Myron Gordon (November 13, 1899 – March 12, 1959) was an American biologist and geneticist and became an expert on platy fish ''
Xiphophorus
''Xiphophorus'' is a genus of euryhaline and freshwater fishes in the family Poeciliidae of order Cyprinodontiformes, native to Mexico and northern Central America. The many ''Xiphophorus'' species are all known as platyfish (or platies) and s ...
'' while using them for his pioneering cancer research, starting in the late 1920s. Early papers were published while still a graduate student at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
, but he is best known for his research at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
and the
New York Zoological Society
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(now
Wildlife Conservation Society
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a non-governmental organization headquartered at the Bronx Zoo in New York City, that aims to conserve the world's largest wild places in 14 priority regions. Founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological ...
).
Education
Gordon received his education at Cornell University, achieving first his Bachelor of Science in 1925, going on to study for a Masters of Science in Genetics and Agriculture, 1925-1926, and finally achieving a Ph.D in Zoology, Limnology and Genetics in 1929.
Activities through summer periods during education
In summers, during school, Gordon worked a variety of jobs. He began in 1920 as a keeper at the
New York Zoological Park
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New or NEW may refer to:
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* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
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(now the
Bronx Zoo
The Bronx Zoo (also historically the Bronx Zoological Park and the Bronx Zoological Gardens) is a zoo within Bronx Park in the Bronx, New York. It is one of the largest zoos in the United States by area and is the largest metropolitan zoo in ...
) and continued from 1921 to 1923 as a Game Keeper, first at the State of Maryland Game Farm, GwynnBrook, MD. and later in 1923 at the State of New York Game Farm, Middle Island, NY. The summer of 1924 saw him work as a Collector at the College of Agriculture, Cornell University, at McLean Bogs, NY. For two summers after this Gordon was an Instructor at Long Island Biological Association, Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island. In 1927, he served as a Biologist with the State of NY Biological Survey (Fisheries) and during the last summers of his Ph.D he was first an Investigator at Carnegie Institute of Washington, Marine Biological Laboratory, Dry Tortugas, FL. in 1928 and then an Investigator at Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Mass. in 1929.
Professional Posts
Gordon held a variety of professional posts throughout his career;
*1925-1929 and 1931-1932: Whilst still studying and just after the completion of his Ph.D, Gordon worked at the Heckscher Foundation for the Advancement of Research at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
. He was in charge of a cooperative study between the departments of zoology, genetics and fish culture devoted to genetics of fishes. In 1932, he was the leader of the second Mexican expedition.
*1929-1931: In the intervening years between his work with the Heckscher Foundation, Gordon was National Research Fellow at Cornell University, where he was a member of the first expedition to Mexico.
*1938: Gordon worked on fish melanoma studies in Dr. George M. Smith’s laboratory at the International Cancer Research Foundation at Yale University, School of Medicine.
*1938-1941: For three years, Gordon worked at the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.
*1941: Gordon became a Research Associate in Genetics at the
New York Zoological Society
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
. He was in charge of the fish genetics laboratory in the Whitney Wing,
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...
(AMNH). He was supported in his research by the National Cancer Institute of the U.S. Public Health Service sponsored by the
New York Zoological Society
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
. Gordon held continuous 3 year appointments as a Research Associate with the museum until his death.
*1944: Gordon was appointed as Assistant Curator of Fishes at the
New York Aquarium
The New York Aquarium is the oldest continually operating aquarium in the United States, located on the Riegelmann Boardwalk in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City. It was founded at Castle Garden in Battery Park, Manhattan in 1896, and moved ...
. He conducted research into the heritable qualities of melanotic tumors in fishes. In 1947, he was given the title of ‘geneticist’ at the Aquarium.
Research
Whilst at the AMNH he developed advanced systems to study genetic and molecular events in melanoma formation. During his tenure at the museum he published a key review ''The Melonoma Cell as an Incompletely Differentiated Pigment Cell'' (in M. Gordon (ed.), Pigment Cell Biology, pp. 215–236. New York: Academic Press. 1959).
Other endeavors and achievements
Herbert Axelrod
Herbert Richard Axelrod (June 7, 1927 – May 15, 2017) was an American tropical fish expert, a publisher of pet books, and an entrepreneur. In 2005 he was sentenced in U.S. court to 18 months in prison for Tax avoidance and tax evasion, tax fraud ...
, of
TFH Publications
TFH Publications is an American book publisher based in New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, sout ...
, knowing of Gordon's academic reputation and ability to write clearly on any level, recruited him to write a very popular series of booklets and magazine features aimed at tropical fish hobbyists.
In 1939 he established the Xiphophorus
Genetic stock center
Genetic stock centers are collections of pure genetic stock available for use in research. They are often housed at research universities, and include everything from single cell life to plants, fish, and small mammals such as mice and rats. Genet ...
to provide a reliable supply of genetically identical fish to be used in cancer research. The lines he established remain widely used today. The center was maintained by Gordon and his student Klaus Kallman throughout their tenure at the Aquarium. Kallman transferred it to its current location at Texas State University.
Gordon died suddenly in March, 1959 and his obituary in the Dec 1959 ''Copeia'' noted that “…conclusively demonstrated the heritable nature of melanoma in ''Xiphophorus'' and the essential relationship of the macromelanophore to its development…” During his collection trips, he discovered and named several new species, and in 1963,
Robert Rush Miller
Robert Rush Miller (April 23, 1916 – February 10, 2003) "was an important figure in American ichthyology and conservation from 1940 to the 1990s."
He was born in Colorado Springs, earned his bachelor's degree at University of California, Berke ...
and
W. L. Minckley
Wendell Lee Minckley (November 13, 1935 – June 22, 2001) was a college professor and leading expert on fish. He spent most of his career at Arizona State University. In 1963, he with Robert Rush Miller discovered and named the northern platy ...
named ''
Xiphophorus gordoni'' in his honor.
Myron Gordon Award
The Myron Gordon Award was established to honor the memory of an esteemed and respected scientist, Myron Gordon, who is credited with establishing the International Pigment Cell Conferences. The Myron Gordon Award is presented at the International Pigment Cell Conference (IPCC) in recognition of one or more scientists for distinguished and outstanding contributions to the pigment cell field. Established in 1961 after the death of Myron Gordon in 1959 and first presented at IPCC V. Myron Gordon was instrumental in organizing IPCC I-IV.
Previous Winners
*2014 —
Greg Barsh
*2011 — Zalfa Abdel Malek, Ruth Halaban, Shin-ichi Nishikawa
*2008 — Kowichi Jimbow
*2005 — Masahiro Mizoguchi
*2002 — Dorothy C. Bennett
*1999 — Vincent J. Hearing, Seiji Ito
*1996 — J. Matsumoto
*1993 — Patrick A. Riley, Hans Rorsman, Toshihiko Takeuchi
*1990 —
Yutake Mishima
*1986 — Joseph T. Bagnara, Mac E. Hadley
*1983 — Annerose Anders, Fritz Anders, Walter C. Quevedo
*1980 — Makoto Seiji
*1977 —
Howard S. Mason,
Giuseppe Prota
*1975 —
Vernon Riley
*1972 —
Eleanor Josephine Macdonald
Eleanor Josephine Macdonald (4 March 1906 – 26 July 2007) was a pioneer American cancer epidemiologist and cancer researcher influenced and mentored by Edwin Bidwell Wilson and Shields Warren. One of the earliest proponents of the idea that canc ...
, V.J. McGovern
*1969 —
Aaron B. Lerner Aaron Bunsen Lerner (September 21, 1920 – February 3, 2007), also known in scientific articles as Aaron B. Lerner, was an American physician, researcher and professor.
Life and career
Born in 1920 in Minneapolis, Lerner received his medical degre ...
*1965 —
Thomas B. Fitzpatrick
Thomas B. Fitzpatrick (December 19, 1919 – November 16, 2003) was an American dermatologist. He was Chairman of the Department of Dermatology at Harvard Medical School and Chief of the Massachusetts General Hospital Dermatology Service from 195 ...
*1961 — G.A. Swan
References
*
External links
Xiphophorus Genetic Stock CenterGordon collection finding aidfor collection held by the Wildlife Conservation Society Archives
International Pigment Cell Conference (IPCC)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Myron
1899 births
1959 deaths
Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences alumni
New York University faculty
American ichthyologists
American geneticists
Wildlife Conservation Society people
20th-century American zoologists