Richard K. Bernstein
1934-2025
December 2, 2025
As I stood waiting in line at the seafood counter at the market, I found myself staring into the glass case, filled with rows of fresh, pink salmon. For a moment, I stopped thinking about dinner and started thinking about determination. Salmon are built to push upstream—to fight through rough waters for the chance to reach something greater. It made me realize that the same principle applies to innovation and reminded me of the Wall Street Journal obit I read earlier that morning about a man who embodied a similar concept: Richard Bernstein.
The departed is known as the first patient of self-test blood-sugar levels for Type 1 diabetes, a prominence he made possible on his own. But the accomplishment did not come without defying the strong currents of convention. Bernstein had to overcome many obstacles. Bernstein was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 1946 at the age of 12, according to the Journal. He was told to follow the standard treatment plan at the time, which included daily insulin shots and monthly doctor visits to check his blood sugar levels coupled with a diet high in carbohydrates—undoubtedly the opposite type of food that would be suggested for a diabetic today.
By the time he was in his thirties, Bernstein had deformed feet and debilitating night blindness, complications that were attributed to his diabetes. Tired of getting sicker and fueled by a spirit to forge a new path in diabetic discoveries, Bernstein took matters into his own hands. Progress rarely follows the easy path downstream. I imagine that Bernstein’s struggles gave him the resolve he needed to push upstream. He knew that blood-sugar levels could be checked quickly in hospitals with a medical device, but because he wasn’t a doctor, the manufacturer would not sell one to him. Where there’s a will, there’s a way, and Bernstein was able to purchase the device under his wife’s name, who was a psychiatrist. It was then that the breakthroughs began to unfold.
Bernstein graduated from Columbia with degrees in mathematics and engineering. He began experimenting with new treatments on himself. With the blood-sugar level testing device, he could accurately troubleshoot what impacted his sugar levels the most. First, he experimented with different doses and frequencies of insulin shots. Then, he lowered his intake of carbohydrates. With each change he recorded what the change was and what the effect was on his sugar level.
“After years of chronic fatigue and debilitating complications, almost overnight I was no longer continually tired or feeling washed out,” the Journal quoted Bernstein.
When he tried to spread the word about his discoveries, he was dismissed by the medical professional. He lacked legitimacy in the eyes of doctors since was not one of them. Nevertheless, just as he navigated a way to get the blood-sugar testing device, Bernstein faced the resistance with perseverance. At the age of 45, he enrolled at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where he received his medical degree.
According to Gary Taubes, the author of “Rethinking Diabetes,” Bernstein’s work led to the 1993 landmark study that proved when diabetics keep blood-sugar levels close to normal, they can dull the disease’s effects. While the medical society was not accepting of Bernstein and his challenges to the old system, I do hope that he found vindication in seeing the benefits his patients—and he himself—experienced. Here’s to swimming upstream, defying the currents of convention, and overcoming obstacles that lead to new discoveries and enhance the quality of life.
Dearly Departed profiles are the musings of SC Innovates’ Director and SmartState Endowed Chair Laura B. Cardinal. Cardinal is an academic researcher and teaches Strategic Management of Technology and Innovation at the University of South Carolina (USC) Darla Moore School of Business Professional MBA program. Her series of courses includes the Strategic Innovation Certificate. Cardinal’s courses offer a unique fusion of innovation, business strategy, science, and technology.