Robert A. Chase

He obtained a Bachelor of Science from the University of New Hampshire in 1945. Due to war-time acceleration, he was able to earn an M.D. from Yale University in 1947.

After military service in the US Army during World War II,[1] residency training in surgery at Yale University and in plastic and reconstructive surgery at the University of Pittsburgh, Chase joined the faculty at Yale University to establish Yale's first section of plastic surgery. In 1963, he was appointed Professor and Chairman of Surgery at the Stanford University School of Medicine and was named the first Emile Holman Professor of Surgery. Upon his appointment, Dr. Chase was instrumental in the creation and founding of an integrated general and plastic surgery program at Stanford, which led to many schools around the nation adopting a similar model, as well as the creation of the Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Division at Stanford University.

In 1973 he took an additional role as Acting Chairman of the Department of Anatomy at Stanford University. From 1974 through 1977, Dr. Chase served as President and Director of the National Board of Medical Examiners in Philadelphia.

In 1977, Dr. Chase returned to surgery at Stanford University and assumed the position of Chief of the Division of Human Anatomy until 1992. In 1988, he became Professor of Surgery, Emeritus, and remained active in teaching human anatomy.

Dr. Chase has had a long-standing interest in visual aspects of education. He received the Francis Gilman Blake Award at Yale University and eight teaching awards at Stanford University. His publications include 115 papers and 35 books or chapters.

Dr. Chase married his wife Ann and had three children, nine grandchildren, and 15 great grandchildren. His wife, Ann, died in October 2013.

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