Leon Emanuel Rosenberg (March 3, 1933 – July 22, 2022) was an American physician-scientist,

geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic processe ...

, and educator. He served as chair of the department of

human genetics Human genetics is the study of inheritance as it occurs in human beings. Human genetics encompasses a variety of overlapping fields including: classical genetics, cytogenetics, molecular genetics, biochemical genetics, genomics, population gene ...

and also as dean of the medical school of

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. He then worked as the chief scientific officer of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical company. He wrote more than 300 research articles, chapters, and books on his scientific research and public policy views across his career.

Education

Rosenberg graduated from

Madison West High School Madison West High School is a comprehensive four-year high school in Madison, Wisconsin, founded in 1930. Its athletics teams compete in the WIAA Big Eight Conference. Madison West serves students from four municipalities: Madison, the town of M ...

in 1950, and received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the

University of Wisconsin in Madison 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, the ...

in 1954 followed by his

Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin language, Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a profes ...

degree from the same university in 1957. He worked as a clinical associate at the

National Cancer Institute The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...

(NCI) from 1959 to 1962 and as a senior investigator at the NCI from 1963 to 1965.

Research and career

He started his professional career at the Yale University School of Medicine in 1965 as an assistant professor of medicine, was promoted to chair of human genetics in 1972 and later to the position of dean of the

Yale School of Medicine The Yale School of Medicine is the graduate medical school at Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded in 1810 as the Medical Institution of Yale College and formally opened in 1813. The primary te ...

, a post he held from 1984 to 1991. Subsequently, he served as the chief scientific officer (CSO) of the Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) Pharmaceutical Company from 1991 to 1998. Thereafter, he spent 16 years at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

as a lecturer at the rank of professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Before retiring in 2018, he worked as an upper school science teacher and scientist in residence at the

Princeton Day School Princeton Day School is a private coeducational day school located in Princeton, in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. The largest division is the Upper School (grades 9–12), ...

. Rosenberg carried out his research on human inherited disorders of

amino acid Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although hundreds of amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the alpha-amino acids, which comprise proteins. Only 22 alpha am ...

and organic acid metabolism briefly at NCI and for 26 years at Yale University. He discovered new inherited disorders of organic acid metabolism (propionic and

methylmalonic acidemia Methylmalonic acidemia, also called methylmalonic aciduria, is an autosomal recessive metabolic disorder that disrupts normal amino acid metabolism. It is a classical type of organic acidemia. The result of this condition is the inability to proper ...

), and defined key aspects of ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency leading to ammonia intoxication, including its mode of inheritance and mechanism of the enzyme's transport to mitochondria. He discovered several inherited defects in vitamin B₁₂ metabolism in children and showed that they could be treated successfully with large supplements of the vitamin.

Awards and honors

In 1976, Rosenberg was elected to membership in the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

(AAAS). Additional memberships include the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). He received honorary degrees from the University of Wisconsin and the

Mount Sinai School of Medicine The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS or Mount Sinai), formerly the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, is a private medical school in New York City. It is the academic teaching arm of the Mount Sinai Health System, which manages eigh ...

. In 2003, he received the

Kober medal The George M. Kober Medal and Lectureship are two different awards by the Association of American Physicians (AAP) in honor of one of its early presidents, George M. Kober. The George M. Kober Lectureship, is an honor given to an AAP member "for ou ...

from the Association of American Physicians. In 2011, he received the McKusick Award from the

American Society of Human Genetics The American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG), founded in 1948, is a professional membership organization for specialists in human genetics. As of 2009, the organization had approximately 8,000 members. The Society's members include researchers, a ...

Personal life

Rosenberg married Elaine Lewis in 1954. They had three children (Robert, Diana, and David) before divorcing in 1972. In 1979, he married Diane Drobnis, a senior editor in medical publishing. They had a daughter named Alexa. Rosenberg died at the age of 89 on 22 July 2022.

Selected publications

* DNA and Other Strands: The Making of a Human Geneticist". Annual Reviews of Genetics and Genomics (2013). * A Gender Gap in the Next Generation of Physician-Scientists: Medical Student Interest and Participation in Research. Journal of Investigative Medicine (2001). * Building bridges between academia and industry: forms, foundations, functions. Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine (1997). * Treating Genetic Diseases: Lessons from Three Children. Journal of Pediatric Research (1990). * The Physician-Scientist: An Essential—and Fragile—Link in the Medical Research Chain. Journal of Clinical Investigation (1999).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenberg, Leon Emanuel 1933 births 2022 deaths American geneticists Yale University faculty University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni People from Madison, Wisconsin Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the National Academy of Medicine Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences