Background
Zilversmit, Donald Berthold was born on July 11, 1919 in Hengelo, Holland. Son of Herman and Elizabeth (DeWinter) Zilversmit. came to the United States, 1939, naturalized, 1950.
educator nutritional biochemist
Zilversmit, Donald Berthold was born on July 11, 1919 in Hengelo, Holland. Son of Herman and Elizabeth (DeWinter) Zilversmit. came to the United States, 1939, naturalized, 1950.
Student, University Utrecht, Holland, 1936-1939; Doctor of Science in Physical Sciences (honorary), University Utrecht, Holland, 1980; Bachelor of Science, University of California, Berkeley, 1940; Doctor of Philosophy, University of California, Berkeley, 1948.
He spent much of his career at Cornell University as Professor in the Division of Nutritional Sciences. He began studies at Utrecht University but escaped before the German invasion in World World War World War II He joined a Dutch brigade during the war. She wrote of her time in hiding and their separation during the Nazi occupation in Yours Always, A Holocaust Love Story.
They have three daughters.
He was on the faculty of the University of Tennessee Medical College from 1948 to 1966. Zilversmit joined the faculty of Cornell"s Graduate School of Nutrition in 1966 and remained until retirement in 1990.
He was awarded an honorary degree from Utrecht University in 1980 and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1989. Zilversmit authored or co-authored over 300 publications and made major contributions to the understanding of the relationship between diet and cardiovascular disease.
He greatly contributed to the understanding of atherogenesis, including basic mechanisms in lipid transport and exchange.
He also pioneered the development of mathematical analysis for the interpretation of kinetic data. He co-founded the Journal of Lipid Research. He died on September 16, 2010 in Canton, Massachusetts
Fellow American Institute Nutrition. Member American Association for the Advancement of Science, National Academy of Sciences, American Physiological Society, American Society Biological Chemists, Council on Arteriosclerosis, American Heart Association (executive board 1968-1970, G. Lyman Duff Memorial award 1978), Society Experimental Biology and Medicine, New York Academy of Sciences, Philosophy of Science Association, Society Literature and Science, Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi.
Married Kitty Fonteyn, June 28, 1945. Children: Elizabeth Ann, Dorothy Susan, Sarah Jo.