Harper's Review of Biochemistry

Harper's Review of Biochemistry Authors: David W. Martin, Jr. Peter A. Mayes & Victor W. Rodwell ISBN-13: 9780870410376 ISBN-10: 0870410377 Edition: 19th Revised edition Publisher: Lange Medical Publications Paperback 7.2 x 10.3 inches, 638 pages Harold A. Harper was born in San Francisco in 1911, and graduated in 1933 from the University of San Francisco with a B.Sc. degree. He pursued his education in biochemistry and completed a Ph.D. at the University of Southern California in 1941. As a biochemist, his research focused on the biochemistry of amino acid metabolism and nutrition and he is remembered for his skill in translating biochemistry to a variety of audiences "with clarity and erudition, but without professional compromise." His interest in amino acids led him to crusade against quack treatments for cancer in the 1960s and 1970s. He taught biochemistry to students from all four schools and the Graduate Division at UCSF and during the turbulent 1960s was twice selected medical school Teacher of the Year. In 1959 he wrote the first of many editions of the textbook, Harpers Physiological Chemistry, later Harper's Biochemistry. Under his editorship this popular volume went through many editions and was published in a dozen languages. Dr Harper is remembered for his energy and enthusiasm as an advocate for basic science instruction. He was a tireless teacher who never took a sabbatical, and a violin player who remained interested in symphony, opera and ballet. He was a member of the California Academy of Sciences at San Francisco, and received the Health Professors Society Award in 1985, when he was praised as a "teacher's teacher….exemplary, full of wisdom, direction, encouragement and curiosity." He retired as Professor emeritus in 1979 and stepped down as Dean of the Graduate Division in 1980. He died in 1989.