Dr. Irving H. Goldberg, of Cambridge and Falmouth, MA on November 14, 2022 at the age of 96. Beloved husband of the late Margaret (Field) Ziskin Goldberg. Devoted father of Nancy Goldberg and her husband Mark, and Daniel Goldberg and his wife Mary K. Cullen. Cherished grandfather of Rachel, Sarah, and Finale Goldberg. Loving brother of the late Jean Goldberg Hotez.
He was predeceased by his wife of 63 years, Margaret, a founder of the Massachusetts Academy of Psychiatric Social Workers and by his beloved sister Jean Goldberg Hotez, originally from Hartford, CT.
Dr. Goldberg received his undergraduate degree from Trinity College and medical degree from Yale University. He completed a residency in Internal Medicine at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, New York 1953-1957 where he also served as chief resident.
He went on to earn a PhD from the Rockefeller Institute, NY in 1960, working with the esteemed Dr. Fritz Lipmann. He joined the faculty at the University of Chicago (1960-1964), then was recruited to Harvard, first at the Beth Israel Hospital as the Chief of the Endocrinology-Metabolism Unit (1964-1968). He later joined the Department of Pharmacology at Harvard Medical School and became the Otto Krayer Professor and Chair of the Department (1972-1986). During his tenure, he guided the Department of Pharmacology through a period of groundbreaking scientific innovation, growth and success.
As an accomplished medical scientist and superb teacher, he mentored generations of researchers. He made several crucial contributions to the field of science, including the discovery of the stabilizing effect of special nucleotides incorporated into RNA, which was foundational for the development of RNA vaccines, including those for COVID. He also discovered a group of antibiotics that break DNA and determined their mechanisms in a series of elegant biochemical studies. As a result, some of these compounds are currently used as anti-cancer treatments. He was an author on almost 200 scientific publications and was the recipient of many honors and accolades, including the Faculty Research Award from the American Cancer Society. He was elected to numerous honorary societies, including the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
His expertise was widely sought, and he served as a consultant and advisor to many pharmaceutical companies, as well Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Children’s Hospital. He was seated on numerous advisory committees including, but not limited to the Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Cancer Fund and the NIH.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Irving’s memory may be made to “The 300 Committee” at www.300committee.org/donate
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