Charles Heidelberger (December 23, 1920 – January 18, 1983) was a cancer researcher who developed and patented an anticancer drug called 5-

Fluorouracil Fluorouracil (5-FU), sold under the brand name Adrucil among others, is a cytotoxic chemotherapy medication used to treat cancer. By intravenous injection it is used for treatment of colorectal cancer, oesophageal cancer, stomach cancer, pancreat ...

that remains widely used against cancers of the stomach, colon and breast. He was also director of basic research at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

's Comprehensive Cancer Center. He received an

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into six geographical regions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more than ...

National Award in 1974. Heidelberger served on editorial boards of various scientific journals: ''Cancer Research'', ''

Molecular Pharmacology ''Molecular Pharmacology'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics since 1965. It is indexed in MEDLINE, Meta, Scopus, and other databases. According to the ''Journa ...

'', '' Biochemical Pharmacology'', the ''

International Journal of Cancer The ''International Journal of Cancer'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed medical journal covering experimental and clinical cancer research. It publishes original research articles, mini reviews, short reports, and letters to the editor. The journal was ...

'', ''In Vitro'', and the ''

Journal of Medicinal Chemistry A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

''. He served as director for Basic Research of the USC Cancer Center, and was a Distinguished Professor at the University of Southern California. His former home in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

, now known as the Dr. Charles and Judith Heidelberger House, is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Notable awards and distinctions

Heidelberger received the following awards: * Elected to the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

, U.S.A. in 1978 * The Langer-Teplitz Award for

Cancer Research Cancer research is research into cancer to identify causes and develop strategies for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure. Cancer research ranges from epidemiology, molecular bioscience to the performance of clinical trials to evaluate and ...

in 1958 * Walter I. Hubert Lecturer for the British Association for Cancer Research in 1969 * Lucy Wortham James Award of the James Ewing Society (1969) * G. H. A. Clowes Memorial Award and Lectureship of the

American Association for Cancer Research The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world's oldest and largest professional association related to cancer research. Based in Philadelphia, the AACR focuses on all aspects of cancer research, including basic, clinical, and t ...

(1970) *

National Award (1974) * Lila Gruber Award of the American Academy of Dermatology (1976) * Papanicolaou Award for Scientific Achievement (1978) * Chemical Industry Institute of

Toxicology Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating expo ...

Founder's Award (1982) * C. Chester Stock Award of the

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital. MSKCC is one of 52 National Cancer Institute– ...

(1982) * The first Athayde International Cancer Prize

Notable publications

Most notable publications:Most widely held works by Charles Heidelberger
/ref> * ''The role of chemicals and radiation in the etiology of cancer'' (book), held by 171 libraries worldwide * ''Improved scoring of chemical transformation of C3H/10T1/2 cells'' (book), held by 60 libraries worldwide

Career

Heidelberger was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on December 23, 1920. His father

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

was a famous immunologist. Heidelberger graduated from

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

with S.B in chemistry in 1942, and with M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in

organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain carbon atoms.Clayden, J.; ...

in 1944 and 1946 respectively, also from Harvard. He became a Professor of

Oncology Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''ó ...

at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

in 1948. In 1960 he received American Cancer Society Professorship of

which he retained until 1976. In 1976 Heidelberger accepted position of Professor of Biochemistry and Pathology, as well as Director for Basic Research of the USC Cancer Center. He became a Distinguished Professor at the

in 1981. He died of cancer, the disease he devoted his life to eradicating.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heidelberger, Charles Cancer researchers 1920 births 1983 deaths Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Harvard University alumni 20th-century American physicians 20th-century American inventors University of Southern California staff