Martin W. Adler, professor, researcher, and cofounder of Temple’s Center for Substance Abuse Research, has died at 92
"Given the vast number of successful trainees he supported over the course of his career," a colleague said, "his role in shaping the next generations of scientists will be felt for years to come."
Martin W. Adler, 92, of Warminster, a professor, researcher, cofounder and director emeritus of Temple University’s Center for Substance Abuse Research, and an internationally recognized pioneer in opioid pharmacology and the study of drug abuse, died Tuesday, July 5, of renal failure at Ann’s Choice Senior Living Community.
Dr. Adler make groundbreaking discoveries for more than 60 years regarding, among other things, opioid dependence; the interaction of opioids with the eyes, brain, and immune system; and the treatment of inflammatory pain with opioids. Called “a leader and a visionary” by colleagues, he organized Temple’s drug research community into the prestigious Center for Substance Abuse Research in 1998 and served as its director, director emeritus, and senior adviser.
“Research is a way of life, and it is my life,” Dr. Adler said in a 2011 Temple online interview. “Nothing gives me more aggravation than some of the things that go on in my research. But nothing gives me greater pleasure and satisfaction.”
In a tribute, his Temple colleagues said Dr. Adler “viewed problems as opportunities to take new approaches, and his persistence in pursuing goals was legendary.”
As Temple’s Laura H. Carnell professor of pharmacology, Dr. Adler instructed and mentored countless medical students, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows. He joined the department of pharmacology in the School of Medicine, now the Lewis Katz School of Medicine, in 1960 and became professor emeritus in 2001.
He served as executive secretary for the international College on Problems of Drug Dependence from 1986 to 2015, helped increase its membership from 200 researchers to more than 1,000, and was an esteemed presence at the annual International Narcotics Research Conference. “Marty was, and will remain, a giant in the field,” his colleagues at CPDD said in an online tribute.
Dr. Adler wrote, edited, and reviewed hundreds of scientific papers. He was a celebrated lecturer, a fellow for several scientific associations, a member of many committees and panels, and two-time chairman of a research review committee for the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
He was an expert organizer, earned numerous grants, and won a NIDA 1992 Method to Extend Research in Time award. Among his other awards were the 1996 Temple University Faculty Research Award, the 1997 Nathan B. Eddy Memorial Award from the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, and the 2001 Joseph Wybran Award from the Society for NeuroImmune Pharmacology.
In honor of Dr. Adler and Toby, his wife of 69 years, the College on Problems of Drug Dependence renamed one of its top awards the Martin & Toby Adler Distinguished Service Award. “Dr. Marty Adler has contributed to biomedical research in every conceivable way,” William L. Dewey, vice president of research and graduate studies at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, said in 1997.
Born Oct. 30, 1929, in Philadelphia, Dr. Adler grew up in Washington Heights, N.Y., became interested in the history of medicine as a youngster, and received his undergraduate degree from New York University. He got a pharmacy degree from the Brooklyn College of Pharmacy, a master’s degree from Columbia University in 1957, and in 1960 earned the first doctoral degree in pharmacology at New York’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
He served two years in the Army and met Toby Wisotsky at a friend’s party. They married, had son Charles and daughter Eve, and later lived in Mount Airy, Dresher, Warrington, and Warminster.
Dr. Adler and his family traveled to Europe, Israel, Puerto Rico, and elsewhere. He especially enjoyed cruises, followed the Phillies, and had season tickets to Temple football and basketball games. He coached his son in Little League baseball, volunteered as an umpire, and played bridge as often as possible.
He liked the theater and opera, and was quick with a joke. In a 1996 interview, he said he studied learning and memory in monkeys for a time at Einstein but transitioned to other brain functions after “I had discovered the monkeys were much smarter than I was.”
He engaged his students about life outside the lab and encouraged collaboration and creativity. “He loved to teach and be a mentor,” his son said. “He wanted to solve the puzzle of drug abuse.”
Asked in 2011 why he hadn’t retired, Dr. Adler said: “I still want to do something good for society.” In a tribute, Amy J. Goldberg, interim dean at Temple’s Lewis Katz School of Medicine, said: “Our grateful thanks to the Adler family for sharing him with us for so many years.”
In addition to his wife and children, Dr. Adler is survived by three granddaughters, a great-grandson, a sister, a brother, and other relatives. A brother died earlier.
Services were Friday, July 8.
Donations in his name may be made to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, P.O. Box 91891, Washington, D.C. 20090; the Michael J. Fox Foundation, P.O. Box 5014, Hagerstown, Md. 21741, and the Center for Substance Abuse Research at Temple University Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Conwell Hall 7th Floor, 1801 N. Broad St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19122.