Stanley J. Korsmeyer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Stanley J. Korsmeyer
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Korsmeyer in 1992
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| Born | June 8, 1950 Beardstown, Illinois, U.S.
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| Died | March 31, 2005 (aged 54) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
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| Spouse(s) | Susan Reynard |
| Children | 2 |
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Stanley Joel Korsmeyer (June 8, 1950 – March 31, 2005) was an American scientist and doctor. He is famous for his research on cancer and cell biology. Korsmeyer studied a specific gene called Bcl-2 that helps cancer cells survive when they should not.
His work changed how scientists understand cancer. He spent much of his career teaching and running a laboratory at Washington University in St. Louis and later at the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.
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Early life and education
Stanley Korsmeyer was born on June 8, 1950, in Beardstown, Illinois. His parents, Willard and Carnell Korsmeyer, were hog farmers. The family farm had been passed down for generations.
As a young boy, Korsmeyer loved animals. He was very active in a club called 4-H, where kids learn about agriculture and leadership. He raised Hampshire hogs for competitions. When he was 14 years old, his pigs were named the Grand Champions at the Illinois State Fair. He was the youngest person ever to win that prize.
Korsmeyer originally wanted to be a veterinarian (an animal doctor). However, a local vet named Robert Goodin noticed Stanley's talent and suggested he study biology instead. Korsmeyer listened to this advice. He went to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and graduated with a science degree in 1972. He then went to medical school at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago to become a doctor.
Scientific discoveries
Finding the cancer gene
After finishing his medical training, Korsmeyer began working as a researcher at the National Cancer Institute in 1979. He wanted to understand a type of cancer called lymphoma, which affects the immune system.
He studied the DNA of cancer cells. He found that in most cases of follicular lymphoma, a piece of one chromosome had broken off and attached to another chromosome. This is called a chromosomal translocation. This mistake in the DNA turned on a specific gene named Bcl-2.
How cells die
In 1986, Korsmeyer moved to Washington University School of Medicine. There, his team studied the Bcl-2 gene and proved that it did not make cells grow faster. Instead, it stopped them from dying. However, Korsmeyer wasn't the first to discover this! Another team of scientists, led by David L Vaux, actually found this out in 1988. When Korsmeyer published his own study in 1989, he made sure to mention and thank Vaux's team for their important finding.
This was a completely new idea in medicine. It proved that cancer could be caused by blocking apoptosis (programmed cell death). Apoptosis is a normal process where the body cleans out old or damaged cells. Korsmeyer showed that the Bcl-2 gene acts like a shield, protecting cancer cells from this cleaning process.
The balance of life and death
Korsmeyer's laboratory continued to study how cells control their own life and death. They found that Bcl-2 works inside the cell's energy factory, the mitochondria.
He discovered that there is a whole family of proteins that work together. Some proteins, like Bcl-2, try to keep the cell alive. Other proteins, like BAX and BID, try to make the cell self-destruct if it is damaged. Korsmeyer called this the "rheostat model." A rheostat is a type of switch that can dim or brighten lights. In the cell, these proteins balance each other like a switch to decide if a cell should live or die.
Later work and legacy
In 1998, Korsmeyer moved to Harvard Medical School and the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute. He continued his research on how mitochondria control cell death. His team learned how to use this knowledge to help treat cancer. They found that blocking the protective Bcl-2 protein could help kill cancer cells.
Korsmeyer wrote more than 250 scientific papers during his life. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences when he was 45 years old. This is a very high honor for a scientist. He also received many awards, including the Charles S. Mott Prize and the Wiley Prize.
Personal life
While he was training to be a doctor in San Francisco, Korsmeyer met Susan Reynard. She was a nurse who cared for cancer patients. They got married and had two sons.
Even though he was a busy scientist, Korsmeyer enjoyed hobbies like sailing and fishing. In 2004, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. He continued to work in his lab despite his illness. Stanley Korsmeyer died on March 31, 2005, at the age of 54.
After his death, his colleague Robert Horvitz called him a "hero" and said his work revolutionized the field of science.
