The Pancreas Club, Inc.: fellowship and shared interests.

In 1966 the medical and surgical environment was inhospitable to the study of the exocrine pancreas. There were few, if any, surgical department chairmen in the United States who had as their primary interest the study of pancreatic disease. Themajority of surgical department chairmen were general surgeons whose research focus was the study of portal hypertension, biliary, or peptic ulcer disease. NIH funding for diseases of the exocrine pancreas had a low priority due, in part, to the fact that these same surgeons weremembers of theNIHadvisory committees.Most surgical departments had several faculty whose primary interests were the study of liver, biliary, or peptic ulcer disease. Only the occasional surgical department had even one faculty member whose major interest was pancreatic exocrine disease. In the absence of surgical faculty mentors having an interest in pancreatic disease, most surgical trainees seeking a career in academic surgery could read the “tea leaves.” The majority of young surgeons followed the path of least resistance, pursuing the studies available in the existing faculty. In doing so, they were likely to receive the approbation of their older colleagues as well as research funding.Those fewsurgeonschoosing to study diseases of the exocrine pancreas were, as Robert Frost wrote, following the “...road less traveled...” (Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken, 1915). Usually one of a kind at their institution, they longed for the opportunity to share their ideas, insights, and to receive praise and criticism from others sharing similar interests in the exocrine pancreas. Compounding their professional isolation was the absence of a national forum devoted to the study of pancreatic physiology and disease. The absence of a national forum for the study of the pancreas not only hindered communication and interaction among pancreatologists, but also made it difficult for them to find a venue to present their work. The Pancreas Club was borne out of the need of its members to share ideas with other colleagues having similar interests. For these few professionally isolated and lonely pancreatologists, participation in the Pancreas Club was profoundly meaningful. Shared appreciation and interests experienced at the annual meeting created