On May 30th, we celebrated the retirement of Dr. Art Leon, a legendary scholar, doctor and scientist in our school and in the entire field of sport medicine, during the annual American College of Sport Medicine conference being held in Minneapolis.

Dr. Leon’s name is intimately related to the Laboratory of Physiological Hygiene and Exercise Science (LPHES), the longest functioning lab of its kind in the country. LPHES started in 1938, eighty years ago during the dawn of understanding of the human body. After Ancel Keys, Henry Taylor, and Henry Blackburn, Dr. Leon continued the legacy and elevated the reputation of the lab to a greater height through his dedicated and relentless effort and expertise. Eighty years ago, the pioneers wanted to learn how environment, exercise, nutrition and aging affect the human body. Today, humans are still suffering from numerous problems rooting from the same etiological problems, some even emerging as new epidemics. Thus, the mission is not entirely accomplished.

I was honored to take the baton of Dr. Art Leon to direct the LPHES in 2011 and I am proud of this honor. Since then, forty peer-reviewed articles, 6 book chapters, and 30 abstracts have been published, and 50 lectures have been given under the name of LPHES. However, I also understand the challenges ahead. We are facing not only the lasting internal and external factors hindering human health and wellbeing, but also deep-seated secrets inside the cells and genes that cause difficult diseases and shorten longevity. Physiological hygiene still has a clear meaning: as humans, we are inspired to live cleaner, healthier and longer.

Dr. Leon will never retire. Like many scientists in his generation, he will only shift to a different gear of working, living and contributing. And I can ensure him: the mission of studying human hygiene will go on.