Eduardo De Robertis (1913–1988)

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OBITUARY

Eduardo De Robertis (1913-1988) Professor De Robertis died in Buenos Aires on May 31 of 1988. He was a distinguished contributor to Brain Research and one of the most inspiring members of the neuroscience community. His classical works on the organization, chemistry and pharmacology of the synapse have been true milestones in our current understanding of neuron-to-neuron communication. Eduardo Patricio De Robertis was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1913, the son of a humble Italian immigrant. He was proud of his family traditions and always made a point of speaking in Italian when the occasion permitted. A graduate in Medicine from Buenos Aires University in 1938 with the highest marks of his class, he financed his graduate training as a Demonstrator in the Department of Histology of the same Medical School. He completed a Doctoral Thesis with Professor Rojas on the 'Histophysiology of the liver cells', for which he was given the 'Mitre' award. He was encouraged to go abroad by Professor Bernardo Houssay, who was confident of his potential as a leading investigator~ With support from the Rockefeller and Guggenheim Foundations, he went to the United States to join research laboratories in Johns Hopkins and Chicago Universities, as well as the Massachussetts Institute of Technology, with an intervening period in Argentina. During those stints in the USA, he provided the first experimental evidence for the secreting polarity of thyroid cells by isolating via micromanipulation the follicular contents. Together with Dr. Schmidt, he provided some of the early ultrastructural evidence for fibriUar organizations of axons and, with Dr. Bennett, he reported simultaneously with Palay and Palade, the existence of 'synaptic vesicles' on nerve terminals. These structures were correctly interpreted as the morphological counterpart of the transmitter 'quanta' previously proposed by Katz and Del Castillo as being responsible for the miniature end plate potentials. Dr. De Robertis selected the earthworm neural ganglia as more amenable material for electron microscopy, according to contemporary techniques. As a matter of historical curiosity, these earthworms were dug from Dr. Bennett's backyard. In the early fifties, Dr. De Robertis was asked to direct the first laboratory of Electron Microscopy in Latin America at the University of Montevideo (Uruguay). From that period, the first ultrastructural evidence emerged that secretory material from the adrenal medulla cells is released upon stimulation by the fusion of the granules with the plasma membrane, a mechanism which today is fully accepted and referred to as 'exocytotic release'. Dr. De Robertis returned to Argentina in 1957 at a time when the University of Buenos Aires was experiencing a 'renaissance'. Along with him, a large number of scientists and teachers returned to the country, thanks to the fresh breeze of an incipient democracy and a long awaited emphasis on the value of world class scientific research. While in the Chair of Histology, his impact was consider-

409 able. He assembled a formidable research team under the umbrella of the 'Instituto de Biologla Celniar'. At one time under a single roof, there were among others, David Sabatini (now Chairman of Anatomy at NYU), Hems Oerschenfeld (presently at the Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris), Amaldo Lasansky (presently at the NIH, Baltimore) and Amanda Pellegrino de Iraldi (Emeritus Professor of Buenos Aires University). Dr. De Robertis was able to attract important support from the USA, particularly from the NIH and the US Air Force, for which he was strongly criticized by very vocal student groups. Despite resistance from extreme political groups, Dr. De Robertis was able to consolidate a first class research institution. It was during those years that the isolation of the synaptic vesicles was attempted with nearly religious fervour. As medical students, we were not spared the excitement of this saga and today, this is an 'old story'. Synaptosomes and synaptic vesicles are everyday contemporary concepts in the neurosciences. His contribution to the field of neurochemistry and electron microscopy was influential in tipping the balance definitively in favour of 'chemical transmission', as opposed to 'electrical transmission'. The peak of Dr. De Robertis' career was reached when he proposed a unitary neurohumoral theory, formally presented in his book 'Histophysiology of Synapses and Neurosecretion' (Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1964). His overall scientific accomplishments have already been praised by one of his disciples, the present Dean of the Buenos Aires School of Medicine, Professor Jaim-Etcheverry on the occasion of Dr. De Robertis' 70th birthday (TINS, May 1987). Dr. De Robertis' scientific accomplishments have been recognized by his many awards and he directly taught or influenced a large number of Argentinian neuroscientists. Professor De Robertis is survived by his daughter Maria Christina (living in Toulon, France) and his son Edward, currently Professor of Molecular Oncology at UCLA. Scientifically, he is also survived by his disciples spread throughout Argentina, the United States, Canada, England, France, Spain and other countries. In addition to his scientific accomplishments, he will be remembered as a man of great dignity, who overcame unfavourable social and political circumstances, in order to establish a solid platform for young scientists to develop their full potential. A. CLAUDIO CUELLO Department of Pharmacology McGfll University 1988