Merton Ronald Bernfield
BornApril 9, 1938 (1938-04-09)
Chicago
DiedMarch 18, 2002(2002-03-18) (aged 63–64)
Boston
Alma materUniversity of Illinois
Known forContribution to solving the genetic code, Discovery of syndecan
SpouseAudrey Rivkin Bernfield
Scientific career
FieldsPediatrics, Cell Biology
Institutions

Merton R. Bernfield (1938 – March 18, 2002)[1] was an American pediatrician and cell biologist. In his postdoctoral work with Marshall Nirenberg, he made important contributions to deciphering the genetic code.[2][3] He helped found the field of glycobiology, showed the dynamic nature of the extracellular matrix,[4] and discovered the syndecans, a family of highly glycosylated proteins on the surfaces of cells that influence tissue repair, metabolism, the formation of tumors and the development of immune responses.[1]

He was a professor of Pediatrics at Stanford University starting in 1967, serving as chair of the Program in Human Biology, associate director of the birth defects clinic at Stanford Hospital and co-director of its premature infant follow-up clinic. He joined the Harvard Medical School faculty in 1989 as the Clement Smith Professor of Pediatrics and Cell Biology and Director of the Joint Program in Neonatology at the Children's Hospital, Boston.[5] He was a member of the Institute of Medicine at the National Academy of Sciences.[1]

The Merton Bernfield Memorial Award for graduate students and postdocs was established by the American Society for Cell Biology.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Saxon, Wolfgang (March 31, 2002). "Merton Bernfield, 63; Researched Cell Structure". The New York Times.
  2. ↑ Bernfield M.R. & Nirenberg M.W. (1965). "RNA Codewords and Protein Synthesis. The Nucleotide Sequences of Multiple Codewords for Phenylalanine, Serine, Leucine, and Proline". Science. 147 (3657): 479–484. doi:10.1126/science.147.3657.479. PMID 14237203.
  3. ↑ Nirenberg, Marshall (2004). "Historical review: Deciphering the genetic code – a personal account". Trends in Biochemical Sciences. 29 (1): 46–54. doi:10.1016/j.tibs.2003.11.009. PMID 14729332.
  4. ↑ Joseph Majzoub; Audrey Bernfield; Marc Kirschner; Harvey Lodish & Richard Hynes (8 December 2005). "Merton Bernfield. Faculty of Medicine - Memorial Minute". Harvard Gazette. Archived from the original on 1 December 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  5. ↑ "Guide to the Merton Bernfield Papers". Online Archive of California. Archived from the original on 10 April 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  6. ↑ "Merton Bernfield Memorial Award". American Society for Cell Biology. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
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