About the Author

Paul G. Schmitz, M.D., is a physician, educator, and author whose career has spanned clinical medicine, academic leadership, and medical publishing. For many years, he served on the faculty of Saint Louis University School of Medicine, where he taught nephrology and internal medicine while maintaining an active clinical practice. Over the course of his academic career, he trained more than one hundred nephrology fellows and held several leadership roles in medical education, including Director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program, Director of the Nephrology Fellowship Program, and Director of the Medical School Curriculum.

Dr. Schmitz has been widely recognized for his contributions to medical education. He received multiple teaching awards from the State of Missouri, medical students, residents, and faculty colleagues for excellence in clinical instruction. His academic work also included federally funded research; he received support from the National Institutes of Health to investigate the role of omega-3 fatty acids in health and disease. For his contributions to vascular medicine and hypertension research, he was elected a Fellow of several major professional societies, including the American Society of Nephrology, the American College of Physicians, and the American Heart Association.

In addition to his academic work, Dr. Schmitz authored several clinical texts designed to make complex medical subjects accessible to students and practicing physicians. His books—including Pocket Nephrology, Pocket Hypertension, Renal: An Illustrated Guide, Renal: An Integrated Approach to Disease, and Internal Medicine: Just the Facts—reflect a longstanding commitment to practical medical education.

After decades devoted to medical teaching and clinical practice, Dr. Schmitz expanded his writing into historical and civic scholarship, with a particular focus on the American presidency. His work in this area reflects the same analytical and evidence-based approach that guided his medical teaching—examining leadership, historical context, and the evolving role of the presidency within American political life.

His recent book, The American Presidency: Lives, Leadership, and Legacy, offers concise biographies and historical perspectives on every U.S. president from George Washington to the present. Through both books and essays, Dr. Schmitz continues to explore the intersection of leadership, institutions, and public life.

Dr. Schmitz lives in Colorado and continues to write and pursue new projects in medicine, history, and education.