dedication: yale j. topper

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Journal of Mammary Gland Biology and Neoplasia, Vol. 2, No. 1, 1997 Dedication Yale J. Topper (1916-1995) In the introduction to this volume, Isabel Forsyth states that "our knowledge in this field has made huge strides since the 1920s, but there is still much to learn." We who work with prolactin in particular can appreci- ate the heights attained today compared to even 5 or 10 years ago. The reason we have been able to reach these heights is that we stand on the shoulders of giants. One such giant was Yale Jerome Topper who died of emphysema and leukemia on October 26,1995 at the age of 79. Several of the fundamental questions asked by Yale and his collaborators over the years are directly addressed in this issue. To all those who knew him, Yale was a dedicated scholar and a modest gentleman with an infectious smile and a gentle sense of humor which often masked his many hidden talents. An accomplished pianist, he 91 l083-302l/97/0100-009l$12.50/0 © 1997 Plenum Publishing Corporation

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Page 1: Dedication: Yale J. Topper

Journal of Mammary Gland Biology and Neoplasia, Vol. 2, No. 1, 1997

Dedication

Yale J. Topper (1916-1995)

In the introduction to this volume, Isabel Forsythstates that "our knowledge in this field has made hugestrides since the 1920s, but there is still much to learn."We who work with prolactin in particular can appreci-ate the heights attained today compared to even 5 or10 years ago. The reason we have been able to reachthese heights is that we stand on the shoulders ofgiants. One such giant was Yale Jerome Topper who

died of emphysema and leukemia on October 26,1995at the age of 79. Several of the fundamental questionsasked by Yale and his collaborators over the years aredirectly addressed in this issue.

To all those who knew him, Yale was a dedicatedscholar and a modest gentleman with an infectioussmile and a gentle sense of humor which often maskedhis many hidden talents. An accomplished pianist, he

91l083-302l/97/0100-009l$12.50/0 © 1997 Plenum Publishing Corporation

Page 2: Dedication: Yale J. Topper

92 Dedication

made his debut with the Chicago Symphony at age14. Luckily, music's loss was science's gain when hegraduated Phi Beta Kappa from Northwestern Univer-sity in 1942 in chemistry. One year later, he earned aM.A. and in 1947, a Ph.D. in organic chemistry underNobel Laureate Robert Burns Woodward at Harvard.He was recruited to NIH in 1954 where he becamethe Chief of the Intermediary Metabolism Section ofthe NIAMDD (later named the Developmental BiologySection of NIDDK to reflect the evolving direction ofhis research).

Yale's first foray into the field of mammary glandresearch and milk synthesis appeared as two paperson carbohydrate metabolism in the early 1960s (1,2).In 1957, Joel Elias published a paper in Science (3)describing the basic elements of the mammary glandexplant culture. Yale brought Joel to his lab wherethey refined the explant culture system and his firstprolactin paper resulted (4). This elegant work clearlyestablished that mammary tissue from pregnant mice,when cultured in the presence of a combination ofinsulin, hydrocortisone and prolactin could produceenhanced amounts of caseins. In these studies, Yaleand his colleagues noted that "the fact that caseinsynthesis has the same triple hormone requirement asthat for maximum histological response indicates thatthe rate of fabrication of this family of characteristicmilk proteins is an accurate biochemical reflection ofthe biological development." In the 1970's Yale andcolleagues investigated the hormonal requirements forultrastructural development of the mammary glandsof nulliparous and pregnant mice. Once again, fulldevelopment of the glands was dependent on the con-certed action of insulin, hydrocortisone and prolactin.These actions included DNA synthesis, stabilizationof the rough endoplasmic reticulum, enhanced tran-scription of casein genes and increased a-lactalbuminactivity (5-7). In the 1980's Yale availed himself of thetools of molecular biology to clearly demonstrate thatin addition to prolactin, insulin and glucocorticoids areessential for the accumulation of casein mRNA (8,9).His final published paper placed him fully in the era ofmolecular biology as he and colleagues showed that intransgenic mice the promoter for the whey acidic proteingene could be activated by prolactin (10).

After a successful scientific career spanning morethan 5 decades, Yale retired from the NIH in 1987 andwas awarded the title "Scientist Emeritus." However

he remained active, reading the literature and con-sulting with colleagues; he remained a familiar pres-ence at seminars on campus and was a daily attendeeat the cafeteria bull-sessions with long-time friends andcolleagues. He last attended the Gordon Conference onMammary Gland Biology in 1993. He delighted inhearing the latest developments in the mammary glandfield; questions and potential experiments were alwayson his mind.

Yale's contributions to the field of mammarygland biology are extensive but his most outstandingcontribution is the younger scientists whom he trainedover the years. Among their ranks are departmentheads, institute directors, all ranks of academics,branch and section chiefs at the NIH and successfulentrepreneurs in the biotechnology industry. Yaleleaves behind a loving family which includes his wifeof 39 years, Hildegard, and four children, David, Nina,Jamie, and Ethan; and 5 grandchildren.

Just as we were all enriched by his life, we areall diminished by his death.

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S. Segal and Y. J. Topper (1960). On the biosynthesis of L-fucose in human milk and L-fucose metabolism in man. Bio-chim. Biophys. Acta 42:147-151.T. L. Goodfriend and Y. J. Topper (1961). Effects of oxytocin,vasopressin and acetylcholine on glucose metabolism in mam-mary tissue in vitro. J. Biol, Chem. 236:1241-1243.J. J. Elias (1957). Cultivation of adult mouse mammary glandin hormone-enriched synthetic medium. Science 126:842-843.W. J. Juergens, F. E. Stockdale, Y. J. Topper, and J. J. Elias(1965). Hormone dependent differentiation of mammary glandin vitro. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 54:629-635.Y. J. Topper (1970). Multiple hormone interactions in the devel-opment of mammary gland in vitro. Recent Prog. HormoneRes. 26:287-308.T. Oka and Y. J. Topper (1972). Is prolactin mitogenic formammary epithelium? Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.69:1693-1696.B. K. Vonderhaar, I. S. Owens, and Y. J. Topper (1973). Anearly effect of prolactin on the formation of a-lactalbumin bymouse mammary epithelial cells. J. Biol. Chem. 248:467-471.F. F. Bolander Jr., K. R. Nicholas, i. J. Van Wyk, and Y. J.Topper (1982). Insulin is essential for accumulation of caseinmRNA in mouse mammary epithelial cells. Proc. Natl. Acad.Sci. U.S.A. 78:5682-5684.J. K. Kulski, Y. J. Topper, P. Chomczy nski, and P. Qasba (1983).An essential role for glucocorticoid in casein gene expressionin rat mammary explants. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun.114:380-387.C. W. Pittius, L. Sankaran, Y. J. Topper, and L. Hennighausen(1988). Comparison of the regulation of the whey acidic proteingene with that of a hybrid gene containing the whey acidicprotein gene promoter in transgenic mice. Mol. Endocrinol.2:1027-1032.