In memoriam: Peter Geiduschek
Peter Geiduschek, a pioneering researcher in DNA structure and gene expression at the University of California, San Diego and a member of the 麻豆传媒色情片 and 麻豆传媒色情片 Biology since 1963, died April 8, 2022, just shy of his 94th birthday, the ASBMB learned recently.
Geiduschek was born April 11, 1928, in Vienna. In 1939, after the Nazis annexed Austria, he was among the Jewish children transported to safety in England. There he earned his school certificate before rejoining his parents who had fled to New York. He completed his undergraduate degree in chemistry at Columbia University and earned his Ph.D. in physical chemistry at Harvard University.
After serving two years in the U.S. Army at the biochemistry department of Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C. and working for the Committee on Biophysics at the University of Chicago for a decade, he joined the faculty at UC San Diego in 1970, where he remained until his retirement in 2014.
Geiduschek’s research focused on genetic and transcriptional regulation in phages, yeast and archaea. He made seminal contributions to the field’s understanding of the physical properties of DNA. Specifically, he was the first to show that DNA denaturation is reversible and he coined the term “chaotropic,” which is used today to describe how salts can destabilize DNA and its hydrogen bonds by displacing water. In addition, his findings helped elucidate how viruses take over host machinery. Geiduschek also made major discoveries on RNA polymerases and the mechanisms of transfer RNA synthesis.
He was an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Academy of Microbiology.
In Geiduschek’s UC San Diego , James T. Kadonaga wrote: “(W)ith his wit, charm and warm and caring personality, he was a much-loved colleague. We thus honor and will fondly remember a remarkable and singular individual who has provided much of the basic knowledge of DNA and gene expression that we enjoy today and significantly and selflessly contributed to the establishment of UC San Diego as one of the premier research universities in the world.”
Enjoy reading ASBMB Today?
Become a member to receive the print edition monthly and the digital edition weekly.
Learn moreGet the latest from ASBMB Today
Enter your email address, and we鈥檒l send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.
Latest in People
People highlights or most popular articles
Honors for Bhatt, Lim and Nuñez
Ami Bhatt receives the American Society of Hematology's William Dameshek Prize. The Pew Charitable Trusts selects Ci Ji Lim and James Nuñez as 2024 Pew scholars.
In memoriam: Robert Warren Newburgh
He was a distinguished developmental and cell biologist and a member of the ASBMB since 1957.
'Don鈥檛 be afraid to take a different path'
In 2016, MOSAIC scholar Rebecca Ann Faulkner paused her career for four years to focus on her family, a decision she believes made her a more effective and empathetic scientist.
Honors for Baserga, Matunis and Tate
Awards, promotions, milestones and more. Find out what's going on in the lives of ASBMB members.
In memoriam: William Catterall
Known as the 鈥渇ather of ion channels,鈥 he was a neuroscientist and pharmacologist at the University of Washington and an ASBMB member for more than 45 years.
Announcing the winners of the 麻豆传媒色情片 Motifs bioart competition
The 12 winning works of art to be featured in the 2025 ASBMB calendar were selected from 37 entries received from scientists in both academia and industry at all career stages with submissions coming from as far away as Pakistan and Brazil.