Obituary pubs.acs.org/crt
■
REFERENCES
(1) Conney, A. H., Miller, E. C., and Miller, J. A. (1956) The metabolism of methylated aminoazo dyes. V. Evidence for induction of enzyme synthesis in the rat by 3-methylcholanthrene. Cancer Res. 16, 450−459. (2) Conney, A. H. (1967) Pharmacological implications of microsomal enzyme induction. Pharmacol. Rev. 19, 317−366. (3) Conney, A. H. (1982) Induction of microsomal enzymes by foreign chemicals and carcinogenesis by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: G. H. A. Clowes Memorial Lecture. Cancer Res. 42, 4875− 4917. (4) Conney, A. H. (2003) Induction of drug-metabolizing enzymes: A path to the discovery of multiple cytochromes P450. Annu. Rev. Pharmacol. Toxicol. 43, 1−30.
I
t is with regret that we report the death of Allan H. Conney, a major figure in this field, on September 10, 2013. Allan Conney was born in Chicago in 1930. After receiving a B.S. in Pharmacy from the University of Wisconsin in 1952, he subsequently received his Ph.D. at the McArdle Institute, working with Professors James and Elizabeth Miller. During that time, he did pioneering studies that are now considered some of the first demonstrating enzyme induction of cytochrome P450, using 3-methylcholanthrene.1 He then did postdoctoral studies at the National Institutes of Health and studied drug metabolism. Much of his career was spent in the pharmaceutical industry, first at Burroughs-Wellcome and then Hoffman-LaRoche. During this time, his group provided major insights into several aspects of drug metabolism, including much of the early evidence that multiple cytochrome P450 enzymes exist and have distinct substrate specificity. He also did early pioneering work on the stimulation of cytochrome P450 enzyme activities by chemicals, both in vitro and in vivo. His thesis and subsequent studies with the cytochrome P450 enzymes led to a growing interest in chemical carcinogenesis. In the early 1970s, he began a comprehensive project in collaboration with the late Dr. Donald Jerina of the National Institutes of Health on the bioactivation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. This work led to much of our current understanding of these compounds, including the bay-region diol epoxide pathways. The work on mechanisms of carcinogenesis naturally led to studies on cancer prevention, which he continued following his move to Rutgers University in 1987 as Chairman of the new Department of Chemical Biology, a post he held until 2002. He still continued to do research primarily on cancer prevention until his death, having published 538 primary articles, reviews, and book chapters. His enthusiasm for research, particularly in the area of drug and carcinogen metabolism, encouraged many colleagues and younger investigators to pursue similar goals and was crucial in the support and development of our field. Allan Conney was President of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (1983−1984) and elected into membership of the National Academy of Sciences in 1982. For more extensive accounts of his research in early career,2 midcareer,3 and later years,4 see the indicated review articles. © XXXX American Chemical Society
Received: September 30, 2013 Accepted: October 3, 2013 A
dx.doi.org/10.1021/tx400361y | Chem. Res. Toxicol. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX
