Jerome Phillip Horwitz (January 16, 1919 – September 6, 2012) was an

American scientist ''American Scientist'' (informally abbreviated ''AmSci'') is an American bimonthly science and technology magazine published since 1913 by Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society. In the beginning of 2000s the headquarters was moved to ...

; his affiliations included the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, the

Wayne State University School of Medicine The Wayne State University School of Medicine (WSUSOM) is the medical school of Wayne State University, a public university, public research university in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. It enrolls more than 1,500 students in undergraduate medical ed ...

and the Michigan Cancer Foundation.

Background

Horwitz was a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

native and 1937 graduate of Central High School. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in chemistry from the

University of Detroit The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Catho ...

; his doctorate in chemistry came from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. He completed his post-doctoral training at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

and the

Clinical breakthroughs

In 1964, while conducting research for the Michigan Cancer Foundation, Horwitz synthesized a compound that was to become known as

zidovudine Zidovudine (ZDV), also known as azidothymidine (AZT), was the first antiretroviral medication used to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS. It is generally recommended for use in combination with other antiretrovirals. It may be used to prevent mothe ...

(AZT) - an

antiviral drug Antiviral drugs are a class of medication used for treating viral infections. Most antivirals target specific viruses, while a broad-spectrum antiviral is effective against a wide range of viruses. Antiviral drugs are a class of antimicrobials ...

used to treat

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

patients; Zidovudine was initially developed as a treatment for cancer. Horwitz was also first to synthesize

stavudine Stavudine (d4T), sold under the brand name Zerit among others, is an antiretroviral medication used to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS. It is generally recommended for use with other antiretrovirals. It may be used for prevention after a needlestick ...

(d4T) and

zalcitabine Zalcitabine (2′-3′-di deoxycytidine, ddC), also called dideoxycytidine, is a nucleoside analog reverse-transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) sold under the trade name Hivid. Zalcitabine was the third antiretroviral to be approved by the Food and Dru ...

(ddC) - two other reverse-transcriptase inhibitors used in the treatment of HIV patients. Also during 1964, he published the first production and demonstration of X-gal as a chromogenic substrate. After synthesizing AZT, Horwitz went on to create many successful treatments for cancer and other diseases. At the time of his most recent findings, Horwitz was working for the Michigan Cancer Foundation with a

federal grant In the United States, federal grants are economic aid issued by the United States government out of the general federal revenue. A federal grant is an award of financial assistance from a federal agency to a recipient to carry out a public purp ...

from the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

; he retired in 2005.

Of further note

*Horwitz was featured in the documentary film ''I am alive today - History of an AIDS drug''. *While some believe Horwitz was referenced in the Captain Underpants books, the Jerome Horwitz Elementary School in the children's book series was in fact named after

Curly Howard Jerome Lester Horwitz (October 22, 1903 – January 18, 1952), better known by his stage name Curly Howard, was an American comedian and actor. He was a member of The Three Stooges comedy team, which also featured his elder brothers Moe and ...

from the

Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short-subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical, farce, and slapstick comedy. Six total ...

. (Jerome Horwitz was Curly's given name.)

Sources

FDA press release on AZTKarmanos Cancer Institute formerly Michigan Cancer Foundation

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horwitz, Jerome 1919 births 2012 deaths Scientists from Detroit Jewish American scientists University of Detroit Mercy alumni University of Michigan alumni Northwestern University alumni Wayne State University faculty Central High School (Detroit) alumni 21st-century American Jews