RICHARD GILPIN WOOD ANDERSON, A DALLAS CELL BIOLOGIST WHO UNLOCKED MEDICAL MYSTERIES DIES AT 70:
Dallas Morning News 26 MARCH 2011
Richard Gilpin Wood Anderson's pioneering work in cell biology helped two of his UT Southwestern Medical Center colleagues receive the 1985 Nobel Prize for medicine with their findings on cholesterol metabolism. His research also created broad fields of study into the locations and mechanisms by which cells take in molecules. Dr. Anderson, 70, died March 19 of brain cancer at his second home in Portland, Oregon. A private celebration of his life will be held next month in Dallas. "This is a guy who, while he did really great science, was always out on the edge in the way he traveled and the way he engaged life," said Fred Grinnell, chairman of the cell biology department at UT Southwestern. Dr. Anderson was passionate about his work, but his family was foremost in his life, said Dr. Grinnell, a friend and colleague of nearly 40 years. "He was a real outdoors person," Dr. Grinnell said. "He really loved the outdoors in a way that was remarkable." Dr. Anderson was a hang-glider pilot who grew his own vegetables and rode a motor scooter to work. He and his wife, Barbara Forsythe Anderson, went on back-country excursions in locations including Alaska, Africa, Australia and Patagonia. Dr. Anderson was born in Bryn Mawr, Pa., and served as an Army demolitions expert before he entered Oregon State University, where he wanted to prepare for a career as a forest ranger.
But he changed majors and earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1965. He then received a doctorate in anatomy from the University of Oregon School of Medicine, graduating in 1970.
He started his career at the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center, where he worked with an electron microscope, an instrument that would allow him to study cells in great detail.
In 1973, he became an assistant professor at UT Southwestern. He became a professor in eight years.
At UT Southwestern, he worked with two biochemists, Dr. Michael S. Brown and Dr. Joseph L. Goldstein, who were researching cholesterol metabolism.
"The two of us were extremely fortunate in 1974 to find that young Dick Anderson had joined our faculty," the Nobel laureates said in a prepared statement.
The biochemists made new insight into cholesterol metabolism. "But we had no idea how it actually worked," they said.
"Dick brought the culture and methods of cell biology to our research," the doctors said "He agreed to collaborate with us, and the rest is history."
Cholesterol would be hard to control without knowing its specific path into the cell, Dr. Grinnell said.
"You couldn't control how much went in or how fast it went in," he said.
Dr. Anderson found the pathway through the cell membrane, "and Brown and Goldstein worked out all the biochemistry and molecular biology and the medical relevance of that," Dr. Grinnell said. "And that's what they got the Nobel Prize for."
In the late 1980s, Dr. Anderson discovered another pathway, one that folic acid takes to enter a cell. He coined the word potocytosis to describe the process.
Last fall, Dr. Anderson stepped down as chairman of the cell biology department, but he continued to teach and do research.
In December, he went on medical leave and moved to his second home, a condominium in Portland.
In addition to his wife, Dr. Anderson is survived by a daughter, Amber Ann Anderson of Page, Ariz.; two brothers, Dr. William M. Anderson III of Harrisburg, Pa.; and Charles C. Anderson of Portland; and one grandchild.
Another daughter, Heidi Anderson, died about three years ago.
Memorials may be made to the Heidi H. Anderson Early Childhood Education Fund in care of the Oregon Community Foundation, 1221 S.W. Yamhill St., Suite 100, Portland, Ore. 97205.
Dallas Morning News 26 MARCH 2011
Richard Gilpin Wood Anderson's pioneering work in cell biology helped two of his UT Southwestern Medical Center colleagues receive the 1985 Nobel Prize for medicine with their findings on cholesterol metabolism. His research also created broad fields of study into the locations and mechanisms by which cells take in molecules. Dr. Anderson, 70, died March 19 of brain cancer at his second home in Portland, Oregon. A private celebration of his life will be held next month in Dallas. "This is a guy who, while he did really great science, was always out on the edge in the way he traveled and the way he engaged life," said Fred Grinnell, chairman of the cell biology department at UT Southwestern. Dr. Anderson was passionate about his work, but his family was foremost in his life, said Dr. Grinnell, a friend and colleague of nearly 40 years. "He was a real outdoors person," Dr. Grinnell said. "He really loved the outdoors in a way that was remarkable." Dr. Anderson was a hang-glider pilot who grew his own vegetables and rode a motor scooter to work. He and his wife, Barbara Forsythe Anderson, went on back-country excursions in locations including Alaska, Africa, Australia and Patagonia. Dr. Anderson was born in Bryn Mawr, Pa., and served as an Army demolitions expert before he entered Oregon State University, where he wanted to prepare for a career as a forest ranger.
But he changed majors and earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1965. He then received a doctorate in anatomy from the University of Oregon School of Medicine, graduating in 1970.
He started his career at the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center, where he worked with an electron microscope, an instrument that would allow him to study cells in great detail.
In 1973, he became an assistant professor at UT Southwestern. He became a professor in eight years.
At UT Southwestern, he worked with two biochemists, Dr. Michael S. Brown and Dr. Joseph L. Goldstein, who were researching cholesterol metabolism.
"The two of us were extremely fortunate in 1974 to find that young Dick Anderson had joined our faculty," the Nobel laureates said in a prepared statement.
The biochemists made new insight into cholesterol metabolism. "But we had no idea how it actually worked," they said.
"Dick brought the culture and methods of cell biology to our research," the doctors said "He agreed to collaborate with us, and the rest is history."
Cholesterol would be hard to control without knowing its specific path into the cell, Dr. Grinnell said.
"You couldn't control how much went in or how fast it went in," he said.
Dr. Anderson found the pathway through the cell membrane, "and Brown and Goldstein worked out all the biochemistry and molecular biology and the medical relevance of that," Dr. Grinnell said. "And that's what they got the Nobel Prize for."
In the late 1980s, Dr. Anderson discovered another pathway, one that folic acid takes to enter a cell. He coined the word potocytosis to describe the process.
Last fall, Dr. Anderson stepped down as chairman of the cell biology department, but he continued to teach and do research.
In December, he went on medical leave and moved to his second home, a condominium in Portland.
In addition to his wife, Dr. Anderson is survived by a daughter, Amber Ann Anderson of Page, Ariz.; two brothers, Dr. William M. Anderson III of Harrisburg, Pa.; and Charles C. Anderson of Portland; and one grandchild.
Another daughter, Heidi Anderson, died about three years ago.
Memorials may be made to the Heidi H. Anderson Early Childhood Education Fund in care of the Oregon Community Foundation, 1221 S.W. Yamhill St., Suite 100, Portland, Ore. 97205.
RICHARD GILPIN WOOD ANDERSON, A DALLAS CELL BIOLOGIST WHO UNLOCKED MEDICAL MYSTERIES DIES AT 70:
Dallas Morning News 26 MARCH 2011
Richard Gilpin Wood Anderson's pioneering work in cell biology helped two of his UT Southwestern Medical Center colleagues receive the 1985 Nobel Prize for medicine with their findings on cholesterol metabolism. His research also created broad fields of study into the locations and mechanisms by which cells take in molecules. Dr. Anderson, 70, died March 19 of brain cancer at his second home in Portland, Oregon. A private celebration of his life will be held next month in Dallas. "This is a guy who, while he did really great science, was always out on the edge in the way he traveled and the way he engaged life," said Fred Grinnell, chairman of the cell biology department at UT Southwestern. Dr. Anderson was passionate about his work, but his family was foremost in his life, said Dr. Grinnell, a friend and colleague of nearly 40 years. "He was a real outdoors person," Dr. Grinnell said. "He really loved the outdoors in a way that was remarkable." Dr. Anderson was a hang-glider pilot who grew his own vegetables and rode a motor scooter to work. He and his wife, Barbara Forsythe Anderson, went on back-country excursions in locations including Alaska, Africa, Australia and Patagonia. Dr. Anderson was born in Bryn Mawr, Pa., and served as an Army demolitions expert before he entered Oregon State University, where he wanted to prepare for a career as a forest ranger.
But he changed majors and earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1965. He then received a doctorate in anatomy from the University of Oregon School of Medicine, graduating in 1970.
He started his career at the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center, where he worked with an electron microscope, an instrument that would allow him to study cells in great detail.
In 1973, he became an assistant professor at UT Southwestern. He became a professor in eight years.
At UT Southwestern, he worked with two biochemists, Dr. Michael S. Brown and Dr. Joseph L. Goldstein, who were researching cholesterol metabolism.
"The two of us were extremely fortunate in 1974 to find that young Dick Anderson had joined our faculty," the Nobel laureates said in a prepared statement.
The biochemists made new insight into cholesterol metabolism. "But we had no idea how it actually worked," they said.
"Dick brought the culture and methods of cell biology to our research," the doctors said "He agreed to collaborate with us, and the rest is history."
Cholesterol would be hard to control without knowing its specific path into the cell, Dr. Grinnell said.
"You couldn't control how much went in or how fast it went in," he said.
Dr. Anderson found the pathway through the cell membrane, "and Brown and Goldstein worked out all the biochemistry and molecular biology and the medical relevance of that," Dr. Grinnell said. "And that's what they got the Nobel Prize for."
In the late 1980s, Dr. Anderson discovered another pathway, one that folic acid takes to enter a cell. He coined the word potocytosis to describe the process.
Last fall, Dr. Anderson stepped down as chairman of the cell biology department, but he continued to teach and do research.
In December, he went on medical leave and moved to his second home, a condominium in Portland.
In addition to his wife, Dr. Anderson is survived by a daughter, Amber Ann Anderson of Page, Ariz.; two brothers, Dr. William M. Anderson III of Harrisburg, Pa.; and Charles C. Anderson of Portland; and one grandchild.
Another daughter, Heidi Anderson, died about three years ago.
Memorials may be made to the Heidi H. Anderson Early Childhood Education Fund in care of the Oregon Community Foundation, 1221 S.W. Yamhill St., Suite 100, Portland, Ore. 97205.
Dallas Morning News 26 MARCH 2011
Richard Gilpin Wood Anderson's pioneering work in cell biology helped two of his UT Southwestern Medical Center colleagues receive the 1985 Nobel Prize for medicine with their findings on cholesterol metabolism. His research also created broad fields of study into the locations and mechanisms by which cells take in molecules. Dr. Anderson, 70, died March 19 of brain cancer at his second home in Portland, Oregon. A private celebration of his life will be held next month in Dallas. "This is a guy who, while he did really great science, was always out on the edge in the way he traveled and the way he engaged life," said Fred Grinnell, chairman of the cell biology department at UT Southwestern. Dr. Anderson was passionate about his work, but his family was foremost in his life, said Dr. Grinnell, a friend and colleague of nearly 40 years. "He was a real outdoors person," Dr. Grinnell said. "He really loved the outdoors in a way that was remarkable." Dr. Anderson was a hang-glider pilot who grew his own vegetables and rode a motor scooter to work. He and his wife, Barbara Forsythe Anderson, went on back-country excursions in locations including Alaska, Africa, Australia and Patagonia. Dr. Anderson was born in Bryn Mawr, Pa., and served as an Army demolitions expert before he entered Oregon State University, where he wanted to prepare for a career as a forest ranger.
But he changed majors and earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1965. He then received a doctorate in anatomy from the University of Oregon School of Medicine, graduating in 1970.
He started his career at the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center, where he worked with an electron microscope, an instrument that would allow him to study cells in great detail.
In 1973, he became an assistant professor at UT Southwestern. He became a professor in eight years.
At UT Southwestern, he worked with two biochemists, Dr. Michael S. Brown and Dr. Joseph L. Goldstein, who were researching cholesterol metabolism.
"The two of us were extremely fortunate in 1974 to find that young Dick Anderson had joined our faculty," the Nobel laureates said in a prepared statement.
The biochemists made new insight into cholesterol metabolism. "But we had no idea how it actually worked," they said.
"Dick brought the culture and methods of cell biology to our research," the doctors said "He agreed to collaborate with us, and the rest is history."
Cholesterol would be hard to control without knowing its specific path into the cell, Dr. Grinnell said.
"You couldn't control how much went in or how fast it went in," he said.
Dr. Anderson found the pathway through the cell membrane, "and Brown and Goldstein worked out all the biochemistry and molecular biology and the medical relevance of that," Dr. Grinnell said. "And that's what they got the Nobel Prize for."
In the late 1980s, Dr. Anderson discovered another pathway, one that folic acid takes to enter a cell. He coined the word potocytosis to describe the process.
Last fall, Dr. Anderson stepped down as chairman of the cell biology department, but he continued to teach and do research.
In December, he went on medical leave and moved to his second home, a condominium in Portland.
In addition to his wife, Dr. Anderson is survived by a daughter, Amber Ann Anderson of Page, Ariz.; two brothers, Dr. William M. Anderson III of Harrisburg, Pa.; and Charles C. Anderson of Portland; and one grandchild.
Another daughter, Heidi Anderson, died about three years ago.
Memorials may be made to the Heidi H. Anderson Early Childhood Education Fund in care of the Oregon Community Foundation, 1221 S.W. Yamhill St., Suite 100, Portland, Ore. 97205.
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