John Fowler ’78

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A multi-UCLA degree holder, John Fowler, a recipient of the UCLA Alumni Association Outstanding Senior Award, graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. in biochemistry in 1978 and received his M.D. in 1983. Early in his career, John taught middle school in India, but a move to Turkey brought greater challenges. Arriving in a country possessing no formal training program in emergency medicine, Fowler discovered early on the work ahead when his sixth child, Debby, was born at home and weighed on a bakery scale. Fowler is the founder of the Emergency Medical Association of Turkey and currently the director of the Ephesus Emergency Medicine Training and Research Center in the Republic of Turkey. Since 1992, he has been the advisor to Turkey’s Ministry of Health. While visiting the U.S. in 1999, a major 7.4 earthquake struck Turkey. Fowler returned to Turkey, receiving great satisfaction in watching his former students successfully implement rescue procedures he had taught them.

Fowler’s name may be familiar to many. While there many not be 100,000 readers of the European Jouranl of Neurology, there were 100,000 people who witnessed Fowler as linebacker on UCLA’s 1976 Rose Bowl Championship team. Fowler also played and traveled with the United States Rugby National Team.