Papers of John S. O'Brien, UC San Diego professor of neurosciences, internationally known for his discovery of the genetic cause of Tay-Sachs disease and his development of screening tests for the disease.
John S. O'Brien Papers, 1968 - 2000 (MSS 606)
Extent: 5 Linear feet (12 archives boxes)
John Smith O'Brien was born in 1934 in Rochester, New York. He attended Loyola University in Los Angeles, then earned his M.S. in physiology (1958) and his M.D. (1960) at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. After graduating with academic honors, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the City of Hope Medical Center at the Department of Biochemistry in Duarte, California. O'Brien was recruited to the UC San Diego School of Medicine in 1968 after six years as a faculty member at the University of Southern California.
His research was focused on the lipid metabolism of storage diseases which are characterized by the accumulation of waste materials in cells preventing normal function and often leading to early death. In this family of diseases, he especially investigated Tay-Sachs and Gaucher diseases. He discovered the primary enzyme deficiency of Tay-Sachs disease, a hereditary disorder which leads to mental retardation, blindness, and death in infancy or early childhood. Once thought to primarily affect people of Central and Eastern European Jewish ancestry, Tay-Sachs has now been documented in other populations. O'Brien also discovered and described the structure, biological functions, and role in nervous system development of the saposin proteins that stimulate regeneration and neuronal survival. His laboratory investigated possibilities for exploiting the saposin proteins for treatment of pain associated with post-polio syndrome, Alzheimer's disease, and central nervous system disorders.
O'Brien was a founder of Myelos Neurosciences Corporation, which resulted from technology developed at UC San Diego with saposin proteins. The company was started to expedite the development of treatments for neurodegenerative central nervous system disorders based on research findings.
O'Brien was a member of the Society for Neuroscience, American Society for Neurochemistry, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. He was honored with the 1995 Supelco Award from the American Oil Chemists' Society for outstanding original research on fats, oils, lipid chemistry or biochemistry; the Jacob Javits Neurosciences Investigator Award from the National Institutes of Health; the Foster Elting Bennett Lecturer Award from the American Neurological Association; and the National Foundation of March of Dimes Award for Distinguished Voluntary Leadership in the Fight Against Birth Defects. He also received the UC San Diego Chancellor's Associates Merit Award for Excellence in Research, and a Distinguished Alumni Award from Loyola University.
In addition to his scientific and scholarly work, O'Brien was an accomplished painter and a jazz pianist. O'Brien died in La Jolla in 2001.
The papers of John S. O'Brien, UC San Diego professor of neurosciences, internationally known for his discovery of the genetic cause of Tay-Sachs disease and his development of screening tests for the disease. The papers primarily document his research on Tay-Sachs and similar hereditary diseases, many of which are characterized by the accumulation of waste materials in cells preventing normal function and often leading to early death. The files comprise correspondence, writings, laboratory notes, and newspaper clippings discussing his discovery of the genetic cause of Tay-Sachs disease. Also included are his writings and administrative materials related to his later work on a family of proteins called saposins responsible for regeneration and normal neuronal function of the central nervous system.
The papers are arranged in seven series: 1) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS, 2) CORRESPONDENCE, 3) WRITINGS, 4) TEACHING, 5) TAY-SACHS, 6) RESEARCH, and 7) ORGANIZATIONS.