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Manfred Leslie Karnovsky, Slides of Biochemistry

Professor of Biological Chemistry, died on. January 7, 1999 at the age of eighty. Fifty classes of graduates of the Harvard Medical School and.

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Manfred Leslie Karnovsky, Harold T. White
Professor of Biological Chemistry, died on
January 7, 1999 at the age of eighty. Fifty classes
of graduates of the Harvard Medical School and
countless others were saddened to learn of his
death. His lectures on intermediary metabolism
formed the core of the first-year biochemistry
course. They were delivered in the King’s
English, and embellished with his special brand
of whimsical humor. Each year his lectures kept
pace with the rapid advances in biochemistry
and molecular biology, and Manfred captured the
interest of his students by including exciting new
advances without neglecting the solid essentials of
classical biochemistry.
Manfred was born in South Africa in 1918, and
obtained his early training in chemistry at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. During World
War II, he served as chemist for the Ministry of Aircraft Production while he continued his graduate studies
in chemistry at the University of Capetown. He received the Ph.D. degree in 1946.
Manfred was also well-educated in zoology, which laid the foundation for his broad range of interests in
biological problems. He studied species as diverse as starfish, sharks, rodents and bacteria. As a student, he
enjoyed collecting expeditions to Inhaca, an island off the coast of Mozambique rich in marine life, where
his love of marine biology was fostered. This was reflected in the names of a succession of his sailboats,
for instance Asterias (starfish) and Tethys (the sea-hare, a shell-less mollusk).
Following one year as a post-doctoral fellow in biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin, Manfred
was invited to Harvard because of his expertise in the synthesis of metabolic substrates that contained
radioactive atoms at designated positions. He was expected to provide the organic chemistry arm of the
then new Biophysical Laboratory, which had been established to facilitate the use of isotopic tracers for
In tribute to their dedicated efforts to science and medicine, deceased members of the Harvard Faculty of Medicine (those at the
rank of full or emeritus professor) receive a review of their life and contributions with a complete reflection, a Memorial Minute.
Manfred Leslie Karnovsky
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Manfred Leslie Karnovsky, Harold T. White Professor of Biological Chemistry, died on January 7, 1999 at the age of eighty. Fifty classes of graduates of the Harvard Medical School and countless others were saddened to learn of his death. His lectures on intermediary metabolism formed the core of the first-year biochemistry course. They were delivered in the King’s English, and embellished with his special brand of whimsical humor. Each year his lectures kept pace with the rapid advances in biochemistry and molecular biology, and Manfred captured the interest of his students by including exciting new advances without neglecting the solid essentials of classical biochemistry. Manfred was born in South Africa in 1918, and obtained his early training in chemistry at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. During World War II, he served as chemist for the Ministry of Aircraft Production while he continued his graduate studies in chemistry at the University of Capetown. He received the Ph.D. degree in 1946. Manfred was also well-educated in zoology, which laid the foundation for his broad range of interests in biological problems. He studied species as diverse as starfish, sharks, rodents and bacteria. As a student, he enjoyed collecting expeditions to Inhaca, an island off the coast of Mozambique rich in marine life, where his love of marine biology was fostered. This was reflected in the names of a succession of his sailboats, for instance Asterias (starfish) and Tethys (the sea-hare, a shell-less mollusk). Following one year as a post-doctoral fellow in biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin, Manfred was invited to Harvard because of his expertise in the synthesis of metabolic substrates that contained radioactive atoms at designated positions. He was expected to provide the organic chemistry arm of the then new Biophysical Laboratory, which had been established to facilitate the use of isotopic tracers for In tribute to their dedicated efforts to science and medicine, deceased members of the Harvard Faculty of Medicine (those at the rank of full or emeritus professor) receive a review of their life and contributions with a complete reflection, a Memorial Minute.

Manfred Leslie Karnovsky

biomedical research at HMS and its affiliated hospitals. It soon became apparent, however, that Manfred was an exceptional teacher with the afore noted broad interests in the pre-clinical sciences. In 1951, he was selected to help organize and teach an experimental class Medical Sciences 201. In this course, all the pre-clinical sciences were presented in an integrated fashion by a closely coordinated team of assistant professors chosen from each of the pre-clinical departments. Although the project was designed primarily for first-year graduate students in the Division of Medical Sciences, it was also regarded as a forerunner of the major changes in pre-clinical curriculum that took place during the succeeding ten years. Medical Sciences 201 became the starting point for Manfred’s collaborative teaching and research with members of almost every department in the HMS quadrangle. From 1952 to 1998, for example, he published more than 200 research papers with some 150 students and staff, including members of the physiology, anatomy, pathology, microbiology and pharmacology departments. The diversity of his interests is reflected in the number of different prestigious journals that published his papers, including the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Biochemical Journal, Nature, Science, American Journal of Physiology, Physiological Reviews, Journal of Neurochemistry and Peptide Research. Although Manfred worked in many areas of research, his chief contributions to science were in three major areas: the biochemistry of complex lipids; the biochemical basis of phagocytosis; and biochemical aspects of the biochemistry of sleep. His contributions to each of these areas led to many awards, invitations to participate in international symposia and requests for journal reviews and textbooks. Manfred was the recipient of a Lederle Medical Faculty Award, and the gold medal of the Reticulo- endothelial Society. Manfred was also a pioneer in the systematic study of the biochemical reactions that are activated in stimulated granulocytes. His investigations opened up the study of how phagocytes convert oxygen to reactive species that kill bacteria. Manfred’s work in this field was honored with the Special Recognition Award of the Phagocyte Gordon Conference. Beginning in the late 1960’s, Manfred did ground-breaking work on the biochemistry of sleep, initially with Peter Reich, particularly with regard to glucose metabolism in the brain during sleep. Subsequently, a long-standing and fruitful collaboration with John Pappenheimer evolved, the focus being on the characterization of molecules involved in the humoral regulation of sleep. They initially characterized peptides in the cerebrospinal fluid that are sleep-inducing. Later, linking Manfred’s interest in leucocytes and infection to the physiology of sleep, the roles of cytokines in the physiological regulation of sleep, and the sleepiness associated with infection, were identified in the fact that components of bacterial cell walls induce sleep through up-regulation of certain pro-inflammatory cytokines. As a result of these many innovations, Manfred rose rapidly up the academic ladder, becoming full professor in the Department of Biological Chemistry in 1962. Later he served twice as chairman of this Department. Those administrative responsibilities never quenched his devotion to teaching and research. Thus, in 1985, he was honored with the HMS Prize for Excellence in Teaching. In addition, he carried

friends enjoyed the prints and paintings that adorned his Cambridge home. He greatly enjoyed gourmet cooking and members of his laboratory were frequently treated to the Karnovsky version of seafood such as mussels marinara. Witty and erudite, Manfred wrote light verse for the amusement of his friends and colleagues and to celebrate special occasions. Sometimes he posted his verse in the elevator of the Department, thus earning the sobriquet of “Poet-laureate of the Lift.” The clerihew, a form of verse that makes a statement about some person whose name constitutes the first line, was one of his favorite forms. In 1997, the Karnovskys established a permanent fund to support an annual fellowship in the HMS Division of Medical Sciences. Consequently, the Manfred L. Karnovsky Fellowship is an enduring tribute to one of the Medical School’s great teachers. In addition to his wife Ann, Manfred leaves his son Daniel, of Boston; a daughter-in-law Priscilla; two grandchildren; his brother Morris, the Shattuck Professor of Pathological Anatomy; and a sister Helene, of Sydney Australia. Respectfully submitted, Eugene Kennedy, Chairperson John Badwey Morris Karnovsky Marjorie Lees John Pappenheimer