Background
Ariel was born in Bucharest, Romania on March 12, 1925. His family fled from the Nazis, first to England in 1936 and then to Canada in 1941.
845 Rue Sherbrooke Ouest, Montréal, QC H3A 0G4
Ariel received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Botany from McGill University in Montreal.
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Ariel came to the United States in 1948 to study at the University of Pennsylvania as a Harrison Fellow, where he obtained a Doctor of Philosophy in Botany in 1951.
Ariel Loewy
(This intermediate-level introduction to cell biology text...)
This intermediate-level introduction to cell biology text is accessible to students who have had introductory chemistry and biology and are taking organic chemistry concurrently. It integrates a variety of disciplines and develops an understanding of experimental evidence. Features a balanced treatment of biochemical, biophysical, genetic, cytological, and cell physiological components of modern molecular and cell biology. Includes a strong emphasis on experimental logic explains how a fact was discovered and what remains to be understood. Emphasizes the fundamental chemistry of cell processes to provide a basic understanding and demonstrate the cross-disciplinary nature of biology.
https://www.amazon.com/Cell-structure-function-Ariel-Loewy/dp/0030709555/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Ariel+Loewy&qid=1584440111&sr=8-1
1969
biologist educator scientist author
Ariel was born in Bucharest, Romania on March 12, 1925. His family fled from the Nazis, first to England in 1936 and then to Canada in 1941.
Ariel received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Botany from McGill University in Montreal and then came to the United States in 1948 to study at the University of Pennsylvania as a Harrison Fellow, where he obtained a Doctor of Philosophy in Botany in 1951.
Ariel carried out research as a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Fellow at Harvard University Medical School from 1950 to 1951, and as a National Research Council Fellow at the University of Cambridge from 1952 to 1953. He returned to the United States to accept a faculty position in the Biology Department at Haverford College, where he remained until 2000.
As Chairman of the Department of Biology, Ariel played a central role in its growth and development and was a key figure in the College leadership. He obtained a NIH training grant for the Department, one of only three such grants given to undergraduate institutions. The funding allowed Ariel and his colleagues to develop the first undergraduate curriculum in the United States to focus primarily on molecular and cellular biology. This program integrated productive research with intensive teaching at the undergraduate level and became a model for undergraduate institutions, bringing Haverford College national recognition. Ariel’s commitment to teaching led to his co-authoring two widely used biology textbooks for college undergraduates: ‘‘Cell Structure and Function’’ and ‘‘Biology,’’ former being the first textbook on cell biology. Both volumes have been translated into numerous foreign languages.
From 1983 to 1995, he held the Jack and Barbara Bush Professorship in the Natural Sciences. Ariel then became a Research Professor for 5 years, until he left Haverford College in June 2000 to join the Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine as an Adjunct Professor. Ariel Loewy’s early research focused on the cell biology and biochemistry of nonmuscle motility.
Ariel’s research career spanned 50 years, much of it devoted to studies of the Factor XIII enzyme and the formation of isopeptide bonds in thrombosis. This work started during his time as a NIH Fellow at Harvard University. Ariel first identified Factor XIII as a key element in the process of blood coagulation. His continuing work revealed for the first time the enzymatic nature of Factor XIII and he characterized its transglutaminase cross-linking function. Ariel also developed purification techniques that are still used today, which enabled the production of Factor XIII for the treatment of clotting disorders. Ariel’s interest in Factor XIII eventually extended to the isopeptidase enzyme, which hydrolyzes the isopeptide bonds formed by Factor XIII and other members of its transglutaminase family. Most recently, his isopeptidase research focused on the disruption of the neurofibrillary tangles in the brain that cause symptoms of dementia in Alzheimer’s disease and to the characterization of isopeptidase activity in biological tissues. At 75, Ariel was still very active; he was a lead author in a review chapter on Factor XIII published earlier this year and recently submitted a manuscript describing the role of erythrocytes in blood clot dissolution. This research is continued by his collaborators at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Ariel Loewy has served as an editor of the journal Thrombosis Research, on the Advisory Board of Biochemistry and Sigma Xi, and was a referee in a number of study sections for the NIH and National Science Foundation. His research efforts earned him the James P. Mitchell Foundation Award for Heart and Vascular Research in 1973 and recognition at the Third International Conference on Factor XIII in 1995. He was further awarded the Glenn Foundation Award for Outstanding Research in Aging at the 6th International Congress on Cell Biology and the 36th American Society for Cell Biology Annual Meeting in 1996.
(This intermediate-level introduction to cell biology text...)
1969Ariel was a devoted and passionate teacher. Ariel stood out for his creative nondogmatic thinking in science, and for his special encouragement of young scientists. He influenced thousands of students who got their start in biology at Haverford College and mentored hundreds who worked with him in the lab or met him at scientific meetings. His genuine warmth and friendship stimulated many close friendships. Ariel’s relentless inquisitive spirit and his dedication to encourage the same in his students made him the quintessential teacher-scholar.
He was especially open and gracious to newcomers in the transglutaminase field, often by inviting them for seminar visits to Haverford. Ariel had a thoughtful charm and an infectious pleasure in sharing and exploring ideas that will be sorely missed. Ariel’s sense of justice was an inspiration to his friends; he was an active and vocal proponent of peace and civil and human rights. His life was a broad, passionate inquiry into knowledge and philosophy: an extended conversation with Ariel could wander through unanticipated scientific, cultural and political terrain. His passion for music has been passed on and shared by most of his family and many friends. He was famous for his love of food and cooking and for sharing stories and jokes with friends and colleagues.
Quotes from others about the person
Ariel's former students said, "Ariel impressed on us the intellectual coherence, rigour and inexorable honesty of experimental science. Undergraduate research in the Loewy laboratory was an unforgettable experience. We came to regard Ariel as not only a scientific mentor but also a man of principle to whom one could freely turn for advice."
Ariel is survived by his wife, Martha R. Hurt Loewy of Haverford; three sons, Michael, of Philadelphia, Andreas, of Lafayette, and Daniel, of Havertown; two daughters, Eva Best of Roanoke, and Ridley MacLean of Hertford.