http://informahealthcare.com/phb ISSN 1388-0209 print/ISSN 1744-5116 online Editor-in-Chief: John M. Pezzuto Pharm Biol, 2015; 53(12): 1875–1876 ! 2015 Informa Healthcare USA, Inc. DOI: 10.3109/13880209.2015.1058399
PERSPECTIVE
In Memoriam – Lester A. Mitscher (1931–2015) Barbara N. Timmermann
Pharmaceutical Biology Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by University New South Wales on 08/18/15 For personal use only.
Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
The natural product and medicinal chemistry family recently lost a dear colleague and friend. Dr. Lester A. Mitscher, 83, died 8 May 2015 at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, Lawrence, Kansas. He had served with distinction at the rank of University Distinguished Professor, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy at the University of Kansas (KU) at Lawrence from 1975 to 2011 when he retired as Emeritus Professor. He also served as Chair of the Department of Medicinal Chemistry from 1975 to 1991. Dr. Mitscher earned his B.S.-Pharmacy (1953) and a Ph.D. in Chemistry (1958) from Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, where he worked on the structure of coffee oil diterpenes and optical rotatory dispersion under the direction of the late Carl Djerassi. He continued his work on natural products chemistry at Lederle Laboratories in Pearl River, NY from 1958 to 1967 where he rose to group leader in antibiotic discovery. He accepted an associate professorship at Ohio State University in 1967 to pursue his life-long passion for teaching, rising quickly to the position of tenured Professor.
Throughout his notable career, he made remarkable contributions to the study of natural product chemistry, particularly in the areas of anti-infective agents and botanical dietary supplements, and was a world authority on the structure elucidation and mechanisms of action of antiinfective phytochemicals. Dr. Mitscher made major contributions to the study of the tetracyclines, the macrolides and quinolones, as well as alkaloids, terpenoids and phenolics, among other groups of secondary metabolites. He also contributed to the chemical syntheses of several important natural products and expanded his research to combinatorial chemistry and high throughput screening. In addition, he contributed to studies on the safety and efficacy of botanical dietary supplements by investigating the anti-oxidant mechanisms of green tea catechins and immunomodulation of echinacea components. Overall, Dr. Mitscher was unbelievably productive, in having produced over 270 research publications on bioactive agents from microbes to plants, in the most leading journals including the Journal of Natural Products, Phytochemistry, Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, Tetrahedron and Journal of Organic Chemistry. He authored or co-authored seven technical books on drug discovery and drug properties. He was the inventor on many patents for research conducted in academia and in the pharmaceutical industry before joining KU. He also consulted widely among pharmaceutical, botanical dietary supplements and biotechnology firms. He served as senior advisory council member of pharmaceutical firms such as Abbott Laboratories, Searle Laboratories, Dupont-Merck, among others. Apart from the high quality of his own work, Dr. Mitscher had major impact in the training of graduate students, many of whom have gone on to have highly successful careers in academia and the pharmaceutical industry in their own right. For over three decades, a large number of post-doctorals and visiting scientists from around the world worked in his laboratory, which brought high international recognition to the Department of Medicinal Chemistry at KU. Dr. Mitscher was a longtime member of the American Society of Pharmacognosy, was the Editor of the Journal of Natural Products for five years, and was on the editorial board of nine journals of chemistry. He was Editor-in-Chief of
Pharmaceutical Biology Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by University New South Wales on 08/18/15 For personal use only.
1876
B. N. Timmermann
Medicinal Research Reviews for two years and also had a role as Contributing Editor. He was elected to important national professional offices in the American Chemical Society and the American Society of Pharmacognosy. While many other colleagues have made significant contributions in a specific area of natural products chemistry, Dr. Mitscher has left a legacy at a much broader level being extremely active in medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutical and phytomedicine research. Many prestigious awards and honors have been bestowed on Dr. Mitscher during his prolific career. He was the recipient of the Research Achievement Award in Natural Products Chemistry from the American Pharmaceutical Association (1980), the Ernest H. Volweiler Award for Research Achievement from the American Association of Colleges of of Pharmacy (1985), the Higuchi-Simons Award in Biomedical Sciences at KU (1986), the Bristol-Myers Squibb/Edward E. Smissman Award in Medicinal Chemistry from the American Chemical Society (1989), Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1995), the Division of
Pharm Biol, 2015; 53(12): 1875–1876
Medicinal Chemistry Chemistry Award from the American Chemical Society (2000), and the Norman R. Farnsworth Research Achievement Award from the American Society of Pharmacognosy (2007). Dr. Mitscher traveled widely and presented invited lectures on all of the continents with the exception of Antarctica. According to his own words, ‘‘the latter [Antarctica] is probably beyond my reach’’. After retirement, and forever curious, he and his wife Betty continued to explore the world by visiting new lands. He was grateful for having had the opportunity to travel in ‘‘100 countries’’. Listening to his travel adventures was always fascinating as he had a great gift for narration and expression. His leisure time was also spent collecting rare stamps, reading, and listening to classical music. He cherished his family. Dr. Mitscher is survived by his wife of 62 years, Betty; his two sons, Mark and Kurt; five grandchildren; and five greatgrandchildren. His family and friends will sorely miss his company, wisdom, wit and perennial smile.
PERSPECTIVE
In Memoriam – Lester A. Mitscher (1931–2015) Barbara N. Timmermann
Pharmaceutical Biology Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by University New South Wales on 08/18/15 For personal use only.
Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
The natural product and medicinal chemistry family recently lost a dear colleague and friend. Dr. Lester A. Mitscher, 83, died 8 May 2015 at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, Lawrence, Kansas. He had served with distinction at the rank of University Distinguished Professor, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy at the University of Kansas (KU) at Lawrence from 1975 to 2011 when he retired as Emeritus Professor. He also served as Chair of the Department of Medicinal Chemistry from 1975 to 1991. Dr. Mitscher earned his B.S.-Pharmacy (1953) and a Ph.D. in Chemistry (1958) from Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, where he worked on the structure of coffee oil diterpenes and optical rotatory dispersion under the direction of the late Carl Djerassi. He continued his work on natural products chemistry at Lederle Laboratories in Pearl River, NY from 1958 to 1967 where he rose to group leader in antibiotic discovery. He accepted an associate professorship at Ohio State University in 1967 to pursue his life-long passion for teaching, rising quickly to the position of tenured Professor.
Throughout his notable career, he made remarkable contributions to the study of natural product chemistry, particularly in the areas of anti-infective agents and botanical dietary supplements, and was a world authority on the structure elucidation and mechanisms of action of antiinfective phytochemicals. Dr. Mitscher made major contributions to the study of the tetracyclines, the macrolides and quinolones, as well as alkaloids, terpenoids and phenolics, among other groups of secondary metabolites. He also contributed to the chemical syntheses of several important natural products and expanded his research to combinatorial chemistry and high throughput screening. In addition, he contributed to studies on the safety and efficacy of botanical dietary supplements by investigating the anti-oxidant mechanisms of green tea catechins and immunomodulation of echinacea components. Overall, Dr. Mitscher was unbelievably productive, in having produced over 270 research publications on bioactive agents from microbes to plants, in the most leading journals including the Journal of Natural Products, Phytochemistry, Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, Tetrahedron and Journal of Organic Chemistry. He authored or co-authored seven technical books on drug discovery and drug properties. He was the inventor on many patents for research conducted in academia and in the pharmaceutical industry before joining KU. He also consulted widely among pharmaceutical, botanical dietary supplements and biotechnology firms. He served as senior advisory council member of pharmaceutical firms such as Abbott Laboratories, Searle Laboratories, Dupont-Merck, among others. Apart from the high quality of his own work, Dr. Mitscher had major impact in the training of graduate students, many of whom have gone on to have highly successful careers in academia and the pharmaceutical industry in their own right. For over three decades, a large number of post-doctorals and visiting scientists from around the world worked in his laboratory, which brought high international recognition to the Department of Medicinal Chemistry at KU. Dr. Mitscher was a longtime member of the American Society of Pharmacognosy, was the Editor of the Journal of Natural Products for five years, and was on the editorial board of nine journals of chemistry. He was Editor-in-Chief of
Pharmaceutical Biology Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by University New South Wales on 08/18/15 For personal use only.
1876
B. N. Timmermann
Medicinal Research Reviews for two years and also had a role as Contributing Editor. He was elected to important national professional offices in the American Chemical Society and the American Society of Pharmacognosy. While many other colleagues have made significant contributions in a specific area of natural products chemistry, Dr. Mitscher has left a legacy at a much broader level being extremely active in medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutical and phytomedicine research. Many prestigious awards and honors have been bestowed on Dr. Mitscher during his prolific career. He was the recipient of the Research Achievement Award in Natural Products Chemistry from the American Pharmaceutical Association (1980), the Ernest H. Volweiler Award for Research Achievement from the American Association of Colleges of of Pharmacy (1985), the Higuchi-Simons Award in Biomedical Sciences at KU (1986), the Bristol-Myers Squibb/Edward E. Smissman Award in Medicinal Chemistry from the American Chemical Society (1989), Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1995), the Division of
Pharm Biol, 2015; 53(12): 1875–1876
Medicinal Chemistry Chemistry Award from the American Chemical Society (2000), and the Norman R. Farnsworth Research Achievement Award from the American Society of Pharmacognosy (2007). Dr. Mitscher traveled widely and presented invited lectures on all of the continents with the exception of Antarctica. According to his own words, ‘‘the latter [Antarctica] is probably beyond my reach’’. After retirement, and forever curious, he and his wife Betty continued to explore the world by visiting new lands. He was grateful for having had the opportunity to travel in ‘‘100 countries’’. Listening to his travel adventures was always fascinating as he had a great gift for narration and expression. His leisure time was also spent collecting rare stamps, reading, and listening to classical music. He cherished his family. Dr. Mitscher is survived by his wife of 62 years, Betty; his two sons, Mark and Kurt; five grandchildren; and five greatgrandchildren. His family and friends will sorely miss his company, wisdom, wit and perennial smile.
