Class Ambassador Spotlight: Lawrence Schiller, MD ’72

We’re pleased to spotlight Lawrence Schiller, MD ’72, whose connection to Jefferson has continued through decades of teaching, leadership, scholarship support, and class engagement.

As a member of the Class of 1972, Dr. Schiller has helped keep classmates connected through virtual gatherings that bring alumni together with medical students, faculty, and university leaders. What began as an effort to build momentum ahead of the class’s 50th reunion has become an ongoing way for classmates to reconnect, share memories, and stay informed about the medical college today.

For Dr. Schiller, that commitment is rooted in both gratitude and purpose. His reflections highlight the lasting influence of Jefferson’s teachers, the friendships formed during medical school, and the role alumni can play in supporting the students following in their footsteps.

To begin our conversation, we asked Dr. Schiller to reflect on his early days at Jefferson, what first drew him to medicine, and the experiences that helped shape the physician he became.

Rooted in Curiosity and Classmates

Where His Path in Medicine Took Shape

Dr. Schiller’s early memories of Jefferson reflect both the intensity of medical training and the friendships that helped carry him through it. From the newly opened Jefferson Hall to long hours in the gross anatomy lab, that early experience was shaped by curiosity, challenge, and the classmates who became a close source of support.

When you think back to your first days at Jefferson, what stands out most about the campus, your classmates, or the experience of beginning medical school?

“When our class arrived at Jefferson in 1968, Jefferson Hall (now Jefferson Alumni Hall) had just opened. I remember going up to the gross anatomy lab to get acclimated to working in the presence of so many dead people. It was a bit daunting at first, but learning about the intricacies of human anatomy made the hours that we spent in the lab go by quickly. I was fortunate to have wonderful lab partners who became close and supportive friends during that time. At lunchtime, we would play cards to help reset our brains for more learning adventures in the afternoon.”

What drew you to medicine originally, and did your time at Jefferson affirm or change that path?

“As a kid, I always enjoyed designing machines, taking clocks apart to understand how they worked, and learning about science. I imagined that I would grow up to be an architect or an engineer, but my father convinced me that the business of those professions was cyclical and it might be hard to make a steady living. On the other hand, people were always getting sick, so being a doctor meant that one would have steady work. By the time I had to decide about my future, my older sister had already completed medical school and her residency in pediatrics. I could see that many of my childhood interests could play out in a medical career, and so I went down that path. My time at Jefferson reinforced that conclusion, particularly when learning about physiology and pharmacology, and how that knowledge enabled doctors to help patients.”

Is there a professor, classmate, patient experience, or moment from your student years that helped shape the physician you became?

“I was most influenced by Dr. Dowd Kowlessar, Chief of Gastroenterology at Jefferson during my time there. Dr. Kowlessar had a steel trap mind; he even could recall the page numbers of references off the top of his head. His interest was in the physiology of the gastrointestinal tract, and I took an elective course in that subject with him. This fit in perfectly with my interest in how things worked, and physiology and pathophysiology became a focus in my research as an academic gastroenterologist.”

A Career Shaped by Discovery

From Jefferson to Gastroenterology Leadership

After graduating from Jefferson, Dr. Schiller’s career took him through internal medicine training, military service, academic gastroenterology, research, clinical practice, and national leadership. Across each chapter, his early interest in how things work remained a throughline.

How has your career evolved since graduating with the Class of 1972?

“After graduation, I became an intern, resident, and chief resident in internal medicine at Temple University Hospital. After that, I served as a Major in the US Army Medical Corps for two years as an internist. I was stationed at the main NATO military headquarters in Belgium at a 24-bed hospital that cared for patients from all the different NATO countries. My bride was able to accompany me there, and my daughter was born there. In retrospect, it was a welcome interlude before moving to Texas to start training in gastroenterology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School.

"At Southwestern, I did an NIH research fellowship and studied mechanisms of gastrin release in peptic ulcer disease under the guidance of some of the greats of American gastroenterology: John Fordtran, Charlie Richardson, and Mark Feldman. After fellowship, I stayed on the faculty at UT Southwestern and eventually moved over to Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas where I have remained for the last 40 years.”

What has surprised you most about the path your career and life have taken since Jefferson?

“I never expected to stay in Texas for 48 years. I came to Dallas for my two-year fellowship and planned on returning to Philadelphia, but my wife and I found this to be a great place to live and raise our family.”

Outside of your professional work, what has been most fulfilling in this chapter of your life?

“Now that I am old and gray, I am enjoying time with my wife, daughter, son, daughter-in-law, granddaughter, and grandson. It is exciting to see their progress in the world, and to share some time with them. In the last year, we have gone as a family to Africa, Mexico, and Hawaii. My granddaughter will be a freshman in college studying linguistics this fall and my grandson is spending his sophomore year of high school next year in Japan.”

Bringing the Class of 1972 Together

How Virtual Gatherings Became a Lasting Tradition

What began as outreach ahead of the Class of 1972’s 50th reunion has become an ongoing way for classmates to gather, hear from Jefferson leaders, and stay informed about the medical college today.

You have helped organize virtual gatherings that bring your classmates together and connect them with students and university leaders. What inspired you to take on that role?

“In 2022, I was asked to take on the role of class representative ahead of our 50th reunion. It seemed to me that the best approach to making the reunion successful would be to reach out to my classmates with more than just a random email. Since all of us have become Zoom experts since the pandemic, I thought it would be useful to have a virtual gathering to encourage people to come to the reunion. We had so much fun with that meeting and with the in-person reunion, that we decided to continue to have virtual gatherings about twice a year. At each meeting we try to have a representative from the College of Medicine explain what is going on at Jefferson. We’ve been fortunate to have the Dean, department heads, and senior leadership give us these updates. Since our class project is to raise money for the Class of 1972 Scholarship, we also hear from medical students at Jefferson who tell us about the amazing projects that they are undertaking. We then have time to chat among ourselves.”

What do you think your classmates value most about those opportunities to reconnect?

“For most of us, our time at Jefferson was intense and stimulating. We were together for four years, and we became a group of students that supported one another. Having the chance to get together again — even over a video link — brings back memories of those days and provides a chance to catch up on our lives and experiences. This is especially important as we grow older. We are at a stage in life when many classmates are passing away; talking with surviving classmates and sharing memories about the departed takes away some of the sting.”

Supporting the Next Generation

Connecting Alumni Support to Student Impact

For Dr. Schiller, giving back becomes a personal connection when classmates can see the students and stories behind their support. Through the Class of 1972’s scholarship effort and regular student updates, giving back becomes a personal connection to the next generation of Jefferson physicians.

In your view, what makes alumni engagement feel meaningful and personal rather than transactional?

“People are social animals, and we enjoy the company of others, especially those with whom we shared formative experiences. We also have a great interest in the fate of those who are following in our footsteps. Our class project, to raise money for the Class of 1972 Scholarship Fund, is a tangible way by which we can help individuals become colleagues. Hearing directly from students who benefit from our gifts changes those gifts from anonymous to personal, and allows us to see why it is important to give current students a leg up, just as previous donors helped us when we were students 50-plus years ago.”

What have you enjoyed most about hearing directly from current students, faculty, or members of the university during these gatherings?

“We have learned so much about what Jefferson students invest their time in. Whether it be outreach to deaf patients, encouraging high school students to consider careers in medicine, staffing clinics for the medically underprivileged, or training patients to use portals to access care, our students show that they care about others in meaningful ways. We also give the students positive feedback and suggestions on how to expand their activities.

"The reports from faculty and staff have informed us of how Jefferson is transforming healthcare, deciding which students should be admitted, and how the curriculum is changing. As physicians, we have a great interest in how that process has evolved over time.”

Personal Reflections and Advice

Lessons, Memories, and a Life Well Traveled

As Dr. Schiller reflects on his Jefferson experience, one lesson continues to stand out: patients come first, and the work physicians do matters. For classmates who have not reconnected recently, he emphasizes that their perspective, advice, and support can still make a meaningful difference for one another and for current students.

What would you say to classmates from 1972 who have not reconnected with Jefferson or one another recently?

“Things keep changing — at Jefferson and in our lives. Medical students have changed, but they still face the same problems that we did: paying for medical school, getting a residency in a field that they want, and juggling the responsibilities of life as a young adult with those as a student doctor. Your experience and your gifts to Jefferson can help them on their way.

Hearing what your classmates are doing as they negotiate life is of value too. Your advice — whether it be where to vacation, a good book to read, or how best to utilize your talents to help others — may help your classmates make better decisions. It’s fun to catch up on what your old friends are doing and share your experiences.”

Is there a Jefferson tradition, memory, or lesson that still stays with you?

“The main lesson that I learned at Jefferson is that patients come first and what we do as doctors matters. Getting off to a strong start is important in any profession, but especially so on the long road to being the best physician possible. Jefferson provided that foundation.”

What is one thing your classmates or fellow Class Ambassadors might be surprised to learn about you?

“I have traveled to every state and 45 foreign countries and territories.”

For Dr. Schiller, staying connected to Jefferson is closely tied to the classmates, teachers, and students who continue to shape the meaning of his medical education decades after graduation.
    
Through the Class of 1972’s virtual gatherings, those connections have become a way to revisit shared memories, hear directly from today’s students, and support those preparing to enter the profession.