Pathology Department
1927-2024
Dr. Mario Kornfeld, born in Zagreb, Yugoslavia (Croatia) on 9 July 1927, died in his home on 20 April 2024. Except for his very early childhood in Novi Sad in early 1931, much of his life took place in Zagreb. He spent WWII in Zagreb and graduated from high school in 1945. Subsequently he entered the University of Zagreb Medical School (1946-1953), where he met his future spouse, Asja Nezic. Mario and Asja had one son in 1951, Marcel, now an anthropology professor at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyoming. After medical school, Mario served an obligatory military term (1953-1954).
In 1954-1955 he was an intern at the University Hospital in Zagreb and subsequently received his medical license in 1955. From 1955 to 1959 he was a resident in general pathology at the Institute of Pathology, General Hospital in Zagreb (following the footsteps of his father, the first docent, associate professor, at the Institute of Pathology at the University of Zagreb Medical School). After 1959 Mario was a staff pathologist at the Institute of Pathology of the General Hospital in Zagreb, and performed autopsies, the main function of the department, throughout the region, including western Bosna i Hercegovina. In his pursuit of advancing his career after medical school, he continued his education. In 1964 he earned his Doctor of Science (M.SC.D.) degree at the University of Zagreb. Several months later, after being awarded a fellowship at Columbia University in New York, he embarked on a journey to the United States, with his wife Asja, also an MD, and son.
From 1964 to 1967 Kornfeld was a trainee and fellow at the Division of Neuropathology, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University in New York. Subsequently he became an instructor (1967-1968) at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University. Fortunately, the newly created and growing University of New Mexico Medical School needed his specialization – neuropathology.
Mario Kornfeld joined the UNM's School of Medicine pathology department in 1968 as an assistant professor. In 1970 he was promoted to associate professor and in 1980 to full professor. After retirement in 1998 he became professor emeritus until his death. He actively participated in the growth of the department and the Medical School from its inception to 2014 (some 46 years). Although he retired in 1998, he remained active on campus with an office until the mid-2010s at the new Office of the Medical Examiner and remained intellectually active until his death. During his career Dr. Kornfeld published over 100 articles in professional journals. Students, staff, and colleagues frequently refer to his kindness and expertise, while students add an appreciation for his mentoring activities. He leaves a legacy of having taught neuropathology to virtually every student at UNM medical school from 1968 to the later 2000s.
In his personal life, after moving to New Mexico, he quickly became an avid skier, spending many winter weekends in the Taos Ski Valley. He and Asja hosted numerous friends and friend's children at their condominium. Autumns were frequently spent driving to nearby mountains to see the autumn leaves change colors and hiking. They were both avid listeners of classical music and attended concerts at UNM's Popejoy Hall and were regular subscribers to the Popejoy concerts and the Santa Fe Opera. The open-air Santa Fe Opera house was built the year the family arrived in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Mario and Asja had numerous friends and colleagues from the US and abroad and enjoyed spending time with them. Both had fond memories of summer vacations with friends in the Adriatic Islands as college students. Asja was an excellent chef and both enjoyed entertaining their friends and colleagues, often spending long and memorable evenings together, well into late night and in the younger years, well into the early morning hours.
