Obituary: Milton J. Schlesinger, professor emeritus, 89

Schlesinger photo
Schlesinger

Milton J. Schlesinger, professor emeritus of molecular microbiology, died of heart failure Friday, Oct. 27, 2017, at his home in Berkeley, Calif., after a long period of illness. He was 89.

Schlesinger was a professor of microbiology (later, molecular microbiology) at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis from 1964 until 1999. During his tenure, he twice served as acting head of his department.

Schlesinger also served for two years as head of the Executive Council of the Division of Biology & Biomedical Sciences and wrote a definitive history of the microbiology department, starting from its inception to the present day. He was named an emeritus professor in 1999.

His work focused on diverse aspects of viral assembly and replication. “Milton was one of the first to use the power of defined viral systems to probe fundamental processes of protein folding and modification, in advance of the recombinant DNA revolution,” said Stephen M. Beverley, the Marvin A. Brennecke Professor and head of the Department of Molecular Microbiology.

Schlesinger and his wife of 62 years, Sondra Schlesinger — a Washington University professor emerita and an occasional scientific collaborator with her husband — moved to Berkeley in 2003.

Read the full obituary on the School of Medicine site.

Leave a Comment

Comments and respectful dialogue are encouraged, but content will be moderated. Please, no personal attacks, obscenity or profanity, selling of commercial products, or endorsements of political candidates or positions. We reserve the right to remove any inappropriate comments. We also cannot address individual medical concerns or provide medical advice in this forum.