Alton Meister (1922–1995) was an American biochemist who made pioneering contributions to the study of

glutathione Glutathione (GSH, ) is an antioxidant in plants, animals, fungi, and some bacteria and archaea. Glutathione is capable of preventing damage to important cellular components caused by sources such as reactive oxygen species, free radicals, pe ...

metabolism.THE ALTON MEISTER, MD (1922-1995) PAPERS MEDICAL CENTER ARCHIVES OF NEW YORK-PRESBYTERIAN/WEILL CORNELL
/ref> Alton Meister was born in New York City to

Morris Meister Dr. Morris Meister (1895 - 1975) was a science educator and administrator who was the founder and first principal of the Bronx High School of Science as well as the first president of Bronx Community College. He is noteworthy for his support and ...

and Florence Glickstein Meister. He received an undergraduate degree from

Harvard University 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 high ...

and an MD from Cornell University Medical College (now

Weill Cornell Medical College The Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University is Cornell University's biomedical research unit and medical school located in Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York. Weill Cornell Medicine is affiliated with N ...

). He then moved to 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. ...

at the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

in Bethesda, Maryland. He remained there until 1955 when he became Chairman of the Department of Biochemistry at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

. Meister returned to Cornell University Medical College in 1967 and served as chairman of its biochemistry department until 1991. He died in 1995 at the age of 72.Alton Meister, 72, a Biochemist Who Advanced AIDS Research
April 10, 1995, Monday By Robert McG. Thomas, Jr. (NYT); Obituary

References

American biochemists 1922 births 1995 deaths Harvard University alumni Weill Cornell Medical College alumni Tufts University faculty Weill Medical College of Cornell University faculty Members of the National Academy of Medicine {{US-biochemist-stub