Retired Northwestern University medical school professor Albert B. Gerbie was a leader in the field of obstetrics and gynecology whose research helped make amniocentesis an accepted procedure for pregnant women.
Dr. Gerbie, 79, died on Monday, Oct. 15, in his Highland Park home of complications from esophageal cancer, said his daughter Gail. A day earlier, his wife of 55 years, Barbara, 74, whom he had met while in high school, died of a heart attack, Gail Gerbie said.
Affiliated with Northwestern since 1952, Dr. Gerbie and a colleague, Dr. Henry Nadler, published a groundbreaking article in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1970 that established genetic amniocentesis as a legitimate and safe procedure, said Dr. Sherman Elias, chairman of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine.
Amniocentesis, in which a small amount of fluid is extracted from the sac surrounding a fetus, was initially used to detect genetic disorders associated with Rh factor and Down syndrome. But as more has been learned about genetics, its usefulness has expanded greatly, said Dr. Alvin Brekken, assistant to the executive director at the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
“He was one of the pioneers in the technique of amniocentesis in the early 1970s,” Brekken said. “People went to Northwestern to learn the technique.”
Dr. Gerbie was a past chairman and president of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The conference room at the board’s Dallas headquarters is named in his honor.
“He has been interested in elevating the care of women for his entire career,” Brekken said.
In addition to teaching and research, Dr. Gerbie maintained a busy practice at Northwestern with his younger brother, Dr. Melvin Gerbie. Dr. Gerbie conservatively estimated that he had delivered more than 3,000 babies, his daughter said.
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“He was a phenomenal educator, candid, insightful, a person who influenced the careers of hundreds of doctors in [the obstetrics/gynecology field] over the years,” said Elias, whose two sons were delivered by Dr. Gerbie.
Dr. Gerbie was always willing to explore new techniques, but it was the medical instinct developed over so many years that made him a marvel to younger doctors, said Elias, who counts Dr. Gerbie as his primary mentor in the field.
“He always used to say with new technology — don’t be the first to use it, and don’t be the last to use it,” Elias said.
An endowed professorship was established in his name at Northwestern in 1994.
The son of Polish immigrants, Dr. Gerbie grew up in Toledo Ohio, where his father was a tailor. He met Barbara Hirsch when he was 16, and they married in 1952.
He attended the University of Toledo and got his medical degree from George Washington University before coming to Northwestern to work with three doctors considered leaders in the field of obstetrics and gynecology.
Dr. Gerbie and his wife took up ice dancing some 50 years ago to rehabilitate from injuries they suffered in a car accident, and skating remained a hobby for the rest of his life.
“He really took to it, it involves lots of precision — similar to being a surgeon, I suppose,” his daughter said.
Active with the Skokie Valley Skating Club, Dr. Gerbie skated in rinks around the North Shore and also put on a show for his colleagues during conferences in Sun Valley, Idaho.
“He was as graceful on ice as he was in the operating room,” Elias said.
Dr. and Mrs. Gerbie are also survived by a son, Ralph; a daughter, Jody; a brother, Dr. Melvin; and four grandchildren.
Services have been held.
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