University and in 1969 became the founding chair of the ...
1
July 5 th 2021 The Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology wishes a happy 100 th birthday to Mel Simpson. Mel came to Stony Brook from Dartmouth University and in 1969 became the founding chair of the Department of Biochemistry. He served as chair until 1974 and was responsible for recruiting many of the early faculty in the Department including Marty Freundlich, Sanford Simon, Rolf Sternglanz and Masayori Inouye. Mel’s early research focused on the mechanisms of protein synthesis, first in liver slices and later in isolated mitochondria. This work led him on to studies of ribosome structure and the mechanism of streptomycin action as well as identification and characterization of the mitochondrial topoisomerase enzyme. In his work on protein synthesis, Mel also made the observation that protein degradation in vitro was ATP-dependent. This result was cited by the recipients of the 2004 Nobel prize for Chemistry as a key contribution leading up to their work on ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis. Mel remained on the faculty until his retirement in 1992. The annual Mel Simpson lecture was started in his honor in 1998. After a hiatus for Covid, the lecture series will resume this fall. Mel and his wife continue to live in the Stony Brook area. Happy Birthday Mel!
Transcript of University and in 1969 became the founding chair of the ...
July 5th 2021
The Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology wishes a happy 100
th birthday to
Mel Simpson.
Mel came to Stony Brook from Dartmouth University and in 1969 became the founding chair of the Department of Biochemistry. He served as chair until 1974 and was responsible for recruiting many of the early faculty in the Department including Marty Freundlich, Sanford Simon, Rolf Sternglanz and Masayori Inouye.
Mel’s early research focused on the mechanisms of protein synthesis, first in liver slices and later in isolated mitochondria. This work led him on to studies of ribosome structure and the mechanism of streptomycin action as well as identification and characterization of the mitochondrial topoisomerase enzyme. In his work on protein synthesis, Mel also made the observation that protein degradation in vitro was ATP-dependent. This result was cited by the recipients of the 2004 Nobel prize for Chemistry as a key contribution leading up to their work on ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis.
Mel remained on the faculty until his retirement in 1992. The annual Mel Simpson lecture was started in his honor in 1998. After a hiatus for Covid, the lecture series will resume this fall. Mel and his wife continue to live in the Stony Brook area.
Happy Birthday Mel!
