In memoriam,

On the morning of November 4th 2023, Professor emeritus dr. Joseph Sherman Solomkin (Joe) passed away in his hometown Cincinnati, Ohio at the age of 79. He leaves his wife, Diane Parson, his son, Mark Solomkin, his mother, Ruth Solomkin and extended family.

After completing an undergraduate degree at Harvard University, Joe started his medical career at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. He later served as a Captain in the U.S. Army Medical Corps with service in Vietnam and Thailand. He received his surgical training at the University of Minnesota Hospitals where he completed fellowship in surgical infections with Dr. Richard Simmons before he joined the Department of Surgery at the University of Cincinnati. Here he would follow in the footsteps of dr. William Altemeier, co-founder of the Surgical Infection Society, in dedicating his career tot surgical infections.

Joe was an exceptional and accomplished scientist, a great leader and a unifier. His concerns with the disparity between surgical outcomes in high-income and low- and middle-income countries led him to found the World Surgical Infection Society where he organized education, quality improvement and scientific projects around the world to build towards a world with safe surgery for all. Joe was the driving force behind the development of the first World Health Organisation Guidelines for Surgical Site Infection issued in 2016. He brought together giants in the field of surgical infection from all corners of the world, to serve all corners of the world.

To many, Joe was an inspiration, a mentor, but above all a great friend. He will be dearly missed. We find solace in continuing his work.

Joe is in our heart. Our thoughts are with his family.

The Surgical Infection Society Europe