My father, Prof. Hasan Kurtuluş Töreci, who passed away at the age of 92, was a devoted family man, teacher, colleague, and microbiologist.
Born in Eskisehir in 1933, he was shaped by the newly established education system of the young Turkish Republic. Through perseverance and the sacrifices of his working-class family, he graduated from İstanbul Medical School in 1956 as the first in his family to earn a university degree. After briefly returning to Eskişehir as a general practitioner, he continued his training in the Department of Clinical Microbiology at İstanbul Medical School.
Photograph. Prof. Hasan Kurtuluş Töreci (1933-2025).
He displayed the finest example of the dedication expected of an academic. In 1962–1963, he advanced his research career in bacteriology at Kansas State University in the United States. Although he received offers to stay, he felt a strong sense of duty to his home institution and his country, and he returned to İstanbul determined to bring back his newly acquired knowledge.
He was a widely respected and sincere leader. He became an associate professor in 1965 and a full professor in 1970. He served as associate dean of the İstanbul Medical School in 1981–1982. Between 1980–1984 and 1987–1988, he was a member of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (Türkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Araştırma Kurumu, TÜBİTAK) Medical Research Group. For 23 years (1971–1987 and 1990–1996), he served on the İstanbul Medical School executive board and was a member of the faculty senate from 1996 to 2000. From 1998 to 2000, he chaired the Department of Basic Medical Sciences. He was also chair of the Clinical Microbiology Division from 1990 until his retirement in 2000. Over the course of his career, he authored more than 300 publications and delivered over 100 presentations. What made him most proud, however, was the ease with which students and colleagues sought his advice.
In 1987, he began his tenure as secretary of the Society of Antibiotic and Chemotherapy (Antibiyotik ve Kemoterapi Derneği, ANKEM), an academic society dedicated to antibiotic and chemotherapy research. He served as editor of ANKEM’s academic journal from 1987 to 2012. Even throughout his retirement, ANKEM remained a passion project for him. Deeply committed to promoting responsible research conduct among young scientists in Türkiye, he considered his article on ethics in clinical publication practices his personal favorite and most meaningful work.
Teaching was one of his greatest joys. As an academic at İstanbul Medical School, he valued the exchange of knowledge with trainees at all levels. At that time, there were no clinical microbiology textbooks prepared in Turkish. To make it easier for students to learn by listening during lectures, he printed out the lecture notes and distributed them to the students. These notes effectively became a course-specific textbook. As a teacher, colleague, and friend, he took pride in serving as a role model.
In 1962, he married his beloved wife, Sevinç. His devotion to his family surpassed even his profound commitment to science. A nurturing husband, father, and grandfather, he inspired my sister and me to pursue science. Following in his footsteps, I studied medicine and specialized in clinical microbiology and infectious diseases at İstanbul Medical School. There was no greater honor than learning microbiology from my father. In my current career as an infectious diseases’ physician in the United States, I carry a deep sense of responsibility to continue his scientific legacy.
Above all, my father was happiest when he was with his three grandchildren. He was present at the birth of each one and spent a significant portion of his retirement traveling between İstanbul and the United States to help care for them. Even in his final days, he took great pride in their accomplishments—my niece, who completed a master’s degree in clinical psychology; my daughter, whom he inspired to study medicine and basic sciences as an MD–PhD; and my son, who competes in high-level high school mathematics competitions.
My family and I remember my father as an honest, sincere, and selfless man. We miss him deeply.