Michael Kashgarian

SHARON — Michael Kashgarian, MD (Mike), died peacefully at home in Hamden, Connecticut, on June 28, 2025, surrounded by his loving family and the sounds of his favorite Irish folk music. Mike and his beloved wife Jeanie (d.2019) were longtime residents of North Haven and Sharon. Mike was a devoted husband, father and grandfather, a distinguished physician, professor, colleague and mentor. He had wide-ranging interests – he was a music lover, a wine connoisseur, an avid fly-fisherman, and enjoyed gourmet cooking and travel.

Born on Sept. 20, 1933, in New York City to Toros and Araxie (Almasian) Kashgarian – both survivors of the Armenian Genocide – Mike was raised with a deep appreciation for learning and the responsibility to make the world a better place. He attended public schools and graduated from Bronx High School of Science, already showing the brilliance and curiosity that would shape his life’s work. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry and philosophy from New York University in 1954 where he sang tenor in the glee club and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Infantry that same year. He went on to receive his Doctor of Medicine from Yale University School of Medicine in 1958.

After an internship in Internal Medicine at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, and a research fellowship in Renal Physiology at the University of Goettingen in Germany, Mike returned to New Haven to join the faculty of the Yale School of Medicine where he became a full professor and served as vice chair and interim chair of the Department of Pathology. He also held a joint appointment in Yale’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences as Professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology. He retired as an Emeritus Professor in 2008.

Mike was a world-renowned, dedicated and prolific academic and clinician in the field of Renal Pathology, he was the founder of Yale’s Diagnostic Renal Pathology and Electron Microscopy Laboratory and also served as Chief Pathologist at Yale New Haven Hospital. His research advanced the understanding of the cell biology of kidney function, from the role of ion transporters to the mechanisms of acute and chronic kidney disease. He published a vast body of pioneering collaborative scientific work in renal physiology and cellular and molecular biology, including the Diagnostic Atlas of Renal Pathology, currently in its 4th edition. Among numerous awards and honors, he was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and recognized by Osaka City University, the Postgraduate Medical Institute of Saint Petersburg, and was a recipient of both the Jacob Churg Distinguished Achievement Award and Robert Heptinstall Lifetime Achievement Award from the Renal Pathology Society where he also served a term as President.

Mike touched the lives of countless students and colleagues throughout his career at Yale and as a visiting professor at over 50 universities throughout the world. Active in the Yale community, he served as the Resident Faculty Head at Harkness Hall, a Fellow at Jonathan Edwards College, Editor in Chief of Yale Medicine, secretary of the Board of Governors of Association of Yale Alumni and was recognized with Distinguished Service Award of Association of Yale Alumni in Medicine.

A lifelong learner with a sharp mind and a kind heart, he found joy in nature, music, and family. Introduced to fly fishing by his father-in-law, Harry Caldwell, he spent countless treasured hours on rivers and streams across North America. He was a longtime member of the Potatuck Club in Sandy Hook, the Walton Fishing Club in Cornwall, and the Tobique Salmon Club in Matapedia, Quebec.

He supported many charitable organizations and served on the boards of the Connecticut Fund for the Environment and the New Haven Symphony Orchestra.

But his greatest joy and pride was always his family. He was married for 60 years to Jean Gaylor Caldwell, who passed away in 2019. He is survived by his two daughters and their spouses, Michaele Kashgarian and Mark Rose, and Thea Kashgarian Obstler and David Obstler; and by his four grandchildren, Alison Gaylor Obstler, Eugenia Coley Rose, Andrew Caldwell Obstler, and Harry Caldwell Rose. He also cherished his extended family, especially his many nieces and nephews.

He will be remembered not only for his intellectual brilliance and professional legacy, but for his warmth, humility, generous spirit, and sense of humor. It was in his family, in the quiet of nature, and in the pursuit of knowledge that he was truly happiest.

Contributions in his memory may be made to The Michael and Jean Caldwell Kashgarian Scholarship Fund at the Yale School of Medicine.
Checks can be made payable to Yale University and mailed to:
P.O. Box 7611, New Haven, CT 06519-0611
Please note “Michael and Jean Caldwell Kashgarian Scholarship Fund” in the memo line.

A memorial will be held in the fall. Arrangements are with the Hawley Lincoln Memorial, New Haven.