November 5, 2007
CCST Fellow Arthur Kornberg, MD, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1959, died on October 26 of respiratory failure at Stanford Hospital. He was 89.
Dr. Kornberg shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine with Severo Ochoa, MD, for discovery of the mechanisms in the biological synthesis of DNA. He was instrumental in building the Stanford Department of Biochemistry into a world-class department known for a strong spirit of cooperation and groundbreaking biomedical research over a span of decades.
"Dr. Kornberg was one of the most distinguished and remarkable scientists in American medicine," said Philip Pizzo, MD, dean of the Stanford University School of Medicine, in a statement. "His towering contributions have continued virtually up until the time of his death. Without doubt, his legacy will certainly live on for many, many generations to come."
Kornberg received his M.D. in 1941 from the University of Rochester. He was Professor and Head of the Department of Microbiology at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis; Chairman of the Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, 1959-1969; and Professor, Dept. of Biochemistry, Stanford School of Medicine, 1959-2007. He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and Foreign Member of the Royal Society, 1970. His honors and awards include the National Medal of Science.
Stanford University will host a celebration of Kornberg's life and legacy; details will be released by the university as they become available.
Arthur Kornberg
Stanford biochemist Arthur Kornberg, winner of the 1959 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, died on October 26, 2007 of respiratory failure.  He was 89.  He is survived by his third wife, Carolyn Frey Dixon.

Kornberg is best known for his discovery (with Severo Ochoa) of "the mechanisms in the biological synthesis of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)", including the isolation of DNA polymerase I, which led to his Nobel prize.  He was the first scientist to make DNA in a test tube.  He also studied pathways for synthesis of ATP and nucleotides, and he was the first to synthesize PRPP.  In his later years, Kornberg studied inorganic polyphosphates.

Kornberg's son, Stanford structural biologist Roger D. Kornberg, won the 2006 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for work on the molecular basis of eukaryotic transcription.