Obituaries

Marian Elliott Koshland

Noted immunologist and educator Marian Elliott Koshland, professor of molecular and cell biology, died Oct. 28 of lung cancer at Alta Bates Medical Center in Berkeley. She was 76.

An international leader in immunological research, Koshland was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and past president of the American Association of Immunologists, as well as a past member of the National Science Board of the National Science Foundation. She also served on various national science committees and on the editorial boards of several research publications.

Koshland published some 200 articles in the scientific literature, among them the major finding that antibodies differ in their amino acid composition. This was a decisive argument for the now-accepted selection theory of antibody diversity and against the instruction theory.

Her most recent work investigated how cellular hormones called cytokines regulate gene expression in cells of the immune system.

Born in New Haven, Conn., in 1921, she earned a PhD in immunology in 1949 from the University of Chicago. During World War II she was a member of a research team that produced a vaccine for cholera and later was a researcher on the Manhattan Project based in Oak Ridge, Tenn. After a two-year post-doctoral stint at Harvard Medical School, she worked as a bacteriologist at Brookhaven National Laboratory for 13 years. She came to campus in 1965 as a researcher and lecturer and joined the faculty in 1970.

During her more than 30 years at Berkeley, she served as chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology from 1982 to 1989. At the time of her death she was head of the Graduate Affairs Division of the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology. She continued active research in her laboratory until recent weeks despite her illness.

Among her research achievements was discovery of the J chain, a key chain in antibody structure that allows antibodies to be exported from the cell and to circulate in the bloodstream to provide the immune response.

She received an Excellence in Science Award from the Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology in 1989 and a National Institutes of Health Merit Award.

Koshland is survived by her husband of 52 years, Daniel E. Koshland Jr. of Lafayette, professor emeritus of molecular and cell biology and past editor of the journal Science; five children, Ellen, Phyllis, James, Gail and Douglas; and nine grandchildren.

A campus memorial service will be held Monday, Dec. 1, from 5 to 7 p.m., in the Berkeley Art Museum. Donations in Koshland's memory may be sent to the Graduate Fund, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, 597 Life Sciences Annex, MC 3200. Checks should be made out to the UC Regents.


Mary Elizabeth Hoole

Mary Elizabeth Hoole of University Relations died Oct. 4 at age 50 from cancer.

In her 19 years of service to the campus, she held a variety of administrative positions in human resources, gift policy and administration and trustee affairs. At the time of her death, she was manager of Gift Policy and Stewardship.

Hoole's colleagues in University Relations, campuswide and in the UC Office of the President, remember her steadfast commitment to the campus and its supporters, as well as the example she set by her dedication and professional standards.

Her extensive knowledge of the university made her an invaluable resource, not only in aspects of university history and policy, but also in the culture and traditions that exemplify Berkeley.

Hoole "illuminated the humanity that is sometimes hidden in this large institution," said her supervisor, Fran Baxter Guigli, director of Development Services.

A longtime member of the Berkeley Staff Assembly, Hoole chaired BSA's career development committee and was instrumental in the development of its Career Development Handbook published in 1993. She also took part in the noontime walking group, rarely missing her three-day-a-week commitment despite her demanding schedule.

A resident of the East Bay since 1958, Hoole graduated from Berkeley in 1969 with a degree in Slavic languages and literatures. She was a VISTA volunteer and a legal secretary before joining University Relations in 1978.

She served on the board of directors of the New Arts Foundation in support of Nancy Karp + Dancers and was an active parish member at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Oakland. She also enjoyed volunteering as an usher for many performing arts organizations.

Hoole is survived by an aunt, cousins and many friends. Memorial contributions may be made to any charity or to the Doris P. and Robert F. Hoole Scholarship in Letters and Science, which Hoole established in memory of her parents. Contributions to the fund may be sent to University Relations, 2440 Bancroft Way, MC 4200.

   


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