A True Torchbearer: Dr. Anthony Grieco’s (ARTS ’60, GSM ’63) 60+ Years at NYU are a Story of Lifesaving and Love

He is a dedicated member of the NYU Alumni Association Board of Directors, actively engaging with the University community and fostering connections among NYU graduates. His unwavering commitment to the University is exemplified not only through his professional accomplishments—which include a lifesaving discovery!—but also through his enduring personal relationships, including meeting his wife of 60+ years, Audrey, when they were students at NYU.

Reflecting on his journey, Dr. Grieco offers timeless advice to the next generation of NYU alumni: “In selecting a career, I advise the Class of 2024 to ‘follow your heart.’ Beyond your personal plans, serendipity may present unexpected opportunities that can change the course of your life for the better. When that happens, seize the moment and go with it! Then enjoy the success and happiness that surely will follow.”

Dr. Grieco’s legacy at NYU was most recently recognized when he served as the Torchbearer at the University’s 191st All-University Commencement in 2024, marking a testament to his long-standing dedication and profound impact on the institution. Read on to learn more about his deep bond with NYU, groundbreaking medical discovery, and some of the people and moments that have shaped his career.

NYU has been part of your life for more than 65 years. What initially brought you here, and why have you stayed involved personally and professionally?

I came to the University College of Arts and Science, on the Heights campus of NYU, in 1956 and became a combined biology and chemistry major in preparation for medical school. The Chairman of the Department of Biology, Professor Charles Willey, recommended that I apply to NYU School of Medicine for admission at the end of three years rather than spending a fourth year in college. I followed his advice and started medical school at age 19, receiving my BS degree at the completion of my first year of medical school.

At NYU School of Medicine, I made lifelong friends in addition to receiving an excellent education. It became my permanent professional home, as I remained there for my residency training and then joined the faculty, and never left. Three others from my medical school class of 1963 remained on the faculty for their entire careers: Norman Charles in ophthalmology, Martin Kahn in cardiology, and Bruce Young in OBGYN.

I salute all the distinguished alumni of the NYU School of Medicine and of the entire New York University community. I celebrate their accomplishments, which make me proud to be an NYU alumnus. I am grateful to so many people at NYU for their kindness and friendship. I thank NYU for making me who I am.

What motivated you to pursue a career in medicine? What are some of the most challenging and rewarding aspects?

I always wanted to be a physician. As a longtime member of the faculty, I am privileged to have played a small role in our School of Medicine’s mission to stimulate young people to become outstanding physicians. I learned from superb teachers and role models, chief among them Saul Farber and H. Sherwood Lawrence. I had the pleasure of collaborating with extraordinary colleagues, and have had exceptional students. I learned so much from them and have the joy of witnessing them acquire knowledge, skill, and judgment; and I am thrilled when they achieve prominent positions in our profession. 

I continue to learn from my patients and share their concern when new diseases arise unexpectedly. Advances in scientific knowledge and technology during those years dramatically improved our ability to diagnose and treat them; but my patients make it clear that those advances do not diminish their need for human touch and personal care. 

When I began my internship, my wife said that would be our hardest year, and our life would get better and better forever. She was right. She is always right! I treasure my wife and family. 

What’s something that has surprised you in your career?

At the Heights, I greatly enjoyed my science and math courses, which were logical and thought provoking. In addition, I was required to take two courses that I initially did not realize would be most important in making me an educated person: Survey of English Literature and Survey of European History. To this day, I remember Frederick Schult’s history lectures, and he became a friend later in life. I always enjoyed French, so I took advanced French literature courses, including one with only four students, also adding a great deal to my humanities education.

In 1976, a new drug for severe psoriasis became available, generic name azaribine, but the chemical was 6-azauridine. The Medical Letter on Drugs and Therapeutics reported that, because some patients developed clots while taking the drug for psoriasis, a study was planned to determine whether the drug was or was not the culprit. Unbelievably, I was the only one who knew that it caused homocystinuria, which led to clots. I notified my dermatology colleagues, who were incredulous, asked to have their patients on the drug tested, and we confirmed that patients who were taking that drug indeed developed drug-induced homocystinuria. I reported it to the drug company and the FDA, both having no knowledge of that metabolic side effect, and the drug was removed from the market, potentially saving many lives.

(Beside meeting your wife) Do you have a favorite memory from your time at NYU that you’d like to share?

One morning at the start of our first year biochemistry lecture, our professor, Severo Ochoa, was notified that he won the Nobel Prize. We had no idea that the information he was teaching us was so groundbreaking! Some years later, when I was on a beach on Cape Cod, Dr. and Mrs. Ochoa happened to put their blanket near ours, and Dr. Ochoa exclaimed, ‘Antony!’ How remarkable that a world-renowned scientist would remember an ordinary medical student.

Anatomy was enlivened by our professors Joseph Pick and Louis Bergman. Years later, I discovered that both of them were among those who had their lives saved in 1939 by Currier McEwen, who was Dean of the School of Medicine at the time. Albert Einstein had reached out to Dean McEwen to ask him to offer faculty appointments to German and Austrian physicians and scientists so they would be able to obtain visas to immigrate to the USA from Germany as WWII was breaking out. 

To skim over a list of memories:

• Immunology professor Zoltan Ovary, who lived to age 103, remained a role model for me to the end of his life.
• Our clinical clerkships were at Bellevue Hospital, which made me aware of the importance of understanding diverse cultures in order to treat people appropriately.
• Edward Franklin described alpha-heavy-chain disease, and many years later, I treated a patient with that rare disease, thinking of him.
•  Neurology professor Albert Goodgold, a true renaissance man, was my unofficial mentor through much of my career.
• Thursday Night Cardiac Clinic at Bellevue gave me an understanding of longitudinal patient care.
• H. Sherwood Lawrence, who had extraordinary humility despite his world-changing research, which formed the basis of transplantation biology, led Saturday conferences during the Medicine Clerkship. I am proud to be Chief of the student firm named in his memory.
• During the Medicine Clerkship, brilliant interns and residents taught me, especially Jerome Lowenstein, Richard Effros, and Norman Edelman, who became giants in their fields.
• In my fourth year, I did research in Saul Farber’s laboratory upon the recommendation of Arthur Fox, whom I first met when he was “a rising star” in the Thursday Night Cardiac Clinic. Also in that clinic, I met Walter Redisch, a senior physician who, when he retired, referred his patients to me, thereby jump-starting my practice.

What’s your favorite:

• Food? Pasta
• TV Show and or/ Movie? My Fair Lady is my favorite movie as well as my favorite musical theatre production. My favorite opera is Tosca. My favorite books are Barchester Towers and Doctor Thorne by Anthony Trollope.
• Song and/or Musical Artist? Fascination waltz. Until the COVID pandemic, my wife and I greatly enjoyed ballroom dancing, thanks to my classmate, George Burton (GSM ’63), and his late wife, Barbara (GSM ’64), who were our inspiration.
• Way to spend a day off? Being with my wife and family.
• Place on NYU’s campus? At Washington Square: Bobst Library. At the School of Medicine: Bellevue Hospital.