Sheldon Wolff Explained

Sheldon Wolff (September 22, 1928,^[1] Peabody, Massachusetts – May 24, 2008, Mill Valley, California) was an American radiobiologist, cytogeneticist, and environmental health expert on mutagenic chemicals.^{[2] [3]}

Biography

He graduated from Tufts College with a B.S. in 1950 and from Harvard University with an M.A. in 1951 and with a Ph.D. in 1953.^[4] His doctoral dissertation "Some aspects of the chemical protection against radiation damage to Vicia faba chromosomes" was supervised by Karl Sax.^[5] From 1953 to 1966 Wolff worked in the biology division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), where he studied radiation-induced cell damage. At the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) he was a professor of cytogenetics and radiology from 1966 to 1996, when he retired as professor emeritus. As the successor to Harvey M. Patt, Wolff was from 1982 to 1996 the director of UCSF's Laboratory of Radiobiology and Environmental Health (LREH). During his tenure at UCSF he chaired for nine years the U.S. Department of Energy's Health and Environmental Research Advisory Committee (HERAC).^[6] From 1996 to 2000 he worked at a scientific laboratory in Hiroshima, Japan as vice chairman and chief of research of the Radiation Effects Research Foundation.^[7]

He received the 1973 Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award for "research leading to the classic observation that chromosomal damage is subject to metabolic repair processes, and thus laying the foundation for study of genetic repair mechanisms. His incisive cytogentic investigations of dose-effect relationships, dose fractionation, and other modifying."^[8]

Upon his death Wolff was survived by his widow, two sons, a daughter, and three grandchildren.^[7]

Selected publications

• 10.1038/245460a0. Uniformity of Radiation-induced Mutation Rates among Different Species. 1973. Abrahamson. Seymour. Bender. Michael A.. Conger. Alan D.. Wolff. Sheldon. Nature. 245. 5426. 460–462. 4270703. 1973Natur.245..460A. 4289586.
• 10.1038/251156a0. New Giemsa method for the differential staining of sister chromatids. 1974. Perry. Paul. Wolff. Sheldon. Nature. 251. 5471. 156–158. 4138930. 1974Natur.251..156P. 4160556.
• 10.1038/265347a0. Sister chromatid exchanges induced by mutagenic carcinogens in normal and xeroderma pigmentosum cells. 1977. Wolff. Sheldon. Rodin. B.. Cleaver. J. E.. Nature. 265. 5592. 347–349. 834283. 1977Natur.265..347W. 4196980.
• Increase of Sister Chromatid Exchanges and Perturbations of Cell Division Kinetics in Human Lymphocytes by Benzene Metabolites1. Cancer Research. April 1980. 40. 4. 1189–1193. Morimoto. Kanehisa. Wolff. S.. 7357548.
• 10.1016/0165-1110(81)90003-8. Sister-chromatid exchanges: A report of the GENE-TOX program. 1981. Latt. Samuel A.. Allen. James. Bloom. Stephen E.. Carrano. Anthony. Falke. Ernest. Kram. David. Schneider. Edward. Schreck. Rhona. Tice. Raymond. Whitfield. Brad. Wolff. Sheldon. Mutation Research/Reviews in Genetic Toxicology. 87. 1. 17–62. 6173747.
• 10.1080/09553008814550401. Human Lymphocytes Exposed to Low Doses of Ionizing Radiations Become Refractory to High Doses of Radiation as Well as to Chemical Mutagens that Induce Double-strand Breaks in DNA. 1988. Wolff. Sheldon. Afzal. Veena. Wiencke. J.K.. Olivieri. Gregorio. Michaeli. A.. International Journal of Radiation Biology. 53. 1. 39–48. 3257477.
• 10.1126/science.2762808. Are Radiation-Induced Effects Hormetic?. 1989. Wolff. Sheldon. Science. 245. 4918. 575. 2762808. 1989Sci...245..575W.
• 10.1016/0165-7992(89)90107-3. Inhibition of the adaptive response of human lymphocytes to very low doses of ionizing radiation by the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide. 1989. Youngblom. Janey H.. Wiencke. John K.. Wolff. Sheldon. Mutation Research Letters. 227. 4. 257–261. 2586550.
• 10.1016/0027-5107(91)90185-Q. Adaptive response of human lymphocytes for the repair of radon-induced chromosomal damage. 1991. Wolff. Sheldon. Jostes. Rick. Cross. Frederick T.. Hui. T.Edmund. Afzal. Veena. Wiencke. John K.. Mutation Research/Fundamental and Molecular Mechanisms of Mutagenesis. 250. 1–2. 299–306. 1944344.
• 10.2307/3578431. 3578431. Is Radiation All Bad? The Search for Adaptation. Wolff. Sheldon. Radiation Research. 1992. 131. 2. 117–123. 1992RadR..131..117W.
• 10.1289/ehp.93101s373. Indications of repair of radon-induced chromosome damage in human lymphocytes: An adaptive response induced by low doses of X-rays. 1993. Wolff. S.. Afzal. V.. Jostes. R. F.. Wiencke. J. K.. Environmental Health Perspectives. 101. 73–77. 8143650. 1521171. 1993
• 10.1289/ehp.98106s1277. The adaptive response in radiobiology: Evolving insights and implications. 1998. Wolff. S.. Environmental Health Perspectives. 106. 277–283. 9539019. 1533272.

References

1. Web site: Sheldon Wolff. United States Social Security Death Index.
2. Book: New laboratory tests for cancer-causing substances. https://books.google.com/books?id=6fU2AQAAMAAJ&pg=RA10-PA5. UCSF News. May 5, 1978.
3. "Sister chromatid exchange" most sensitive short-term test. 8. 51. UCSF Magazine. 1985.
4. 19024662. 2008. Cleaver. J. E.. Morgan. W. F.. In memoriam Sheldon Wolff (1929-2008). Radiation Research. 170. 4. 549–551. 10.1667/0033-7587(2008)170[549:im]2.0.co;2. 5202989 . (This obituary gives an incorrect year of birth for Sheldon Wolff (1928–2008).)
5. Web site: Sheldon Wolff. Chemistry Tree.
6. Book: Energy and Water Development Appropriations for 1991. 1990. U.S. Government Printing Office. 407.
7. Web site: Perlman, David. Dr. Sheldon Wolff dies - UCSF scientist. 5 June 2008. sfgate.com.
8. Web site: The Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award Award Laureates Sheldon Wolff, 1973. U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science (science.osti.gov). 28 December 2010 .