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Alberto Monroy 1913–1986
ALBERT0 MONROY 1913-1 986
On the 24th of August 1986, in Woods Hole, in the evening of a weekend-day filled with work and meetings, Alberto Monroy suddenly passed away. A remarkable scientist’s odyssey abruptly ended; a career t h a t , for half a century, had enriched the science of life was st.illed; a n inspiring legacy endures. Twenty years earlier in Woods Hole, on a n August evening in 1966, he a n d I were examining with paternal pride t h e recently published, first volume of Current Topics in Developmental Biology. We had started this series because the then fledgling developmental-molecular biology needed a review platform for current research and concepts. Faced with the first volume, we thought again about the scientific and editorial responsibilities of our commitment, with expectations and apprehensions. Last year, some twenty volumes later, a s we recalled that moment, Monroy felt confident t h a t the series had served well the scientific community; the expectations had been met, the effort justified. I t was Monroy’s initiative to devote t h e present volume to mammalian development and to invite Anne McLaren and Gregorio Siracusa to be its editors. The project was important to him; not only was the topic timely and concerned with a major, burgeoning area of developmental biology in which he has been keenly interested, but also this volume was to be a turning point in the evolution of t h e series. He was enthusiastically engaged in planning it when his life was stayed. Much h a s been said and written about Monroy in the past few months. There will be official memoirs. My comments a r e personal: he was too close a friend for a dispassionate biographical account. That needs more distance in time and relationship. Alberto Monroy was born on July 26, 1913, in Palermo, Italy. He received the M.D. degree in 1937 from the University of Palermo. Like other biologists of his generation, he studied medicine because he was interested in life sciences, in biological research. By going into a n XI
xii
ALBERT0 SIONKOL’
academic profession he broke a family tradition. Few outside his closest circle knew t h a t he was born a Prince, a descendant of Hernan Cortez and of the Viceroy of Sicily. He was not concerned with superficialities of rank and pedigree; what mattered to him were solid accomplishments of lasting value. He stood out by his sincere informality, natural openmindedness, enthusiasm for science, and eagerness to learn and share his knowledge. He earned his scientific nobility through hard work, unselfish dedication to the pursuit of excellence, and integrity of mind a n d heart. His interest in embryology started when he went to work with Otto Mangold a n d continued when h e joined t h e faculty a t the University of Palermo a s a n assistant professor of anatomy. Soon after World War 11, Monroy went to Naples to head t h e physiological laboratory of the Stazione Zoologica. At a time when classical embryology was losing touch with the mainstream of science, Monroy was among the few to use biochemical approaches in his studies on eggs a n d embryos. He chose to study the sea urchin and, together with John Runnstrom of Sweden and Albert Tyler of California, helped make it into the effective research system it h a s since become. Early on he realized the significance of the nascent discipline of molecular biology and embraced it with enthusiasm and characteristic drive. By combining this new science with his knowledge of embryology, he became one of the founders and leaders of developmental biology. In 1952 he returned to Palermo a s professor and head of the Institute of Comparative Anatomy. His laboratory attracted students, young investigators, a n d a stream of visiting scientists from around t h e world. It became a mainspring of research and ideas t h a t influenced the course of developmental biology. His work and t h a t of his colleagues focused on the biochemistry of egg maturation, fertilization, and early stages of embryonic development. Monroy had a superb talent for defining the essence of problems, translating ideas into critical tests of reality, and extracting general principles from seemingly modest facts. His book “Chemistry and Physiology of Fertilization” became a cornerstone in this field and a catalyst of research for generations of biologists. In 1969 he was persuaded by t h e Italian National Research Council to move back to Naples to establish and direct the Laboratory of Molecular. Embryology a t h c o Felice. It too became a beehive of research, a magnet for scientists. It was not only Monroy’s scientific activities, but also his ability to nurture generations of gifted co-workers a n d his delight in t h e achievements of others, t h a t attracted universal respect. He was a rigorous, demanding teacher and a n encouraging mentor-an inspiring listener a s well a s a superb lecturer. Far from being a “dry” scientist, his interests were panoramic; he was a t home in literature and history, in music and a r t .
Monroy was a statesman of science, a n ambassador of developmental biology, dedicated to serving the scientific community worldwide. He was a founder of laboratories, head of professional societies, convener of international congresses and symposia. His respect for knowledge had no national boundaries, no political bias, no class limitations. To him, prejudice, dogma, a n d pretense had no place in science or i n human affairs. His wisdom and counsel were in constant demand around the world; he accepted these calls willingly, with a high sense of responsibility and with good cheer. He brought back home the latest ideas and advances in science, planted them in young minds, and saw them grow and flower. The renaissance oi’modern biology in postwar Italji and the eminence of developmental biology in modern science owe much to Alberto Monroy. I n 1976 Monroy became the director of t h e Stazione Zoologica, and his career came full cycle. There, some 30 years earlier, he and A4nna Monroy-Oddo started the scientific journey that brought him back to head this great institution. The directorship was a labor of dedicated administrative service a n d leadership, but it was also a time of undiminished scientific activity and output. It was destiny met and mission fulfilled. In t h e grand halls of the Stazione, among the echoes of Dohrn, Roux, Driesch, Herbst, Boveri, Whitman, Morgan, and Wilson, Monroy’s scholarly productivity and spectrum of interests surpassed even those of his earlier years. His legacy is a lasting mainstay in the Stazione’s course and tradition. But there was yet another special station in Monroy’s life, with strong historical-scientific links to the one in Naples, though very different in content, rhythm, and scope-the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole on Cape Cod. There, he migrated every summer and immersed himself in a deluge of scientific activity. He lectured, taught courses, worked in the 1aborat.ory and in the library. In this round-theclock great summerfest of science, among old a n d new colleagues, he felt supremely in his true element. There, his unique qualities a s int,ellectual catalyst, innovator and synthesizer of ideas, and patron of young talent flowered richest and brightest. There, his international embassy of fellowship in science achieved its greatest fulfillment and acclaim. And there, as if preordained by some supreme logic, peacefully came the end. Non est mortuus qui scic’titiatn rlir1ificavit. A. A. Moscona
On the 24th of August 1986, in Woods Hole, in the evening of a weekend-day filled with work and meetings, Alberto Monroy suddenly passed away. A remarkable scientist’s odyssey abruptly ended; a career t h a t , for half a century, had enriched the science of life was st.illed; a n inspiring legacy endures. Twenty years earlier in Woods Hole, on a n August evening in 1966, he a n d I were examining with paternal pride t h e recently published, first volume of Current Topics in Developmental Biology. We had started this series because the then fledgling developmental-molecular biology needed a review platform for current research and concepts. Faced with the first volume, we thought again about the scientific and editorial responsibilities of our commitment, with expectations and apprehensions. Last year, some twenty volumes later, a s we recalled that moment, Monroy felt confident t h a t the series had served well the scientific community; the expectations had been met, the effort justified. I t was Monroy’s initiative to devote t h e present volume to mammalian development and to invite Anne McLaren and Gregorio Siracusa to be its editors. The project was important to him; not only was the topic timely and concerned with a major, burgeoning area of developmental biology in which he has been keenly interested, but also this volume was to be a turning point in the evolution of t h e series. He was enthusiastically engaged in planning it when his life was stayed. Much h a s been said and written about Monroy in the past few months. There will be official memoirs. My comments a r e personal: he was too close a friend for a dispassionate biographical account. That needs more distance in time and relationship. Alberto Monroy was born on July 26, 1913, in Palermo, Italy. He received the M.D. degree in 1937 from the University of Palermo. Like other biologists of his generation, he studied medicine because he was interested in life sciences, in biological research. By going into a n XI
xii
ALBERT0 SIONKOL’
academic profession he broke a family tradition. Few outside his closest circle knew t h a t he was born a Prince, a descendant of Hernan Cortez and of the Viceroy of Sicily. He was not concerned with superficialities of rank and pedigree; what mattered to him were solid accomplishments of lasting value. He stood out by his sincere informality, natural openmindedness, enthusiasm for science, and eagerness to learn and share his knowledge. He earned his scientific nobility through hard work, unselfish dedication to the pursuit of excellence, and integrity of mind a n d heart. His interest in embryology started when he went to work with Otto Mangold a n d continued when h e joined t h e faculty a t the University of Palermo a s a n assistant professor of anatomy. Soon after World War 11, Monroy went to Naples to head t h e physiological laboratory of the Stazione Zoologica. At a time when classical embryology was losing touch with the mainstream of science, Monroy was among the few to use biochemical approaches in his studies on eggs a n d embryos. He chose to study the sea urchin and, together with John Runnstrom of Sweden and Albert Tyler of California, helped make it into the effective research system it h a s since become. Early on he realized the significance of the nascent discipline of molecular biology and embraced it with enthusiasm and characteristic drive. By combining this new science with his knowledge of embryology, he became one of the founders and leaders of developmental biology. In 1952 he returned to Palermo a s professor and head of the Institute of Comparative Anatomy. His laboratory attracted students, young investigators, a n d a stream of visiting scientists from around t h e world. It became a mainspring of research and ideas t h a t influenced the course of developmental biology. His work and t h a t of his colleagues focused on the biochemistry of egg maturation, fertilization, and early stages of embryonic development. Monroy had a superb talent for defining the essence of problems, translating ideas into critical tests of reality, and extracting general principles from seemingly modest facts. His book “Chemistry and Physiology of Fertilization” became a cornerstone in this field and a catalyst of research for generations of biologists. In 1969 he was persuaded by t h e Italian National Research Council to move back to Naples to establish and direct the Laboratory of Molecular. Embryology a t h c o Felice. It too became a beehive of research, a magnet for scientists. It was not only Monroy’s scientific activities, but also his ability to nurture generations of gifted co-workers a n d his delight in t h e achievements of others, t h a t attracted universal respect. He was a rigorous, demanding teacher and a n encouraging mentor-an inspiring listener a s well a s a superb lecturer. Far from being a “dry” scientist, his interests were panoramic; he was a t home in literature and history, in music and a r t .
Monroy was a statesman of science, a n ambassador of developmental biology, dedicated to serving the scientific community worldwide. He was a founder of laboratories, head of professional societies, convener of international congresses and symposia. His respect for knowledge had no national boundaries, no political bias, no class limitations. To him, prejudice, dogma, a n d pretense had no place in science or i n human affairs. His wisdom and counsel were in constant demand around the world; he accepted these calls willingly, with a high sense of responsibility and with good cheer. He brought back home the latest ideas and advances in science, planted them in young minds, and saw them grow and flower. The renaissance oi’modern biology in postwar Italji and the eminence of developmental biology in modern science owe much to Alberto Monroy. I n 1976 Monroy became the director of t h e Stazione Zoologica, and his career came full cycle. There, some 30 years earlier, he and A4nna Monroy-Oddo started the scientific journey that brought him back to head this great institution. The directorship was a labor of dedicated administrative service a n d leadership, but it was also a time of undiminished scientific activity and output. It was destiny met and mission fulfilled. In t h e grand halls of the Stazione, among the echoes of Dohrn, Roux, Driesch, Herbst, Boveri, Whitman, Morgan, and Wilson, Monroy’s scholarly productivity and spectrum of interests surpassed even those of his earlier years. His legacy is a lasting mainstay in the Stazione’s course and tradition. But there was yet another special station in Monroy’s life, with strong historical-scientific links to the one in Naples, though very different in content, rhythm, and scope-the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole on Cape Cod. There, he migrated every summer and immersed himself in a deluge of scientific activity. He lectured, taught courses, worked in the 1aborat.ory and in the library. In this round-theclock great summerfest of science, among old a n d new colleagues, he felt supremely in his true element. There, his unique qualities a s int,ellectual catalyst, innovator and synthesizer of ideas, and patron of young talent flowered richest and brightest. There, his international embassy of fellowship in science achieved its greatest fulfillment and acclaim. And there, as if preordained by some supreme logic, peacefully came the end. Non est mortuus qui scic’titiatn rlir1ificavit. A. A. Moscona