Phil Majerus: Champion of low-dose aspirin therapy

Abstract

On June 8, 2016, the field of hematology lost one of its giants, Phil Majerus, who died after a long illness. Phil was truly one of a kind: a biochemist extraordinaire with a passion for life, a quick wit, and a colorful personality, whose discoveries changed the practice of medicine. Phil Majerus. Image courtesy of Elaine Majerus (photographer). Phil was born on July 10, 1936 in Chicago and grew up in Quincy, Illinois, where his father owned a five-and-dime store. An outstanding athlete, Phil attended the University of Notre Dame on a tennis scholarship. Upon graduation in 1957 with a Bachelor of Science degree, Phil entered Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, where he was immediately recognized as a brilliant student who was unafraid to challenge his professors when he disagreed with their opinions. Phil graduated at the top of his class and went to the Massachusetts General Hospital for residency training in internal medicine. He then secured a research associate position at the National Institutes of Health, which allowed him to work in any laboratory he selected. Phil chose to join the laboratory of P. Roy Vagelos, who was doing groundbreaking work on fatty acid biosynthesis. Although he had no background in laboratory research, within a year Phil published his first paper on the purification and properties of acyl carrier protein, the key intermediate in fatty acid biosynthesis (1). Over the next two years, Phil, working alongside Al Alberts in the Vagelos laboratory, produced a series of classic papers that defined the steps that occur during the synthesis of fatty acids. This training in biochemistry provided the foundation for his subsequent research. When his time at NIH was nearing its end, Phil entertained a … [↵][1]1Email: skornfel{at}dom.wustl.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1