John Schellman and the birth of protein folding

Abstract

John Schellman, who passed away on December 16, 2014, had two exceptional teachers, Walter Kauzmann and Kaj Linderstrom-Lang, both of whom quickly recognized John’s scientific depth and creativity. His doctoral work with Kauzmann at Princeton University taught John how to find the basic issues in a new research area and how to solve problems. His postdoctoral work with Linderstrom-Lang placed John in a remarkable environment. The Carlsberg Laboratory in the 1950s was a magnet for scientists who recognized that the new field of protein folding was taking form, and that its epicenter was Linderstrom-Lang. Together with his gifted research assistant Aase Hvidt, Linderstrom-Lang was developing a new research tool, hydrogen exchange (HX) (1, 2), which he believed (correctly) would be the experimental key to learning how proteins fold. Frequent visitors to Linderstrom-Lang’s laboratory at that time included Chris Anfinsen and Walter Kauzmann, who wanted to catch the spirit of the new protein-folding field and to learn the latest news. Other young (and subsequently major) protein folders in Linderstrom-Lang’s laboratory during John’s time included Bill Harrington, Fred Richards, Harold Scheraga, and Charlotte Green (Schellman), who soon became John’s wife.