Edward C. Franklin
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Edward Claus Franklin (April 14, 1928 – February 20, 1982) was a pioneering American immunologist and
physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
. He made major gains in the study of the aging process with contributions that led to the discovery of a group of abnormal protein aggregates known as amyloids, and played a key role in the fight against
Arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...
, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease,
Diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...
, and
Cardiac arrhythmia Arrhythmias, also known as cardiac arrhythmias, heart arrhythmias, or dysrhythmias, are irregularities in the heartbeat, including when it is too fast or too slow. A resting heart rate that is too fast – above 100 beats per minute in adults ...
. Franklin was a professor of medicine at the
New York University School of Medicine NYU Grossman School of Medicine is a medical school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1841 and is one of two medical schools of the university, with the other being the Long Island School of ...
, a member of the
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
, president of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and director of Irvington House Institute. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' called Franklin "an international authority on the human
immune system The immune system is a network of biological processes that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to parasitic worms, as well as cancer cells and objects such as wood splinte ...
". Franklin discovered
heavy chain disease Heavy chain disease is a form of paraproteinemia and plasma cell dyscrasia that involves the proliferation of cells producing immunoglobulin heavy chains. This disease is characterized by an excessive production of heavy chains that are short and ...
, one type of which is named after him ( Franklin's disease). The Edward C. Franklin Award, which is given for achievements in immunology, has been established in his name.


Life and career

Franklin was born in
Berlin, Germany Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constituent ...
in 1928 and immigrated to the US in 1939 as an escapee from
Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
. After fleeing Nazi Germany, Franklin and his family spent a fifteen-month sojourn in
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
until they were finally able to immigrate to
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
in 1940. He graduated from
Townsend Harris High School Townsend Harris High School at Queens College (THHS) is a public magnet high school for the humanities in the borough of Queens in New York City. Students and alumni often refer to themselves as "Harrisites." Townsend Harris consistently ranks a ...
in
Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long I ...
at the age of fifteen and went on to receive his undergraduate degree from
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
in 1946 where he graduated magna cum laude as a
biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...
major at the age of eighteen while also working full time. Franklin then received his medical degree from the N.Y.U. School of Medicine in 1950. After medical school, Franklin interned at New York's Beth Israel Hospital and did his residency in internal medicine at Montefiore Hospital and Bronx Veterans Administration Hospital. During this time, Franklin took two years off to serve military duty. In May 1956, Franklin married Dorothea Zucker-Franklin, a renowned
hematologist Hematology (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, always spelled haematology in British English) is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of the cause, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to ...
and clinical researcher, and they had a daughter, Deborah Julie Franklin, PhD, M.D, who later went on to become director of
cancer rehabilitation Cancer rehabilitation has been defined in the scientific literature as a distinct field of medicine that focuses on reducing or eliminating side-effects of cancer treatment and improving survivors' strength, ability to function and quality of life ...
at Thomas Jefferson University in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, . In 1955, Franklin started as research associate at the Rockefeller Institute and from 1958 to 1974 served as an assistant and full-time professor of medicine at N.Y.U. In 1974, He was elected president of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and was elected to the
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
in 1979. On February 20, 1982, Franklin died of a
brain tumor A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and seconda ...
at the age of 54. Franklin was said to enjoy activities such as
skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...
,
chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...
,
literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
,
art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...
and even owned a farm in the Berkshires that he routinely visited with his family. Franklin was described by a colleague as “a quiet and private man lacking the more overt exuberance of his wife.”


Contributions and research

Franklin was most well known for discovering
heavy chain disease Heavy chain disease is a form of paraproteinemia and plasma cell dyscrasia that involves the proliferation of cells producing immunoglobulin heavy chains. This disease is characterized by an excessive production of heavy chains that are short and ...
, which is characterized by the excess production of
paraproteins A myeloma protein is an abnormal antibody (immunoglobulin) or (more often) a fragment thereof, such as an immunoglobulin light chain, that is produced in excess by an abnormal monoclonal proliferation of plasma cells, typically in multiple myelom ...
in the immunoglobulins of our
white blood cell White blood cells, also called leukocytes or leucocytes, are the cell (biology), cells of the immune system that are involved in protecting the body against both infectious disease and foreign invaders. All white blood cells are produced and de ...
s causing short, trucated heavy chains, abnormal
antigen In immunology, an antigen (Ag) is a molecule or molecular structure or any foreign particulate matter or a pollen grain that can bind to a specific antibody or T-cell receptor. The presence of antigens in the body may trigger an immune response. ...
binding sites, and leading to various auto-immune disorders. Franklin uncovered that serum and urine from a patient with
heavy chain disease Heavy chain disease is a form of paraproteinemia and plasma cell dyscrasia that involves the proliferation of cells producing immunoglobulin heavy chains. This disease is characterized by an excessive production of heavy chains that are short and ...
retained incomplete or abnormal heavy chains and showed a virtual disappearance of the normal globulin function. Franklin's particular study examined abnormalities in
gamma globulin Gamma globulins are a class of globulins, identified by their position after serum protein electrophoresis. The most significant gamma globulins are immunoglobulins ( antibodies), although some immunoglobulins are not gamma globulins, and some ga ...
s of patients with
heavy chain disease Heavy chain disease is a form of paraproteinemia and plasma cell dyscrasia that involves the proliferation of cells producing immunoglobulin heavy chains. This disease is characterized by an excessive production of heavy chains that are short and ...
, which would later cause this particular form of the disease to become known as Franklin's disease. Besides abnormalities to the heavy chains themselves, Franklin would later discover that some heavy chains contained abnormalities in their disulfide linkages leading to the abnormal bonding between the heavy and light chain regions of immunoglobulins. New clinical tools such as the
ultracentrifuge An ultracentrifuge is a centrifuge optimized for spinning a rotor at very high speeds, capable of generating acceleration as high as (approx. ). There are two kinds of ultracentrifuges, the preparative and the analytical ultracentrifuge. Both cla ...
and free
electrophoresis Electrophoresis, from Ancient Greek ἤλεκτρον (ḗlektron, "amber") and φόρησις (phórēsis, "the act of bearing"), is the motion of dispersed particles relative to a fluid under the influence of a spatially uniform electric fie ...
made it possible for Franklin to separate and study various
protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...
s involved with
heavy chain disease Heavy chain disease is a form of paraproteinemia and plasma cell dyscrasia that involves the proliferation of cells producing immunoglobulin heavy chains. This disease is characterized by an excessive production of heavy chains that are short and ...
. Later in his career, Franklin would also incorporate techniques such as
cellulose Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell wall ...
-based
ion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conven ...
exchange chromatography, molecular sieve chromatography, and zone electrophoresis to further analyze and study these
paraproteins A myeloma protein is an abnormal antibody (immunoglobulin) or (more often) a fragment thereof, such as an immunoglobulin light chain, that is produced in excess by an abnormal monoclonal proliferation of plasma cells, typically in multiple myelom ...
. Franklin’s efforts would lead to innovations in discovering a group of protein aggregates called amayloids, which have been associated with diseases such as
Alzheimer’s Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As t ...
, Parkinson’s,
Huntington’s Huntington's disease (HD), also known as Huntington's chorea, is a neurodegenerative disease that is mostly inherited. The earliest symptoms are often subtle problems with mood or mental abilities. A general lack of coordination and an unst ...
,
Diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...
,
Cardiac arrhythmia Arrhythmias, also known as cardiac arrhythmias, heart arrhythmias, or dysrhythmias, are irregularities in the heartbeat, including when it is too fast or too slow. A resting heart rate that is too fast – above 100 beats per minute in adults ...
and more than 50 other human diseases. Franklin also made significant contributions to our understanding of essential mixed cryoglobulinemia, a medical condition in which the blood contains large amounts of
pathological cold sensitive antibodies Cold sensitive antibodies (CSA) are antibodies sensitive to cold temperature. Some cold sensitive antibodies are pathological and can lead to blood disorder. These pathological cold sensitive antibodies include cold agglutinins, Donath–Landste ...
called
cryoglobulin Cold sensitive antibodies (CSA) are antibodies sensitive to cold temperature. Some cold sensitive antibodies are pathological and can lead to blood disorder. These pathological cold sensitive antibodies include cold agglutinins, Donath–Landstei ...
s.


References


External links


Henry Metzger, "Edward C. Franklin", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (2000)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Franklin, Edward C. 1928 births 1982 deaths American immunologists New York University faculty Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Harvard University alumni 20th-century American physicians New York University Grossman School of Medicine alumni