In Memoriam: Anthony W. Norman, Ph.D.

[Lauren Taggart]

It is with profound sadness that we inform you of the passing of Anthony W. Norman, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry & Biomedical Sciences at the University of California, Riverside, on June 14, 2019 at the age of 81. Anthony W. Norman was a former ASBMR Councilor, recipient of the William F. Neuman Esteemed Award and a pioneer in the study of Vitamin D. Some highlights of his career include discovering that vitamin D is converted into a steroid hormone by the body and determining that vitamin D receptors (VDR) were present in the intestine. In 1972, Dr. Norman treated the first uremic patients with the steroid hormone, produced in the Norman laboratory. He was an organizer of the Vitamin D workshops that started in 1973, including one that took place in May 2019 in New York City, USA. Dr. Norman also co-organized a special evening session on vitamin D at the ASBMR Annual Meetings. His passing is a true loss for the field of bone and vitamin D. Join us in recognizing Dr. Norman’s contributions to our field by sharing a memory on the ASBMR Website or contributing a donation in his honor.

[Guest Gordon Klein]

As a postdoctoral fellow with the late Jack Coburn at UCLA, I had the great pleasure to work in Tony's lab at Riverside for the better part of two years. My goal was to learn the assay for 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D. But I learned a lot more. I met Tony's wife, the late Helen Henry, and his post docs, including Sylvia Christakos, John Putkey, Marian Walters, among others, and especially his chief tech,June Bishop. I learned about group cohesiveness in a laboratory and what could be accomplished when people helped each other. I learned about the One Mile Club, open to all lab members who stripped one mile of rat intestine. I never qualified but was made an honorary member Supervising all this was Tony. He was always welcoming, always happy to discuss any crazy ideas that I had gotten. Helen shared his tolerance and his willingness to listen. Tony stimulated my life-long interest in vitamin D metabolism and function and I remain grateful to him and to Helen for helping my career get off the ground. 

[Guest Paul Lips]

I have got acquainted with Tony Norman during his visits to Amsterdam for the PhD thesis of Mat Jongen and for lectures on vitamin D. He was an excellent teacher and always very kind to students. I also met him several times during the planning of the Vitamin D Workshop in Delft in 2015. He was keen on the organization and the contents of the workshop to safeguard its quality.  It probably was the last workshop where he fully participated together with his wife, Helen. I have warm  memories of Tony with his always serious but friendly attitude. We lose in him an excellent scientist and a great man.    

 

Paul Lips

Amsterdam University Medical Center