Our longtime colleague and friend Daniel M. Ziegler died in
Austin, Texas, of heart failure on November 9, 2005, at the age
of 78. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Mary Alice, and
four children: Danny, Paul, Mary Claire, and Jimmy, and eight
grandchildren.
Dan was born on July 6, 1927, on a farm in Quinter, Kansas, to
Anton and Clara Ziegler. Dan was the tenth of thirteen children,
and attended elementary, middle, and high school in Quinter.
In 1945, Dan enrolled in St. Benedict’s College in Atchison,
Kansas, earning a B.S. degree in chemistry in 1949. Dan met Mary
Alice Weir during his senior year at St. Benedict’s, and
they were married in 1952. Dan and Mary Alice moved to Chicago
where Dan entered graduate school at Loyola University. Under
the guidance of J. B. Melchior, Dan earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry
in 1955. Dan then joined the laboratory of David Green at the
Institute for Enzyme Research at the University of Wisconsin
at Madison as a postdoctoral fellow. Green’s was one of
the premier enzyme chemistry laboratories in the world, and it
started Dan on a distinguished career as one of the top enzymologists
of the 20th century. Dan joined the faculty at The University
of Texas at Austin in September 1961 as an assistant professor
in the Department of Chemistry and as a research scientist in
the Biochemical Institute. He moved quickly up the ranks, being
promoted to full professor in 1969, and in 1990 was named the
Roger J. Williams Centennial Professor of Biochemistry. Dan also
remained active with the Biochemical Institute, serving as associate
director from 1986-1996. Dan retired in 1997.
Dan led a distinguished career in the Department of Chemistry
and Biochemistry from 1961 to his retirement in 1997, both in
teaching and research. For many years Dan was one of our major
links with the College of Pharmacy, teaching courses which elucidated
the complex biochemical pathways by which both nutrients and
non-nutrients, such as drugs, are metabolized. His cogent, well-organized
lectures were greatly appreciated by budding biochemists and
pharmacologists alike. Dan’s teaching interests reflected
his research interests. He is best known for his discovery of
the first FMO (flavin-containing monooxygenase) – commonly
called the “Ziegler Enzyme.” These enzymes are used
by the body for detoxification by catalyzing the conversion of
nutritionally-useless compounds to polar metabolites for excretion
in bile or urine. Dan’s pioneering studies on this enzyme
had a major impact on the field of drug metabolism. Dan’s
group was the first to purify a member of this class of enzymes,
and subsequent studies in his laboratory demonstrated the importance
of this enzyme in the metabolism of a large number of medicinal
amines and sulfur-containing drugs. Through elegant experimental
design, and careful chemical analysis, Dan’s research group
was eventually able to elucidate the mechanism of action of FMO.
Dan’s impact extended beyond his work with FMO, as he provided
fresh insights in enzymology, intermediary metabolism, and organic
reaction mechanisms.
During his career Dan won numerous awards, including a USPHS
Career Development Award from 1965-1975, the Bernard B. Brodie
Award in Drug Metabolism from the American Society for Pharmacology
and Experimental Therapeutics in 1990, and a Humboldt Research
Award in 1991, and again in 1995. In the fall of 1990, the Fifth
International Symposium on the N-Oxidation of Drugs in Munich,
Germany, was dedicated to Dan for his contributions to the field.
In 1996, the International Society for the Study of Xenobiotics
at San Diego held an entire symposium to honor his career and
presented him with their highest honor, an Honorary Life Membership.
His was only the fifth such award in the history of the society.
Dan was not only an internationally-respected scientist and
teacher, but a true gentleman. He was generous with his advice
and suggestions for his colleagues. He was patient with his students.
Dan was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. He was an
active member of St. Louis Catholic Church. He organized a choir
there in 1986 and served the community as a member of the St.
Vincent de Paul Society for many years.
After publishing over one hundred research articles and serving
on many national and international committees, Dan retired in
1997 with the intent of doing more research, writing, traveling
and devoting more time to his family. He took grandfathering
very seriously. Until the time of his death, Dan would frequently
come to campus to visit with colleagues in the Experimental Science
Building and Welch Hall. Dan Ziegler will be remembered as a
successful, hard-working scientist, and a humble teacher, colleague,
and friend.
<signed>
William Powers Jr., President
The University of Texas at Austin
<signed>
Sue Alexander Greninger, Secretary
The General Faculty
