Donald S.
Fredrickson
Donald Sharp "Don" Fredrickson (August 8, 1924 –
June 7, 2002) was an American medical researcher, Donald S. Fredrickson
principally of the lipid and cholesterol metabolism, and
director of National Institutes of Health and
subsequently the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.[1]
Biography
Fredrickson was born in Cañon City, Colorado. His
father was a county judge and the owner of
Fredrickson Brown, an independent insurance agency.
After high school he commenced medical school at the
University of Colorado, but completed his studies at
the University of Michigan after being transferred
there by the army. During a cycling trip in the
Donald S. Fredrickson in 1961
Netherlands he met his future wife, Priscilla Eekhof,
11th Director of the National Institutes of
and they married two years later. They had two sons.[1]
Health
Between 1949 and 1952 he worked as a resident and In office
subsequently as a fellow in internal medicine at the July 1, 1975 – June 30, 1981
Peter Bent Brigham Hospital (now part of Brigham President Gerald Ford
and Women's Hospital) in Boston. Much of his Jimmy Carter
published work from this period is in the field of
Preceded by Robert Stone
endocrinology. Subsequently he spent a year in the
laboratory of Ivan Frantz, a cholesterol biochemist, at Succeeded by James Wyngaarden
Massachusetts General Hospital.[1] Personal details
Born Donald Sharp Fredrickson
August 8, 1924
Lipid research Canon City, Colorado
Died June 7, 2002 (aged 77)
In 1953 he took up a post at the National Heart
Bethesda, Maryland
Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health in
Bethesda, Maryland. Initially, he worked with protein Nationality American
chemist and Nobel laureate Christian B. Anfinsen, and Alma mater University of Michigan
subsequently (with Daniel Steinberg) developed an
Scientific career
interest in the metabolism of cholesterol and
lipoproteins, as well as related medical conditions such Fields Lipid metabolism
as Niemann-Pick disease. His group identified Tangier Institutions National Institutes of Health
disease (HDL deficiency)[2] and cholesteryl ester National Academy of Sciences
storage disease, two inborn errors of cholesterol
metabolism. He played a prime role in the Howard Hughes Medical
identification of several apolipoproteins (proteins that Institute
characterise the nature of a blood lipid particle):
APOA2, APOC1, APOC2 and APOC3.[1]
In 1967 Fredrickson co-authored the paper that described the classification of lipoprotein abnormalities in
five types, depending on the pattern of lipoprotein electrophoresis; this became known as the Fredrickson
classification.[3] It was adopted as the mondial standard by the World Health Organization in 1972.[1] His
group also conducted the first trials of pharmacological cholesterol reduction in the prevention and
treatment of cardiovascular disease.[1]
Textbooks
From 1960 he worked, with John Stanbury and James Wyngaarden, on several editions of the
encyclopedic medical textbook The Metabolic and Molecular Bases of Inherited Disease.[1][4]
Directorships
Apart from his work in research, Fredrickson was involved in the
management of the NHI from an early stage. He was clinical
director from 1960 onward and from 1966 general director of
NHI. In 1974 he left the NHI (then already the National Heart and
Lung Institute) to head the Institute of Medicine of the National
Academy of Sciences. Nine months later he was asked by
president Gerald Ford to become head of the National Institutes of
Health, a task he commenced on 1975-06-01.[1]
One of the main issues that occupied him was the controversy
over research involving recombinant DNA. Already in 1973 there Fredrickson at NIH in 1976
had been scientists urging a ban on such research for
environmental reasons. Fredrickson released a guideline that
restricted release of genetically modified organisms into the environment, and called into existence a
body that would advise on these matters and had to approve any NIH research involving recombinant
DNA technology. Fredrickson is credited with restoring confidence in this form of research.[1] A second
controversy involved congressional control over the NIH in general. Some feel that Fredrickson's
decision to resign from his position in 1981 was fuelled by these controversies.[1] The recombinant DNA
controversy was the subject of a book published by Fredrickson in 2001.[5]
After 1981 Fredrickson was scholar-in-residence at the National Academy of Sciences for two years, but
in 1983 he was recruited to become the vice-president of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, a
privately run health research charity. At that stage, the institute was still the owner of the Hughes Aircraft
Company, and Fredrickson participated in the negotiations that led to the sale (for $5.2 billion) to General
Motors. He made substantial changes to the institute's research programme. He resigned in 1987 when the
trustees of the institute discovered that there had been financial malversations under his presidency.[1]
Later years
Fredrickson returned to the NIH, resuming work on lipid diseases and writing for the National Library of
Medicine. He participated in the genetic elucidation of Tangier disease, which he had himself described in
the 1960s.[1][6]
He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,
and the American Philosophical Society.[7][8][9]
He was personal physician to Hassan II of Morocco, and had a close personal friendship with the king
until the latter's death in 1999.[1]
He was found dead, face-down, in his swimming pool in 2002. He is buried in Leiden, the Netherlands.[1]
His papers are held at the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland.[10]
References
1. Wyngaarden JB. "Donald Sharp Fredrickson". In Biographical Memoirs. National Academy
of Sciences 2006;87:164-179. ISBN 0-309-09579-4. Fulltext ([Link]
[Link]?record_id=11522&page=164). Reprinted from Proc Am Phil Soc 2004;148(3):382-
393. PDF ([Link] Archived ([Link]
[Link]/web/20070927011320/[Link]
September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
2. Fredrickson DS, Altrocchi PH, Avioli LV, Goodman DS, Goodman HC. Tangier disease. Ann
Intern Med 1961;55:1016-1031.
3. Fredrickson, DS; Levy, RI; Lees, RS (1967). "Fat transport in lipoproteins--an integrated
approach to mechanisms and disorders". The New England Journal of Medicine. 276 (1):
34–42 contd. doi:10.1056/NEJM196701052760107 ([Link]
1052760107). PMID 5333081 ([Link]
4. Stanbury JB, Wyngaarden JB, Fredrickson DS (Eds). The Metabolic Basis of Inherited
Disease. New York, Toronto, and London: McGraw-Hill, 1960.
5. Fredrickson DS. The Recombinant DNA Controversy: A Memoir, Science, Politics, and the
Public Interest 1974-1981. ASM press, 2001. ISBN 1-55581-222-8.
6. Remaley, AT; Rust, S; Rosier, M; Knapper, C; Naudin, L; Broccardo, C; Peterson, KM; Koch,
C; et al. (1999). "Human ATP-binding cassette transporter 1 (ABC1): genomic organization
and identification of the genetic defect in the original Tangier disease kindred" ([Link]
[Link]/pmc/articles/PMC23050). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
of the United States of America. 96 (22): 12685–90. Bibcode:1999PNAS...9612685R (http
s://[Link]/abs/1999PNAS...9612685R). doi:10.1073/pnas.96.22.12685 (http
s://[Link]/10.1073%2Fpnas.96.22.12685). PMC 23050 ([Link]
rticles/PMC23050). PMID 10535983 ([Link]
7. "Donald S. Fredrickson" ([Link]
[Link]). [Link]. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
8. "Donald Sharp Fredrickson" ([Link]
American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
9. "APS Member History" ([Link]
redrickson&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=
advanced). [Link]. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
10. "Donald S. Fredrickson Papers 1910-2002 (bulk 1960-1999)" ([Link]
ickson526). National Library of Medicine.
External links
The Donald S. Fredrickson Papers ([Link] Profiles in Science,
National Library of Medicine
Donald S. Fredrickson Papers (1910-2002) ([Link]
x?c=nlmfindaid;id=navbarbrowselink;cginame=findaid-idx;cc=nlmfindaid;view=reslist;subvie
w=standard;didno=fredrickson526) National Library of Medicine finding aid
Retrieved from "[Link]
