Irwin Fridovich (August 2, 1929 – November 2, 2019) was an American

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

who, together with his graduate student

Joe M. McCord Joe Milton McCord (born March 3, 1945) is an American biochemist. While serving as a graduate student, he and his supervisor Irwin Fridovich were the first to describe the enzymatic activity of superoxide dismutase. McCord joined the board of di ...

, discovered the enzymatic activity of copper-zinc

superoxide dismutase Superoxide dismutase (SOD, ) is an enzyme that alternately catalyzes the dismutation (or partitioning) of the superoxide () anion radical into normal molecular oxygen (O2) and hydrogen peroxide (). Superoxide is produced as a by-product of oxy ...

(SOD),—to protect organisms from the toxic effects of superoxide free

radicals Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century *Radical politics ...

formed as a byproduct of normal oxygen metabolism. Subsequently, Fridovich's research group also discovered the manganese-containing and the iron-containing SODs from ''Escherichia coli'' and the mitochondrial MnSOD (

SOD2 Superoxide dismutase 2, mitochondrial (SOD2), also known as manganese-dependent superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), is an enzyme which in humans is encoded by the ''SOD2'' gene on chromosome 6. A related pseudogene has been identified on chromosome 1. ...

), now known to be an essential protein in mammals. He spent the rest of his career studying the biochemical mechanisms of SOD and of biological superoxide toxicity, using bacteria as model systems. Fridovich was also Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry at

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

Academic career

From 1951 to 1952, Fridovich served as a medical research associate at

Cornell Medical College Weill Cornell Medicine (; officially Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University), originally Cornell University Medical College, is the medical school of Cornell University, located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in Ne ...

. He held junior teaching positions in biochemistry at Duke University 1956 to 1961 and was a visiting research associate at Harvard University from 1961 to 1962. He became an assistant professor in biochemistry at Duke University in 1961 and a full professor in 1971. He was appointed as James B. Duke Professor of Biochemistry in 1976 and held the position as professor emeritus since 1996 until his death.

Awards and honors

Fridovich received numerous awards and recognitions for his work, including membership in the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, 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 ...

and the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

, and the

Elliott Cresson Medal The Elliott Cresson Medal, also known as the Elliott Cresson Gold Medal, was the highest award given by the Franklin Institute. The award was established by Elliott Cresson, life member of the Franklin Institute, with $1,000 granted in 1848. Th ...

of the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia. According to Google Scholar, he has over 51,000 citations in the scientific literature, including 7 papers with >1000 citations, and an ''h''-index of 97. His discovery of the superoxide dismutase reaction essentially started the field of oxygen free radicals in biology and medicine, and that influence is shown by his election as president of the American Society of Biological Chemists (for 1982–8

, the Oxygen Society (1987–1990), and the Society for Free Radical Research (1992–94), as well as award of the Science & Humanity Prize at the 2000 Oxygen Club World Congress.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fridovich, Irwin American biochemists 20th-century American Jews Jewish American scientists 1929 births 2019 deaths Scientists from Durham, North Carolina Scientists from New York City Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Duke University alumni Duke University faculty 21st-century American Jews