Professor Sidney D. Nelson (18 August 1945–9 December 2011)
This special issue of Drug Metabolism Reviews is published in honor of the life and legacy of Dr Sidney D. Nelson, who passed away in December 2011. Contributions to this issue were written by those closely influenced by Sid: former graduate students, colleagues, collaborators and friends. The first article, by Professor Thomas Baillie, is an overview of Sid’s contributions to the field of drug metabolism research, followed by six review articles that cover various aspects of metabolism-mediated toxicity and different approaches that have been applied to the study of bioactivation, the research topics to which Sid devoted his professional life.
Not only was Sid a world-renowned researcher, but he also took aspiring scientists under his tutelage with a warmth and generosity that most grant only to family. Similarly to many of his graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, Sid was initially our research advisor, but he soon became our mentor and friend. Many fond memories were created at the annual Christmas parties at which Sid and his family welcomed his students and research associates, plus their families. Sid instilled in his students the understanding that in addition to being part of the scientific community, they were a valuable part of each others lives. Whenever he met with former students, he wanted to know not only about their individual accomplishments, but also about their lives and families. We have, therefore, posted several pictures of his students, colleagues and family in this special issue in honor of his kindness and commitment to the people around him.
In addition to this special issue, Sid’s legacy was honored at an event during the 18th North American Regional ISSX Meeting in 2012, and the School of Pharmacy at University of Washington established the Sid Nelson Endowed Professorship in Drug Metabolism in 2013. We would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Dr. Sidney Nelson, whose work so greatly influenced drug metabolism science and whose life touched so many of those around him.
Cyrus Khojasteh and Mingshe Zhu
Guest editors
Among Colleagues and Students
With family
Missed dearly…