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“The author regrets that the author name “El-Refaei” was incorrect in the published paper, the correct author line and affiliation is as below: Mohamed F. El-Refaei1, Nurul H. Sarkar Institute of
Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA 30912, USA “
“Figure options Download full-size image Download as PowerPoint slide It is with deep sadness which I report that one of the Selleck 3-Methyladenine early leaders in snake venom metalloproteinase research, Jón Bragi Bjarnason, passed away January 3rd, 2011 in Annapolis Maryland. Jón began his scientific career as an undergraduate studying for a degree in chemistry at the University of Iceland. While Jón was studying at the University of Iceland Professor Anthony T. Tu visited the institution to give a seminar. As a result of Professor Tu’s lecture Jón’s interest in the area of biomolecular toxinology was launched. Subsequently, in 1973 Professor Tu arranged for Jón and his family to move to Fort Collins, Colorado to pursue a Ph.D. in the Department of Biochemistry at Colorado State University. Crizotinib in vivo Jón and his young family arrived wide-eyed in Chicago, Illinois directly from Reykjavik. They immediately bought
a vintage Buick and embarked on a “road-trip” to Colorado. It was during this trip across the plains that Jón’s love for his adopted country began. In Professor Tu’s laboratory Jón was given the monumental task of isolating hemorrhagic toxins from the western diamondback rattlesnake, Crotalus atrox.
At the time, there was at best only a rudimentary description of this family of toxins in the literature with little or no biochemical characterization. Furthermore, at the time isolation techniques for proteins were somewhat Nutlin-3 nmr of an “art”. Fortunately Jón’s Scandinavian background showed its colors and drove him to cajole Professor Tu to buy virtually all protein isolation products and reagents coming out of Uppsala. In the end using all these tools and some tricks, Jón was able to isolate several hemorrhagic metalloproteinases from the venom. This work led to the seminal contribution of “Hemorrhagic toxins from Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) venom: Isolation and characterization of five toxins and the role of zinc in one of the toxins” published in Biochemistry in 1978. In 1974 I joined the Tu Laboratory as a Ph.D. student in large part due to Jón’s urging. Over the next several years, I focused on sea snake neurotoxin isolation characterization, with Jón serving as my senior mentor. Typically he would advise me on my isolations and I would perform his animal assays for hemorrhage as Jón could not manage handling mice. This partnership continued throughout our graduate and professional careers where we continued enhancing our understanding of the structure and function of SVMPs as they ultimately became known. Upon completing his Ph.D.