Dr. Daniel R. Alonso, dean emeritus of Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar and professor emeritus of pathology and laboratory medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, died July 31 in Norfolk, Va., at age 88. An esteemed physician, administrator and teacher, Dr. Alonso served both institutions with distinction for more than 40 years.
A native of Argentina, Dr. Alonso started medical school at age 17 enthusiastic about medicine but unsure about what specialty to practice, recalled his son, Daniel R. Alonso, an attorney at VedderPrice in New York City and an adjunct professor of law at Cornell Law School. During his medical education at the National University of Cuyo, Dr. Alonso, one of the few in his class who was fluent in English, was assigned to be the interpreter for a visiting American Fulbright Scholar, Dr. Charles Sherman, a pathologist from the University of Rochester. Dr. Sherman quickly became a friend and mentor, and helped Dr. Alonso land an internship in surgery at Bellevue Hospital in New York City, which at the time had connections with what is now Weill Cornell Medicine.
Dr. Alonso, left, with Dr. David Hajjar, then-executive vice dean of Weill Cornell Medicine, in 2005. Dr. Hajjar traveled to Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar to deliver grand rounds at the institution's Al-Nafis Auditorium.
“As he told the story, after a year of surgery he got bored with it,” his son said. “He didn’t love it, and he wanted to do something that was more research oriented.”
Dr. Alonso requested a transfer to what is now NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center for a residency in pathology. After completing his residency, he joined Weill Cornell Medicine’s faculty in 1969 as an anatomic pathologist, where he also conducted research into cardiovascular disease.
Profoundly passionate about training the next generation of doctors, he directed the institution’s pathology course and introduced the use of computers and digital images in medical education. In 1977, Dr. Alonso was awarded the Elliot Hochstein Teaching Award, which is given to a faculty member who best exemplifies compassion, skill and distinction as a physician and teacher by a vote of the graduating class.
Dr. Alonso gradually became more involved in the institution’s education administration, and in 1982 was appointed associate dean of admissions. Five years later, he was named the inaugural senior associate dean for academic affairs, overseeing all aspects of medical education.
Dr. Alonso spearheaded a major redesign of the medical education curriculum, which the institution implemented in Fall 1996, coinciding with the opening of the Weill Education Center. The curriculum blended basic and clinical science, exposed students to primary care and doctoring courses, and championed problem-based learning and office-based preceptorships.
“He was extremely passionate about medical students and medical education,” Alonso said, noting that his father had memorized the photos of all 101 first-year medical students each year so that he could call on them by name before they were even introduced. “That shows his level of passion. Revamping the curriculum really did make him very happy. He was someone who really loved to do that kind of work.”
His educational leadership culminated in his 2001 appointment as inaugural dean of Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar. “It was exciting for him,” Alonso said. “What an opportunity to build a medical college from the ground up.”
Dr. Alonso, left, speaks during a dinner cruise in New York City celebrating the 2008 graduates of Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, while Dr. Antonio M. Gotto, Jr., left, then the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medicine, watches on. Credit: Richard Lobell
As dean, Dr. Alonso developed excellent relations with Qatar Foundation and welcomed the institution’s first students to Doha in 2002, overseeing their pre-medical and medical education until their graduation in 2008. Retiring a year later to become dean emeritus, his legacy endures in the 641 new doctors to date who have graduated from the institution he helped build.
Dr. Alonso retained a strong connection to Argentina and his family there throughout his life, Alonso said. While Dr. Alonso initially planned on returning to Argentina with his first wife, Dr. Maria Lita Alonso, who was an associate professor of clinical pathology and laboratory medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, and their children, the political situation at the time kept them in the United States. Dr. Alonso became a U.S. citizen in 1975, and in 1986 was selected by Mayor Edward I. Koch for the 1986 Mayor’s Liberty Award, given to 87 naturalized or soon-to-be naturalized citizens who made a major contribution to New York and the United States.
In honor of his father, Daniel Alonso this year established the Dean Daniel R. Alonso, M.D. Annual LL.M. Scholarship, which provides financial assistance to outstanding students enrolled in Cornell Law School’s General LL.M. Program who received a first degree in law from a university in Argentina, Chile, or Uruguay.
“He was a great role model,” Alonso said of his father. “He was so studious; he instilled in my sister and me a love of learning. He was intellectual, which was a little intimidating and a lot to live up to. But he had a very warm heart, and he had interests outside of medicine that made him an interesting person. I hope I’m a better person for having him as my father.”
Dr. Alonso is survived by his second wife, Dr. Powers Peterson; his children Daniel R. Alonso and Jennifer Alonso-Albert, a nurse; and four grandchildren. He was predeceased by his first wife, Dr. Maria Lita Alonso, who died in 2023.
