Nathan Oram Kaplan (June 25, 1917 – April 15, 1986) was an American biochemist who studied enzymology and

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs ( chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemothe ...

. After completing a B.A. in chemistry at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

in 1939, Kaplan studied

carbohydrate metabolism Carbohydrate metabolism is the whole of the biochemistry, biochemical processes responsible for the metabolic anabolism, formation, catabolism, breakdown, and interconversion of carbohydrates in life, living organisms. Carbohydrates are central t ...

in the

liver The liver is a major organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for digestion and growth. In humans, it ...

under David M. Greenberg at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

medical school. He earned his Ph.D. in 1943. From 1942 to 1944, Kaplan participated in the

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...

, and then spent a year as an instructor at

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

. From 1945 to 1949, Kaplan worked with

Fritz Lipmann Fritz Albert Lipmann (; June 12, 1899 – July 24, 1986) was a German-American biochemist and a co-discoverer in 1945 of coenzyme A. For this, together with other research on coenzyme A, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in ...

, G. David Novelli, and

Beverly Guirard Beverly Marie Guirard was a microbiologist who worked on the biochemistry of microbial growth, especially with respect to vitamin B6. She is also known for her work defining the components of coenzyme A which was a part of the research that led to ...

to study coenzyme A. Kaplan went to the

University of Illinois College of Medicine The University of Illinois College of Medicine offers a four-year program leading to the MD degree at four different sites in Illinois: Chicago, Peoria, Rockford, and formerly Urbana–Champaign. The Urbana–Champaign site stopped accepting ne ...

as an assistant professor in 1949, and from 1950 to 1957 he worked at the McCollum-Pratt Institute of

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

. In 1957, he was recruited to head a new graduate program in biochemistry at

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , ...

. In 1968, Kaplan moved to the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is t ...

, where he studied the role of

lactate dehydrogenase Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH or LD) is an enzyme found in nearly all living cells. LDH catalyzes the conversion of lactate to pyruvate and back, as it converts NAD+ to NADH and back. A dehydrogenase is an enzyme that transfers a hydride from one ...

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. He also founded a colony of

nude mice A nude mouse is a laboratory mouse from a strain with a genetic mutation that causes a deteriorated or absent thymus, resulting in an inhibited immune system due to a greatly reduced number of T cells. The phenotype (main outward appearance) of ...

, a strain of

laboratory mice The laboratory mouse or lab mouse is a small mammal of the order Rodentia which is bred and used for scientific research or feeders for certain pets. Laboratory mice are usually of the species ''Mus musculus''. They are the most commonly used ...

useful in the study of cancer and other diseases.Biography
Nathan O. Kaplan Papers finding aid, Online Archive of California. The Regents of the University of California, 2005. Accessed 6 March 2009. In 1981, Kaplan became a founding member of the

World Cultural Council The World Cultural Council is an international organization whose goals are to promote cultural values, goodwill and philanthropy among individuals. The organization founded in 1981 and based in Mexico, has held a yearly award ceremony since 198 ...

. One of Kaplan's students at the University of California was genomic researcher

Craig Venter John Craig Venter (born October 14, 1946) is an American biotechnologist and businessman. He is known for leading one of the first draft sequences of the human genome and assembled the first team to transfect a cell with a synthetic chromosome. ...

.Venter, J. Craig (October 18, 2007). A Life Decoded: My Genome: My Life. New York, New York: Viking Adult. .OCLC 165048736 He was, with Sidney Colowick, a founding editor of the scientific book series ''

Methods in Enzymology ''Methods in Enzymology'' is a book-series of scientific publications focused primarily on research methods in biochemistry by Academic Press, created by Sidney P. Colowick and Nathan O. Kaplan. Content Historically, each volume has centered o ...

''.

Notes and references

External links

Nathan O. Kaplan Papers
MSS 99
Special Collections & Archives
UC San Diego Library.
Nathan O. Kaplan, PhD: 1976 Outstanding Contributions in a Selected Area of Research
- an account of Kaplan's work for which he was recognized in 1976 by the

American Association for Clinical Chemistry AACC (formerly known as the American Association for Clinical Chemistry) is a global scientific society dedicated to clinical laboratory science and its application to healthcare. AACC's current president is Carmen Wiley, PhD, and the associati ...

National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir
American biochemists 1917 births 1986 deaths University of California, Berkeley alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni Wayne State University faculty Massachusetts General Hospital people University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty Johns Hopkins University faculty University of California, San Diego faculty Brandeis University faculty Founding members of the World Cultural Council {{US-biochemist-stub