Paul Marks (scientist)

Paul Marks
Paul Marks
Born	August 16, 1926; Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, US
Died	April 28, 2020 (aged 93); Manhattan, New York, US
Alma mater	Columbia Medical School;
Known for	Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research
	Scientific career
Institutions	Columbia University; National Institutes of Health; Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center;

Paul Alan Marks (August 16, 1926 – April 28, 2020) was a medical doctor, researcher and administrator. He was a faculty member and president at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.[1][2]

Background

Marks was born in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, in 1926, to Robert Marks and Sarah Bohorad.[3] Marks attended Columbia College and Columbia Medical School. After completing postdoctoral research at the United States National Institutes of Health and at the Institut Pasteur in France, he joined the faculty at Columbia University. Marks served as dean of the Medical Faculty at Columbia University from 1970 to 1973.[4] He was president and chief executive officer at Memorial Sloan Kettering from 1980 until 1999.[4] Marks died at his Manhattan home from pulmonary fibrosis and lung cancer on April 28, 2020 at the age of 93. [3]

Scholarly activities

Marks contributed to the fields of genetics and oncology.[4] His recent work was focused on histone deacetylases (HDACs) and chemicals that interfere with HDAC enzymatic activities (HDAC inhibitors or HDIs). Marks and others found that drugs such as Trichostatin A and SAHA (vorinostat) can serve as anticancer agents.[5]

Marks published more than 400 scientific articles and was the editor-in-chief of journals including the Journal of Clinical Investigation and Blood.[6]

Honors and affiliations

Member, National Academy of Sciences[4]
Member, Institute of Medicine[4]
Recipient, President's National Medal of Science[6]
Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences[4]
Fellow, The American Philosophical Society[6]

Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research

The Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research was established by Memorial Sloan Kettering to honor Marks's contributions "as a distinguished scientist and leader".[4] The prize has been awarded every two years since 2001.

Works

editor, Cancer Research in the People's Republic of China and the United States of America (1981)

References

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center biography
Businessweek profile
Schwartz, John (May 5, 2020). "Paul Marks, Who Brought Sloan Kettering to Greatness, Dies at 93". The New York Times. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
MSKCC Paul Marks Prize website
Marks, P. A.; Breslow, R. (2007). "Dimethyl sulfoxide to vorinostat: Development of this histone deacetylase inhibitor as an anticancer drug". Nature Biotechnology. 25 (1): 84–90. doi:10.1038/nbt1272. PMID 17211407.
PTC Therapeutics Archived 2014-10-02 at the Wayback Machine

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[1] Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center biography

[2] Businessweek profile

[nytimes-3] Schwartz, John (May 5, 2020). "Paul Marks, Who Brought Sloan Kettering to Greatness, Dies at 93". The New York Times. Retrieved May 5, 2020.

[Prize-4] MSKCC Paul Marks Prize website

[pmid17211407-5] Marks, P. A.; Breslow, R. (2007). "Dimethyl sulfoxide to vorinostat: Development of this histone deacetylase inhibitor as an anticancer drug". Nature Biotechnology. 25 (1): 84–90. doi:10.1038/nbt1272. PMID 17211407.

[PTC-6] PTC Therapeutics Archived 2014-10-02 at the Wayback Machine