Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Morris E. Friedkin Papers
- Dates:
- 1919 - 1992
- Creators:
- Friedkin, Morris E. (Morris Enton), 1918-2002
- Abstract:
- Papers of Morris Friedkin, American biochemist, professor and university administrator. His research interests included folic acid metabolism, cancer chemotherapy, enzymology, DNA synthesis, biochemical dynamics of the cell cycle, pharmacology, and positron emission tomography. Materials include laboratory notebooks, loose notes, data, chemical and research product subject files; reprints and typescripts of published and unpublished writings by Friedkin; documents related to grants and fellowships; annotated writings by others; and correspondence. Also included are course materials and notes from Friedkin's time as student at Iowa State College and at University of Chicago; and teaching materials and administrative materials from his time as a faculty member and/or administrator at Washington University, Tufts University, and the University of California, San Diego.
- Extent:
- 12.3 Linear feet (26 archives boxes and 16 oversize folders)
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
-
Morris E. Friedkin Papers, MSS 524. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The Morris E. Friedkin Papers document the professional career of the American biochemist whose research interests throughout his lifetime included folic acid metabolism, cancer chemotherapy, enzymology, DNA synthesis, the biochemical dynamics of the cell cycle and cell growth, pharmacology, the use of radioactively-labeled molecules in biochemical research, and positron emission tomography. Materials reflecting Friedkin's scientific activities include an extensive but incomplete set of laboratory notebooks, documents related to specific research projects, information Friedkin collected on specific chemicals and laboratory products, loose data, miscellaneous research notes, and descriptions of laboratory techniques. Other materials include documents related to Friedkin's grants and fellowships, correspondence, reprints and typescripts of Friedkin's writings, and manuscripts or typescripts of lectures about his research. Also included are notes and materials from courses Friedkin took as an undergraduate at Iowa State College and as a graduate student at the University of Chicago. Finally, the papers contain materials related to Friedkin's teaching and administrative duties at the Washington University School of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, and the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine.
The papers are arranged in ten series: 1) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS, 2) CORRESPONDENCE, 3) EDUCATION MATERIALS, 4) GRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPS, 5) RESEARCH MATERIALS, 6) WRITINGS BY FRIEDKIN, 7) TEACHING AND ADMINISTRATIVE MATERIALS, 8) WRITINGS BY OTHERS, 9) MISCELLANEOUS MATERIALS, and 10) ORIGINALS OF PRESERVATION PHOTOCOPIES.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Morris E. Friedkin was born on December 30, 1918, in Kansas City, Missouri. Upon finishing high school in 1936, he entered Kansas City Junior College and received an A.A. in chemistry in 1938. Friedkin continued his education at Iowa State College receiving a B.S. in chemistry in 1940 and an M.S. in analytical chemistry in 1941. After completing his master's degree, he enrolled in the doctorate program in biochemistry at the University of Chicago where he was one of the first graduate students of the renowned biochemist, Albert Lehninger. In 1948, Morris Friedkin completed his Ph.D. with the submission of his dissertation entitled "Studies on Aerobic Phosophorylation." After receiving his doctorate, he continued his studies for one year as a postdoctoral fellow of the National Institutes of Health at the University of Copenhagen.
Friedkin returned to the United States in 1949 and accepted a faculty position in the Department of Pharmacology at the Washington University School of Medicine. In 1957, he joined the faculty of the Department of Pharmacology at the Tufts University School of Medicine where he also served as chair of the department in addition to his teaching and research responsibilities. In 1969, looking to devote more time to research and less to administrative duties, he moved to the Department of Biology at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine. For the remainder of his professional career at UCSD except for a short appointment as provost of Revelle College (1974-1976), Friedkin focused exclusively on research and teaching.
Throughout his career, Friedkin worked in many different areas of biochemical research usually with the aim of developing chemotherapies for medicinal application. While attending the University of Chicago, he worked as chemist on the "Penicillin Project" at the Northern Regional Research Laboratory. In 1966, the United States Army contracted with Friedkin to explore new areas in the development of drugs for malaria-resistance. Also in the 1960s, he began his career-long study of cancer chemotherapy with particular interest in the treatment of leukemia. In the course of over forty years of scientific research, Friedkin's contributions advanced scientific understanding in many areas of biochemistry including folic acid metabolism, the biochemical basis of the cell cycle and cell growth, the use of radioactively labeled molecules in biochemical research, molecular pharmacology, DNA synthesis, the structure and function of microtubules, and positron emission tomography. He published regularly in scholarly journals throughout his career and was honored with membership to the National Academy of Sciences in 1978.
Morris Friedkin retired from his position in the Department of Biology at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine in 1989. He died on September 19, 2002.
- Acquisition information:
- Not Available
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-12-22 09:20:09 -0800 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE: ALLOW TWO TO THREE (2-3) WEEKS FOR RETRIEVAL OF MATERIALS
In accordance with state and federal law, materials in Box 3, Folder 18 and Box 24, Folder 12 are restricted until 2067.
- Preferred citation:
-
Morris E. Friedkin Papers, MSS 524. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.
- Location of this collection:
-
9500 Gilman Drive, Dept. 0175La Jolla, CA 92093-0175, US
- Contact:
- (858) 534-2533