Eng Meng Tan

August 26, 1926 - March 9, 2024

La Jolla, California

Eng Meng Tan passed away peacefully on March 9, 2024, at the age of 97 at his home in La Jolla, California surrounded by his wife and sons. He was born and raised in Malaysia, at the time known as Malaya, a colony in the British Commonwealth of Nations and came to the United States for higher education studies. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts & Science degree from Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD) in 1952 and a Doctorate of Medicine degree in 1956 from the same university. After graduation, he decided he would continue his medical training and became involved in medical research which took him to an internship in Medicine at Duke University (Durham, NC), residency in Medicine at Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, OH) and research in Immunology and Medicine at the Rockefeller University (New York, NY).

Eng Tan had special relationships with his mentors. He frequently talked about them and about the role models they meant to him. About patient care, Eugene Stead, the Chair of Medicine at Duke, was his role model who was always caring for the whole person and not just the illness they had. Charles Rammelkamp, the Chairman of Medicine at Case Western Reserve, was his role model of concern for the future directions of interns and residents who had entrusted their future to his teaching and conduct. And Henry Kunkel, an outstanding immunologist at Rockefeller, was a model of high standards of research and what next to do.

Eng clearly had many examples to show for the respect he had for his mentors. He himself trained many medical investigators who have returned home to start new laboratories of their own. These trainees came from the United States as well as countries like Germany, Japan, Sweden, Taiwan, Mexico, Canada, United Kingdom, Brazil, Israel, Australia, China, and others. Eng Tan and his associates have investigated mainly, but not exclusively, on the illnesses characterized by the production of antibodies. These are often ‘autoantibodies’, which is to say that they are antibodies which interact with the patient’s own tissues. The most well-known illnesses of this kind are rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE or lupus), systemic sclerosis (scleroderma), and Sjögren’s Syndrome. More and more illnesses are now known to exhibit ‘autoimmune’ aspects. Until now, the main thrust of research in this area has been in the identification of these autoantibodies, using them as diagnostic biomarkers. The ability to make a diagnosis earlier from identification of such antibodies has extended life expectancy and increased the quality of life of people living with lupus and other autoimmune diseases.

Among the many awards he has received in recognition of his career accomplishments, Eng Tan in 1989 was the recipient of two awards for his research work. One award, the Carol Nachman Prize for Rheumatology, was in Wiesbaden, Germany, and the other, the National Arthritis Foundation Howley Prize, was in Phoenix, Arizona. He was able to accept both awards in person, the first in the morning of the day in Germany, and much to the relief of the U.S. National Arthritis Foundation officers, the second award in the evening in Phoenix.

Eng is survived by his loving wife of 62 years, Liselotte (Lisa). He is also survived by two sons, Philip (Alina Kulikowski-Tan) and Peter (Minh Nguyen), four grandchildren, Kamila Tan, Carson Tan, Kasimir Tan, and Brandon Nguyen, brother Eng Seng Tan (Chun Sang Choy, “Jyau Jyau”), and sister Cheng Seh Tan Khoo (Teik Beng Khoo). He was preceded in death by seven other siblings and grandson Xavier Tan. The recent loss of Xavier helped to increase understanding, acceptance, kindness, and empathy in the family and with our extended family and friends – virtues that Eng Tan highly valued.

If you wish to memorialize Eng Meng Tan with a donation, then please make a donation in his name to the Arthritis Foundation.