Stephen F. Heinemann: A true original.

Abstract

Steve Heinemann, one of the founders of 21st century neuroscience, died on August 6, 2014. To those who had the honor to know him, “Stevie” was a man of personal and professional generosity, contagious energy, scientific integrity, and genuine enthusiasm. His death is a profound loss for all. Stephen F. Heinemann (1939–2014). Image courtesy of Joe Belcovson (The Salk Institute, La Jolla, CA). Steve Heinemann’s arc as a scientist traced that of modern neuroscience overall. Having earned a PhD from Harvard, followed by postdoctoral stints at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford, Steve was one of a cadre of young bacteriophage geneticists who in the early 1970s decided to apply biochemistry and molecular biology to the study of nervous system development and function. Starting his own research group at The Salk Institute, where he spent the entirety of his career, Steve, like several of his contemporaries, adopted the neuromuscular junction as a tractable model synapse. This was a stand-in (or so it was believed at the time) for synapses in the brain. Whereas some studied the neuromuscular junction in frogs or … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: lemke{at}salk.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1