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John Tileston Edsall

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John Tileston Edsall
Born(1902-11-03)November 3, 1902
Philadelphia
DiedJune 12, 2002(2002-06-12) (aged 99)
Cambridge, Massachusetts
EducationHarvard University
Known forHydrophobic interaction
SpouseMargaret Dunham
Children3 sons
AwardsNational Academy of Sciences, Willard Gibbs Award
Scientific career
FieldsProtein chemistry
InstitutionsHarvard University

John Tileston Edsall (3 November 1902 – 12 June 2002) was a protein scientist, who contributed significantly to the understanding of the hydrophobic interaction. He was an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,[1] the United States National Academy of Sciences,[2] and the American Philosophical Society.[3]

Early life

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Born in Philadelphia, John Edsall moved to Boston with his family at the age of 10. He graduated from Harvard University with a degree in chemistry. At Harvard he was a good friend of the physicist Robert Oppenheimer.[4] He wrote an account of his life and career in a review.[5]

Protein research

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Edsall worked with Edwin Cohn during World War II to apply protein methods to blood fractionation.[6] Subsequently, in 1943, they published a book Proteins, Amino Acids and Peptides.[7] This had a profound influence on the next generation of protein scientists. Long afterwards Edsall wrote an account of his interaction with Cohn.[8]

He published numerous papers on protein chemistry, including work on myosin,[9] fibrinogen,[10] light scattering,[11] measurement of tyrosine groups by ultraviolet spectroscopy,[12] and carbonic anhydrase.[13]

Advances in Protein Chemistry

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In 1944 John Edsall was a founding co-editor of the journal Advances in Protein Chemistry. He was invited by the publisher Kurt Jacoby and the founding editor Tim Anson, whom he had met in 1924 in Cambridge (although they were both undergraduates at Harvard University at nearly the same time). He remained series editor up to volume 47 (1995).

The Journal of Biological Chemistry

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From 1958 to 1967 Edsall was chief editor of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, years that Irving Klotz described in the following terms:[14]

These years cover the period of the transition from a stodgy classical journal to a modern exciting one, reflecting the rise of molecular biological approaches.

At his retirement from the editorship Konrad Bloch published a tribute to him in the Journal.[15]

Teaching and students

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He was professor at the Harvard University. He inspired medical student Alexander Rich to pursue an academic career.[16]

Historical interests

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Edsall was active in preserving the history of protein science.[17]

Personal history

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John T. Edsall married Margaret Dunham of Scarsdale, NY, May 1, 1929, in Scarsdale. They had three sons: James Lawrence Dunham Edsall (known always as Lawrence), June 6, 1930 - July 8, 1978; David T. Edsall, born 1933, and Nicholas C. Edsall, born 1936. Margaret D. Edsall was born in New York, NY, June 9, 1902, and died May 19, 1987. They lived most of their married life in Cambridge, MA.

References

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  1. ^ "John Tileston Edsall". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2023-01-18.
  2. ^ "John T. Edsall". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved 2023-01-18.
  3. ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 2023-01-18.
  4. ^ Bird, Kai; Sherwin, Martin J. (2005). American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer. A.A. Knopf. ISBN 9780375412028.
  5. ^ Edsall, John T. (1971). "Some Personal History and Reflections from the Life of a Biochemist". Annual Review of Biochemistry. 40: 1–29. doi:10.1146/annurev.bi.40.070171.000245. PMID 4941235.
  6. ^ Gurd, F.R.N.; Oncley, J.L.; Edsall, J.T.; Cohn, E.J. (1949). "The lipo-proteins of blood plasma". Discuss. Faraday Soc. (6): 70–74. doi:10.1039/df9490600070.
  7. ^ Cohn, E.J.; Edsall, J.T. (1943). Proteins, Amino Acids and Peptides as Ions and Dipolar Ions. New York: Reinhold.
  8. ^ Edsall, John T. (1981). "Edwin J. Cohn and the physical chemistry of proteins". Trends in Biochemical Sciences. 6: 335–337. doi:10.1016/0968-0004(81)90120-1.
  9. ^ Greenstein, J.P.; Edsall, J.T. (1940). "The effect of denaturing agents on myosin I". Journal of Biological Chemistry. 133 (2): 397–408. doi:10.1016/S0021-9258(18)73320-6.
  10. ^ Morrison, Peter R.; Edsall, John T.; Miller, Susan G. (1948). "Preparation and Properties of Serum and Plasma Proteins. XVIII. The Separation of Purified Fibrinogen from Fraction I of Human Plasma". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 70 (9): 3103–3108. doi:10.1021/ja01189a080. PMID 18882550.
  11. ^ Doty, Paul; Edsall, John T. (1951). "Light Scattering in Protein Solutions". Advances in Protein Chemistry Volume 6. Advances in Protein Chemistry. Vol. 6. pp. 35–121. doi:10.1016/S0065-3233(08)60502-1. ISBN 9780120342068. PMID 14846694.
  12. ^ Wetlaufer, D.B.; Edsall, J. T.; Hollingworth, B.R. (1958). "Ultraviolet difference spectra of tyrosine groups in proteins and amino acids". J. Biol. Chem. 233 (6): 1421–1428. doi:10.1016/S0021-9258(18)49351-9. PMID 13610852.
  13. ^ Rickli, E E; Edsall, J. T.; Ghazanfar, A S S; Gibbons, B H (1964). "Carbonic anhydrases from human erythrocytes". J. Biol. Chem. 239 (4): 1065–1078. doi:10.1016/S0021-9258(18)91392-X.
  14. ^ Klotz, I.M. (2003). "John T. Edsall: an appreciation". Biophysical Chemistry. 100 (1–3): 29–31. doi:10.1016/S0301-4622(02)00259-4. PMID 12646346.
  15. ^ "A tribute to John T. Edsall. Editor 1958-1967". Journal of Biological Chemistry. 243: 1333–1336. 1968.
  16. ^ "Alexander Rich, the importance of RNA and the development of nucleic acid hybridization". MIT Department of Biology. 2018-05-31. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
  17. ^ Edsall, J. T. (1979). "The development of the physical chemistry of proteins 1898-1940". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 325 (1): 52–74. Bibcode:1979NYASA.325...53E. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1979.tb14128.x. PMID 378079. S2CID 35743564.
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