Georgi D. Efremov
December 9, 1932 – May 6, 2011
Professor Georgi D. Efremov died on May 6, 2011 after a long battle with cancer. Professor Efremov was the founder and head of the Research Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (RCGEB), Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia; he was a world renowned expert in the field of hemoglobin (Hb) research and a very prominent scientist in the field of biomedicine and biomolecular sciences in Macedonia and in the surrounding regions. He was instrumental in the characterization of polymorphic protein variants in domestic animals and had published hundreds of papers on detection and characterization of different Hb variants and thalassemia alleles. Professor Efremov was the founder of molecular genetic research and diagnostics in the Republic of Macedonia and made a major contribution in the molecular detection and characterization of many monogenic diseases, such as hemoglobinopathies, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, hemophilias, etc., and also infectious and inherited malignant diseases.
Professor Georgi D. Efremov was born in Kratovo, Republic of Macedonia on December 9, 1932 and graduated from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Croatia in 1956. In 1959, he was appointed as a junior assistant in the physiology of domestic animals at the Faculty of Agriculture, University “St. Cyril and Methodius,” Skopje, Macedonia, from where he retired in 2001 as Professor of Biochemistry and Physiology. In 1963, he defended his Doctoral thesis on fetal and adult animal Hbs at the University of Belgrade, Serbia. He received a fellowship from the Royal Norwegian Council for Science and spent 2 years at the Department of Internal Medicine, Veterinary College of Norway in Oslo headed by Professor M. Braent. During this time, he made the discovery of the first abnormal Hb in domestic animals which was published in Nature in 1964. In 1968, he was invited by Professor Titus H.J. Huisman to join his group at the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA, USA; they were studying the structure, function, synthesis and expression of normal and abnormal human Hbs. This productive relationship lasted for 30 years and resulted in numerous publications on new Hb variants and thalassemias. In the last 25 years he expanded his research interest into the molecular basis of human monogenic diseases and the establishment of a basis for detection and characterization, including prenatal diagnosis, of the most common monogenic diseases in Macedonia. His rich scientific career included the publication of more than 500 peer-reviewed reports in international and national journals and several chapters in books and monographs. He was an Associate Editor of the journal Hemoglobin and Editor-in-Chief of the Balkan Journal of Medical Genetics; he was also a member of many editorial boards of major journals in the field of biomolecular sciences. Professor Efremov held visiting professorships at the Universities of Belgrade, Sofia, Zagreb, Novi Sad, Augusta, GA, USA, Havana, Cuba, and many others, where he taught subjects related to his expertise.
Professor Efremov became a Member of the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts in 1978 and served as its President from 2000–2001. He was Minister for Science in the first Government of the independent Republic of Macedonia (1991–1992) and the ambassador to the People’s Republic of China (2002–2004). He was the president of the Macedonian Society for Biochemistry and the Macedonian Society for Human Genetics, and a member of numerous professional societies and associations. His accomplishments were acknowledged with the highest honors by the governments of Former Yugoslavia and the Republic of Macedonia.
Professor Efremov was the founder and driving force of the Research Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology which was established as a scientific unit of the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts in 1986. Under his guidance, the RCGEB became a hub for research in the field of biomolecular sciences in the Republic of Macedonia, being one of the first institutions in the region that applied these new technologies in molecular diagnostics of human diseases and becoming an international center for training in basic and advanced methods in these sciences. Immediately after his death the Presidency of the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts rename the center in his honor as the Research Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology “Georgi D. Efremov.”
We had the privilege of working with Professor Efremov for almost 25 years from the very beginning of our careers. He was extremely hard working, dedicated and an intuitive scientist with an enormous passion for science and new discoveries. Up to his last days, and even with advanced disease, he directed the running of the projects and planning of new programs at the center. As our professor, mentor, valuable supporter and advisor he will be missed greatly, but we are convinced that his legacy of devotion to science will live long after his time through the work of his many students.
We extend our heartfelt sympathy to Ms. Cvetanka Efremova, his son Professor Dimitar G. Efremov (M.D., Ph.D.) and his family and his daughter Ms. Anna Efremova. Dr. Henri Wajcman, Mrs. Marianne F.H. Carver, Evans, GA, USA, the Associate Editors and Editorial Board of the journal Hemoglobin, Mrs. Cathryn T. Cox and his many friends and coworkers from Augusta, GA, USA, also wish to send their condolences to the family. He will be sadly missed by all of us.
Professor Dijana Plaseska-Karanfilska, M.D., Ph.D.
Research Centre for Genetic Engineering and
Biotechnology “Georgi D. Efremov,”
Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts,
Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Professor Aleksandar J. Dimovski, M.D., Ph.D.
Faculty of Pharmacy,
University “St. Cyril and Methodius,”
Skopje, Republic of Macedonia