Paul Zamecnik

Paul Charles Zamecnik (November 22, 1912 – October 27, 2009) was an American scientist who played a central role in the early history of molecular biology. He was a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a senior scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Zamecnik pioneered the

Throughout his career, Zamecnik earned over a dozen US patents for his therapeutic techniques. Up until his death in 2009 he maintained a lab at MGH where he studied the application of synthetic oligonucleotides (antisense hybrids) for chemotherapeutic treatment of drug resistant and XDR tuberculosis in his later years.

Early life

Paul Zamecnik was born in

He attended Dartmouth College, majored in chemistry and zoology, and received his AB degree in 1933. He then attended Harvard Medical School and received his MD degree in 1936. Between 1936 and 1939, he worked at Collis P. Huntington Memorial Hospital in Boston, Harvard Medical School, and Lakeside Hospital in Cleveland.^[8]

Career

During his Lakeside Hospital internship, Zamecnik became interested in how cells regulate growth, and hence, in

Paul Zamecnik is generally regarded as the founder of antisense therapy.^[10]

Zamecnik authored or co-authored 210 peer-reviewed scientific articles. He won many distinguished awards, including the

Zamecnik died on October 27, 2009, at his home in Boston. He was 96 years old.[11]

References