Mutation Research 763 (2015) 321–322
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Mutation Research/Reviews in Mutation Research journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/reviewsmr Community address: www.elsevier.com/locate/mutres
Obituary
Frederick J. de Serres Jr. (1929–2014)
A leading light in the field of genetic toxicology went out on December 21, 2014 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, when Dr. Frederick J. de Serres Jr. died; he was 85. Fred was born in Dobbs Ferry, New York; received his B.S. in biology/chemistry from Tufts University in Boston, MA; and after a brief time at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, MD, he earned his M.S. (1953) and Ph.D. (1955) in genetics/botany with Dr. Norman Giles at Yale University, New Haven, CT. Fred soon married Christine Covone, who also had a background in genetics, and who remained his life-long friend and intellectual companion until her passing in 2008. He and Christine had five children, and they are survived by four (Mark, Paul, David and Lianne), nine grandchildren, and four great grandchildren; son Jonathan died in 1996. Fred was recruited by Dr. Alexander Hollaender to the Biology Division at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN in 1955. While there he developed the ad-3 forward-mutation assay in the fungus Neurospora crassa, which was modeled on William Russell’s mouse specific-locus assay. Fred’s assay permitted for the first time in a microbial system the recovery and characterization of mutants due to either single-gene or multi-locus (chromosomal) mutations. It was an important advancement in the field of mutagenesis. With that assay, Fred and his collaborators were able to show clearly the proportions of gene or chromosomal mutations (and whether they were presumptive frameshifts, base substitutions, or multi-locus deletions) for a variety of agents – something not possible in mammalian cells for more than three decades later with the application of molecular probes with the mouse lymphoma Tk+/ assay in the 1990s. They also showed clearly that ionizing radiation induced both gene and chromosomal mutations, and Fred was fortunate to be able to send his system into outer space with NASA and demonstrate the mutagenicity of ionizing radiation in space and the effects of weightlessness on biological http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mrrev.2015.01.003 1383-5742/
processes. A detailed account of Fred’s remarkable career may be found in a Special Issue of this journal (Reviews in Mutation Research 437: 63–194, 1999), which was published to honor him at the end of his term as Editor of the journal. In 1972, Fred and his family moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, when he was made Laboratory Chief of Environmental Mutagenesis at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. He soon became the Associate Director for Genetics, and in that capacity he organized international collaborative studies between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union as well as Japan and organizations in Europe. Fred’s efforts helped unify the international mutagenesis community and bring harmony to genetic toxicology assays and genetic toxicity testing—an effort that continues today. He greatly enjoyed the large number of international friends and colleagues he made during those years, as well as the travel, culture, and food associated with these collaborations. He left NIEHS in 1986 to become the Director of the Center for Life Science and Toxicology at Research Triangle Institute, where he oversaw programs on mammalian mutagenesis, teratology, reproductive toxicology, and in vitro toxicology. Fred was recognized throughout his career for his many accomplishments. In 1976, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded Fred its highest award, the NIH Director’s Award, for developing the environmental mutagenesis program at NIEHS and for his leadership in developing cooperative efforts to extend the scope and influence of mutagenicity testing worldwide. He also received the EMS Award in 1979, which is the highest research award from the Environmental Mutagen Society (EMS). Fred assumed many leadership roles, including being a co-founder of the EMS in 1969, President of the EMS (1974–1976), and VicePresident of the International Association of Environmental Mutagen Societies (IAEMS) (1985–1989). Along with his scientific and professional accomplishments, which include hundreds of scientific papers, Fred also left a strong and enduring personal legacy in the field of environmental mutagenesis and genetic toxicology. For example, during my postdoctoral fellowship in Fred’s laboratory at Oak Ridge (1960– 1963), and more broadly in the heady milieu of the Biology Division there, Fred influenced profoundly my subsequent research and teaching at Illinois State University (ISU) at Normal. Through Fred, I also became a charter member of the EMS, and starting with the first EMS meeting, I took many of my students to that and subsequent meetings for decades. The consequence of these annual stationwagon treks from the corn fields of central Illinois was that my students met and were influenced greatly by Fred throughout
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Obituary / Mutation Research 763 (2015) 321–322
their careers. Over the decades, the EMS provided the major intellectual home for me and many of my students, several of whom have brought their students to the EMS/EMGS meetings, and some remain doing so. Thus, Fred’s original influence on me while in his laboratory has extended some 50 years and continues still. Fred was intellectually active to the very end of his life, publishing his last paper just a few months ago in 2014. He fought his two aggressive genetic illnesses (alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency and a muscle-wasting disease) with amazing courage and tenacity, as evidenced by the fact that he initiated studies into alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency soon after he was diagnosed, publishing 20 papers on various aspects of the alleles associated with this
condition. Even with the consequences of his own diseases bearing down on him, Fred never lost his enthusiasm for scientific inquiry. He will be greatly missed.
Herman E. Brockman* Congerville, IL, USA *Tel.: +1 309 965 2304 E-mail address: [email protected]
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Mutation Research/Reviews in Mutation Research journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/reviewsmr Community address: www.elsevier.com/locate/mutres
Obituary
Frederick J. de Serres Jr. (1929–2014)
A leading light in the field of genetic toxicology went out on December 21, 2014 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, when Dr. Frederick J. de Serres Jr. died; he was 85. Fred was born in Dobbs Ferry, New York; received his B.S. in biology/chemistry from Tufts University in Boston, MA; and after a brief time at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, MD, he earned his M.S. (1953) and Ph.D. (1955) in genetics/botany with Dr. Norman Giles at Yale University, New Haven, CT. Fred soon married Christine Covone, who also had a background in genetics, and who remained his life-long friend and intellectual companion until her passing in 2008. He and Christine had five children, and they are survived by four (Mark, Paul, David and Lianne), nine grandchildren, and four great grandchildren; son Jonathan died in 1996. Fred was recruited by Dr. Alexander Hollaender to the Biology Division at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN in 1955. While there he developed the ad-3 forward-mutation assay in the fungus Neurospora crassa, which was modeled on William Russell’s mouse specific-locus assay. Fred’s assay permitted for the first time in a microbial system the recovery and characterization of mutants due to either single-gene or multi-locus (chromosomal) mutations. It was an important advancement in the field of mutagenesis. With that assay, Fred and his collaborators were able to show clearly the proportions of gene or chromosomal mutations (and whether they were presumptive frameshifts, base substitutions, or multi-locus deletions) for a variety of agents – something not possible in mammalian cells for more than three decades later with the application of molecular probes with the mouse lymphoma Tk+/ assay in the 1990s. They also showed clearly that ionizing radiation induced both gene and chromosomal mutations, and Fred was fortunate to be able to send his system into outer space with NASA and demonstrate the mutagenicity of ionizing radiation in space and the effects of weightlessness on biological http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mrrev.2015.01.003 1383-5742/
processes. A detailed account of Fred’s remarkable career may be found in a Special Issue of this journal (Reviews in Mutation Research 437: 63–194, 1999), which was published to honor him at the end of his term as Editor of the journal. In 1972, Fred and his family moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, when he was made Laboratory Chief of Environmental Mutagenesis at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. He soon became the Associate Director for Genetics, and in that capacity he organized international collaborative studies between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union as well as Japan and organizations in Europe. Fred’s efforts helped unify the international mutagenesis community and bring harmony to genetic toxicology assays and genetic toxicity testing—an effort that continues today. He greatly enjoyed the large number of international friends and colleagues he made during those years, as well as the travel, culture, and food associated with these collaborations. He left NIEHS in 1986 to become the Director of the Center for Life Science and Toxicology at Research Triangle Institute, where he oversaw programs on mammalian mutagenesis, teratology, reproductive toxicology, and in vitro toxicology. Fred was recognized throughout his career for his many accomplishments. In 1976, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded Fred its highest award, the NIH Director’s Award, for developing the environmental mutagenesis program at NIEHS and for his leadership in developing cooperative efforts to extend the scope and influence of mutagenicity testing worldwide. He also received the EMS Award in 1979, which is the highest research award from the Environmental Mutagen Society (EMS). Fred assumed many leadership roles, including being a co-founder of the EMS in 1969, President of the EMS (1974–1976), and VicePresident of the International Association of Environmental Mutagen Societies (IAEMS) (1985–1989). Along with his scientific and professional accomplishments, which include hundreds of scientific papers, Fred also left a strong and enduring personal legacy in the field of environmental mutagenesis and genetic toxicology. For example, during my postdoctoral fellowship in Fred’s laboratory at Oak Ridge (1960– 1963), and more broadly in the heady milieu of the Biology Division there, Fred influenced profoundly my subsequent research and teaching at Illinois State University (ISU) at Normal. Through Fred, I also became a charter member of the EMS, and starting with the first EMS meeting, I took many of my students to that and subsequent meetings for decades. The consequence of these annual stationwagon treks from the corn fields of central Illinois was that my students met and were influenced greatly by Fred throughout
322
Obituary / Mutation Research 763 (2015) 321–322
their careers. Over the decades, the EMS provided the major intellectual home for me and many of my students, several of whom have brought their students to the EMS/EMGS meetings, and some remain doing so. Thus, Fred’s original influence on me while in his laboratory has extended some 50 years and continues still. Fred was intellectually active to the very end of his life, publishing his last paper just a few months ago in 2014. He fought his two aggressive genetic illnesses (alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency and a muscle-wasting disease) with amazing courage and tenacity, as evidenced by the fact that he initiated studies into alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency soon after he was diagnosed, publishing 20 papers on various aspects of the alleles associated with this
condition. Even with the consequences of his own diseases bearing down on him, Fred never lost his enthusiasm for scientific inquiry. He will be greatly missed.
Herman E. Brockman* Congerville, IL, USA *Tel.: +1 309 965 2304 E-mail address: [email protected]
