Ira B. Black 1941–2006

Abstract

In his book The Dying of Enoch Wallace, Ira Black writes about the devastating consequences of Alzheimer's disease upon a successful Wall Street banker named Enoch Wallace. By describing the symptoms of the disease along with research discoveries in neurobiology, Black paints a picture of the future when neurology and neuroscience will conquer diseases of the brain. Unfortunately, Ira did not live to see his dreams fulfilled, as he unexpectedly passed away on January 10, 2006, at the age of 64.Born in New York City and educated at Columbia College and Harvard Medical School, Ira started his research career with Julius Axelrod at the National Institute of Mental Health. In a fruitful series of studies with Axelrod in the late 1960s, Ira found that tyrosine transaminase was regulated by circadian rhythms and by norepinephrine. Ira became enamored with synapses that use catecholamines as neurotransmitters. He extended these studies with Leslie Iverson at Trinity College in Cambridge by pursuing neurotransmitter identity during sympathetic cervical ganglion differentiation. During this period, he met Ian Hendry, with whom Ira became fascinated by the role of NGF as a target-derived survival factor. These research experiences laid the foundation for his work in the next three decades.Ira was a visionary scientist who bridged the eras of catecholamine research to neurotransmitter plasticity and beyond. From the study of neurotrophic factors, he made the leap to neuronal plasticity and then to the generation of stem cells. Trained as a neurologist, Ira wisely chose early in his career to study the developmental history of sympathetic neurons. He showed that changes in catecholaminergic phenotype occurred not only during development, but also in adult ganglia as a result of depolarization, injury, and hormonal changes. Driven by an innate curiosity, he demonstrated that an understanding of developmental neurobiology would yield insights into the mature nervous system, including the processes of neurogenesis, synaptogenesis, and neurodegenerative disorders.Ira leaves a lasting legacy with the large number of students and fellows that he trained. Everyone who came under his spell felt his enthusiasm and excitement for experimental science. His ability to communicate was unparalleled. At Cornell University Medical College, where he was Chief of the Laboratory of Developmental Neurology from 1971 to 1990, Ira regularly taught medical students and residents. In lectures, he spoke with a cadence that mesmerized students. Asking questions at every turn, he forced the audience to also ask questions. They often came away from his lectures captivated about the mind and brain.At Robert Wood Johnson Medical School from 1990 to his death, Ira was Chair of a strong department in neuroscience and cell biology and continued to turn out an even larger number of successful trainees. As a result of his leadership abilities, Ira headed a Program Project grant on growth factors and neural development, which was continuously funded by NICHD for nearly 20 years. Two of his other books, Cellular and Molecular Biology of Neuronal Development (1984) and Information in the Brain: A Molecular Perspective (1991), capture the history and the synergistic nature of developmental neurobiology, clinical neurology, and molecular biology.No finding in the laboratory was too small for Ira to become enthralled. His infectious smile and crackling laugh were contagious to his students and fellows and his colleagues. Ira generated many long lasting friends, among them Perry Molinoff, Joe Coyle, and Mike Gazzaniga. A considerable number of his trainees have become leaders in academia, government, and biotechnology. Many distinguished scientists, including Bruce McEwen, Richard Axel, David Anderson, and Rusty Gage, sought his advice.So, too, did numerous organizations look to him for guidance. As head of the Scientific Advisory Board for the American Paralysis Foundation (APA) from 1989 to 1993, Ira was a staunch supporter of spinal cord injury research. He cast a strong influence upon the field of CNS regeneration by encouraging grants from outside the traditional confines of neuroscience. Through his urging, new grants from invertebrate geneticists and molecular and cell biologists began to appear before the Foundation. Later, when the APA became the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, Ira continued to campaign for new ideas to repair the damaged spinal cord. His efforts fostered the current flurry of activity to find ways of stimulating regeneration in the hostile environment of the spinal cord.In 1992–1993, Ira served as President of the Society for Neuroscience and campaigned for greater awareness of neuroscience research as Chair of the Public Information Committee. He had a strong conviction that allocating the right resources, no matter how small, could have a major impact upon the field. It is with this same fervor and foresight that he pushed stem cell research the past five years. Realizing that a variety of stem cells could be coaxed into becoming neurons with a cocktail of conditions in the lab, Ira threw his energies into making this a reality. As Founding Director of the Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey and head of the Stem Cell Research Center, Ira fought hard for an unrestricted effort to learn more about stem cell renewal and differentiation. Though he was frustrated by bureaucracy, Ira remained passionately committed to creating a center to develop new treatments for neurologic diseases.Much of his passion came from discoveries in his laboratory. Ira possessed an uncanny ability to forecast the direction of neuroscience research. After Ira defined many relationships between neurotransmitters and synaptic plasticity, he became convinced before 1980 that neurotrophins played an important role in the brain, when there was little evidence at that time that NGF was even present in the CNS. The robust effects of NGF upon basal forebrain cholinergic neurons reported by his group in the mid-1980s presaged the dramatic effects of other trophic factors, such as BDNF and GDNF, upon neurons of hippocampal, cerebellar, and substantia nigral origins. This prompted him in 1994 to enlist the help of Jeff McKelvy to start Trophix Pharmaceuticals in order to identify new drugs to treat stroke, pain, and Parkinson's disease.Well before the early 1990s, when the first reports appeared that NGF and BDNF were regulated by neuronal activity, Ira also predicted that neurotrophins would be involved in brain plasticity. At the 1995 Neurotrophin Gordon conference, Ira was an avid participant and questioner in the most exciting session on plasticity. He later became intrigued with the ability of BDNF to influence postsynaptic activities, both by signaling and by transcriptional mechanisms. For his many contributions to the NGF field, Ira was recognized with the Viktor Hamburger Award, and he gave an honorary Rita Levi-Montalcini Lecture in 1997. In retrospect, it is noteworthy how many people at the Neurotrophin meeting were influenced by Ira's mentorship and his ideas (see picture).It is very sad that Ira has left us. He was an eternal optimist, and his enthusiasm and zest for science were never-ending. Ira was never confined by dogma and never satisfied with the status quo. In this age when translational research is being emphasized, Ira was prophetic in knowing that the boundaries separating the disciplines of neurology, neurosurgery, psychiatry, psychology, and radiology would eventually be melted away by discoveries in neuroscience. He also knew that the key to future therapies would come from studying the basic biology of neurotrophic factors and stem cells. Indeed, future cures for nerve regeneration, neurodegenerative diseases, and psychiatric disorders will be enormously indebted to Ira's sagacity, humanity, and inspiration.Ira Black. Photo courtesy of Steve Hockstein.View Large Image | View Hi-Res Image | Download PowerPoint Slide1995 Gordon conference. Ira Black is in the front row, center.View Large Image | View Hi-Res Image | Download PowerPoint Slide