering at Rice University and professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. He and his team have a host of discoveries to their credit: They were the first to describe basic mechanisms of platelet adhesion and aggregation under high shear stress; the first to describe thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and the first to describe the mechanisms of hemolytic uremic syndrome.

However, while on a working vacation in Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains, Moake told HemOnc Today that illustration was his first love.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not practicing medicine?

I enjoy reading American history from about 1750 and 1815, and also Russian history from the time of Ivan the Terrible through the end of the Stalinist era. In addition, I spend some time each day struggling to improve my barely adequate Spanish.

What would you have done if you hadn’t gone into medicine?

My goal as a youngster was to be a cartoonist, specifically an animator. My most memorable experiences as a fledgling artist were traveling from my hometown of San Antonio, Texas, to visit both the sprawling Walt Disney Studios and the smaller Walter Lantz building, home of Woody Woodpecker.

What would you consider one of your biggest successes in your specialty?

The discovery that failure to process von Willebrand’s factor multimers properly is the most common cause of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

Concentrate on medicine and science, and stay as far from medical school and institutional politics as possible.

Whom do you consider a mentor?

Drs. Albert Owens and Lyle Sensenbrenner at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; and Drs. Adel Yunis, Donald Harkness, Duane Schultz and William Harrington at the University of Miami School of Medicine.

Joel L. Moake

What do you think will have the biggest influence on hematology in the next 10 years?

Targeted therapies against the precise initiating causes of arterial thrombotic disorders.

What is the last book you read?

Earlier this summer, I read the only anthology of short stories by Alexander Solzhenitsyn ever published. I’ve always appreciated Solzhenitsyn’s elegant writing style, even in translation, and his remarkable insights into human behavior.

I am currently reading a collection of Hispanic short stories published in a side-by-side Spanish-English edition. This is an attempt to increase my vocabulary while reading some of the best writers in Spanish.

What kind of diet and exercise regimen do you have?

I enjoy walking, bicycling and modest isometrics. For my diet, I try to put an emphasis on seafood and fruit. But I have a lifelong craving for all types of Mexican food, especially cheese enchiladas.

What is your favorite travel destination?

The Sawtooth Mountains of central Idaho.

What is your favorite restaurant?

Casa Rio, a Mexican restaurant on the river in downtown San Antonio, has been my favorite restaurant for 60 years. In second place is the Cleburne Cafeteria in Houston, an outstanding family-run neighborhood spot with the most varied and high-quality food on one steam table anywhere. – by Jason Harris