- Email: [email protected]
Memorial: Jose M. Saez, M.D. (1934–2003)
Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology 229 (2005) 1–2
Personal report
Memorial: Jose M. Saez, M.D. (1934–2003)
Jose Maria Saez died accidentally on November 29, 2003, at the age of 69. A brilliant mind, devoted to his work, he contributed to major advances in the field of endocrinology, cell differentiation and reproduction. Native of the province of Burgos, Spain, Jose Saez studied medicine in Madrid, where he obtained his M.D. in 1961. His specialization in pediatrics and endocrinology, his passion for scientific research and his thirst for knowledge and discovery, brought him rapidly to the Institut National de la Sant´e et la Recherche Medicale (INSERM) Unit 34, where he worked under the direction of Dr. Jean Bertrand in Lyon, France, and subsequently to the laboratory of Dr. Claude Migeon, at John Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA, where he was a fellow for 18 months. Recruited by the INSERM in 1964, he would spend his entire career in this institution, promoted successively to the position of “Directeur de classe exceptionnelle” in 1992 and that of Director Emeritus in 1999. At the heart of his research was the puzzling question of the regulation of the differentiated functions of steroidogenic cells, “cellules esteroidog`enes”, as he used to call them in French, with an accent spiced with an iberic tune. This subject was the common thread of the work of Jose Saez, who always carried out his studies with a clinical perspective in mind, and based his hypotheses on outstanding fundamental research.
0303-7207/$ – see front matter doi:10.1016/j.mce.2004.06.009
His initial studies belonged to the investigative fields opened at the time by the development of new radioimmunologic and hormone receptor binding methods. His work demonstrated that receptors of polypeptide hormones in steroidogenic cells could be positively or negatively regulated by their own ligands and other cellular messenger molecules. Among those, growth factors, and in particular IGF-1, were extensively studied in the laboratory of Jose Saez, both at the basic biology and clinical levels, the later in collaboration with clinical research networks. In order to analyze the mechanisms involved in the desensitization and hypersensitization of the target cell, Jose Saez and his collaborators developed unique primary cell culture models, such as the purified immature porcine Leydig cells and the bovine fasciculate adrenocortical cells cultures. Over the years, these models, still used by scientists, have contributed to the discovery and rigorous analysis of regulatory mechanisms involved in receptor activation and signal transduction pathways. In addition, these paradigms have permitted to establish that Leydig cell functions are controlled by other testicular cell types, especially the Sertoli cells. This discovery opened new horizons in the field of research dedicated to the intratesticular dialogue, and propelled Jose Saez to the position of pioneer in the field of the testicular paracrinology. Jose Saez was also instrumental in the advancement of endocrinology in all aspects of biological research, including integrative, cellular and molecular biology. He contributed to the increased renown of the scientific institutions of the Lyon area, by creating successively two INSERM Units that he directed for 20 years, and funding and directing the Federative Institute of Research in Endocrinology at Lyon. He was an active member of the French Endocrine Society, in which he held the positions of scientific director and president. Internationally renowned, he was one of the founders of the European Testis Workshop, a member of numerous scientific societies, including the American Endocrine Society, and of the editorial boards of several journals (Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology, Endocrine, Endocrinology. . .). His contribution to the flourishing fields of endocrinology and reproduction is also reflected in the large number of students and postdoctoral fellows trained in his laboratory, and
2
Personal report / Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology 229 (2005) 1–2
in the many visiting scientists, French as well as foreign, Europeans, Africans, South and North Americans, who went on to become prominent scientists all over the world. In this regard, three present directors of INSERM Units were trained in his laboratory. In 2001, he was offered to develop and direct the Biomedical Research Foundation of the Medical Center of Vall d’Hebron in Barcelona, Spain, a position that he embraced with enthusiasm. He was performing this new mission with his well-known dynamism and resolve, and everyone was saluting, once again, the modernity, efficiency and dedication he was demonstrating in this new endeavor. Jose Saez displayed high standards of integrity and moral values in science as well as in his relations with people, and deeply valued such principals in others. He will be remembered by his numerous students and collaborators as
an example for intellectual rigor and sharpness, and for his passion for research and his constant availability for others. Jose lived intensely his life, with an unlimited love and dedication for medicine, science and life in general. Ren´e Habert∗ INSERM U 566/CEA/University Paris 7 Route du Panoram - BP6 92265 Fontenay aux Roses, France Vassilios Papadopoulos Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA ∗ Corresponding
author. Tel.: +33 1 46 54 94 99 fax: +33 1 46 54 99 06 E-mail address: [email protected] (R. Habert)
Personal report
Memorial: Jose M. Saez, M.D. (1934–2003)
Jose Maria Saez died accidentally on November 29, 2003, at the age of 69. A brilliant mind, devoted to his work, he contributed to major advances in the field of endocrinology, cell differentiation and reproduction. Native of the province of Burgos, Spain, Jose Saez studied medicine in Madrid, where he obtained his M.D. in 1961. His specialization in pediatrics and endocrinology, his passion for scientific research and his thirst for knowledge and discovery, brought him rapidly to the Institut National de la Sant´e et la Recherche Medicale (INSERM) Unit 34, where he worked under the direction of Dr. Jean Bertrand in Lyon, France, and subsequently to the laboratory of Dr. Claude Migeon, at John Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA, where he was a fellow for 18 months. Recruited by the INSERM in 1964, he would spend his entire career in this institution, promoted successively to the position of “Directeur de classe exceptionnelle” in 1992 and that of Director Emeritus in 1999. At the heart of his research was the puzzling question of the regulation of the differentiated functions of steroidogenic cells, “cellules esteroidog`enes”, as he used to call them in French, with an accent spiced with an iberic tune. This subject was the common thread of the work of Jose Saez, who always carried out his studies with a clinical perspective in mind, and based his hypotheses on outstanding fundamental research.
0303-7207/$ – see front matter doi:10.1016/j.mce.2004.06.009
His initial studies belonged to the investigative fields opened at the time by the development of new radioimmunologic and hormone receptor binding methods. His work demonstrated that receptors of polypeptide hormones in steroidogenic cells could be positively or negatively regulated by their own ligands and other cellular messenger molecules. Among those, growth factors, and in particular IGF-1, were extensively studied in the laboratory of Jose Saez, both at the basic biology and clinical levels, the later in collaboration with clinical research networks. In order to analyze the mechanisms involved in the desensitization and hypersensitization of the target cell, Jose Saez and his collaborators developed unique primary cell culture models, such as the purified immature porcine Leydig cells and the bovine fasciculate adrenocortical cells cultures. Over the years, these models, still used by scientists, have contributed to the discovery and rigorous analysis of regulatory mechanisms involved in receptor activation and signal transduction pathways. In addition, these paradigms have permitted to establish that Leydig cell functions are controlled by other testicular cell types, especially the Sertoli cells. This discovery opened new horizons in the field of research dedicated to the intratesticular dialogue, and propelled Jose Saez to the position of pioneer in the field of the testicular paracrinology. Jose Saez was also instrumental in the advancement of endocrinology in all aspects of biological research, including integrative, cellular and molecular biology. He contributed to the increased renown of the scientific institutions of the Lyon area, by creating successively two INSERM Units that he directed for 20 years, and funding and directing the Federative Institute of Research in Endocrinology at Lyon. He was an active member of the French Endocrine Society, in which he held the positions of scientific director and president. Internationally renowned, he was one of the founders of the European Testis Workshop, a member of numerous scientific societies, including the American Endocrine Society, and of the editorial boards of several journals (Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology, Endocrine, Endocrinology. . .). His contribution to the flourishing fields of endocrinology and reproduction is also reflected in the large number of students and postdoctoral fellows trained in his laboratory, and
2
Personal report / Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology 229 (2005) 1–2
in the many visiting scientists, French as well as foreign, Europeans, Africans, South and North Americans, who went on to become prominent scientists all over the world. In this regard, three present directors of INSERM Units were trained in his laboratory. In 2001, he was offered to develop and direct the Biomedical Research Foundation of the Medical Center of Vall d’Hebron in Barcelona, Spain, a position that he embraced with enthusiasm. He was performing this new mission with his well-known dynamism and resolve, and everyone was saluting, once again, the modernity, efficiency and dedication he was demonstrating in this new endeavor. Jose Saez displayed high standards of integrity and moral values in science as well as in his relations with people, and deeply valued such principals in others. He will be remembered by his numerous students and collaborators as
an example for intellectual rigor and sharpness, and for his passion for research and his constant availability for others. Jose lived intensely his life, with an unlimited love and dedication for medicine, science and life in general. Ren´e Habert∗ INSERM U 566/CEA/University Paris 7 Route du Panoram - BP6 92265 Fontenay aux Roses, France Vassilios Papadopoulos Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA ∗ Corresponding
author. Tel.: +33 1 46 54 94 99 fax: +33 1 46 54 99 06 E-mail address: [email protected] (R. Habert)