In memoriam: Charles Rock
Charles Owen Rock, a faculty member in the Department of Host-Microbe Interactions at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and a National Institutes of Health principal investigator, died Sept. 22, 2023. He was 73 and had been a member of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology for almost four decades.

Born Dec. 23, 1949, in Baltimore to Raymond Rock and Ann Riffee, Rock earned a Ph.D. in lipid biochemistry in 1976 at the Biology Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, University of Tennessee. He held postdoctoral positions at Yale University and the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.
Rock began his 43-year career at St. Jude in January 1980. He was a classical biochemist with many grants and publications when he joined the hospital where he continued his extensive research into fatty acid production.
Lipids were Rock's initial interest. In 1992, the Journal of Biological Chemistry published his co-discovery of FabH, an enzyme that speeds up the first condensation reaction in bacterial fatty acid synthesis. In 2006, Molecular Cell published his discovery of acyl-phosphates as intermediates in lipid metabolism.
Over several decades, Rock methodically worked to solve the mystery of fatty acid production. He identified significant metabolic pathways, regulators and intermediates. Additionally, his research sparked interest in fatty acid synthase inhibitors as a potential new antibiotic class for bacteria.
Rock contributed to more than 240 scholarly articles, wrote more than 25 reviews and contributed to 14 books. He has over 20,000 citations. He was a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and the American Association for the Advancement of Science and possessed multiple patents. During his career, he gave more than a hundred speeches. He received consistent NIH funding over all his years at St. Jude.
Rock was never short of ideas, initiatives, or theories, his colleagues said. However, he consistently mentioned the importance of conducting research at the forefront of innovation. He wanted to make an impact and pave the way.
Chuck possessed an insatiable curiosity, according to his obituary. He enjoyed activities such as nature photography, golf, video games, coaching, chess, and delving into Civil War history.
He is survived by his wife, Suzanne Jackowski Rock; son, Andrew; sister, Jane; and granddaughter, Savannah.Enjoy reading ASBMB Today?
Become a member to receive the print edition four times a year and the digital edition monthly.
Learn moreGet the latest from ASBMB Today
Enter your email address, and we’ll send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.
Latest in People
People highlights or most popular articles

From dust to discovery
From makeshift classrooms in Uganda to postdoctoral research in Chicago, MOSAIC scholar Elizabeth Kaweesa builds a legacy in women’s health.

Fliesler wins scientific and ethical awards
He is being honored by the University at Buffalo and the American Oil Chemists' Society for his scientific achievements and ethical integrity.

Hope for a cure hangs on research
Amid drastic proposed cuts to biomedical research, rare disease families like Hailey Adkisson’s fight for survival and hope. Without funding, science can’t “catch up” to help the patients who need it most.

Before we’ve lost what we can’t rebuild: Hope for prion disease
Sonia Vallabh and Eric Minikel, a husband-and-wife team racing to cure prion disease, helped develop ION717, an antisense oligonucleotide treatment now in clinical trials. Their mission is personal — and just getting started.

ASBMB members recognized as Allen investigators
Ileana Cristea, Sarah Cohen, Itay Budin and Christopher Obara are among 14 researchers selected as Allen Distinguished Investigators by the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.

AI can be an asset, ASBMB educators say
Pedagogy experts share how they use artificial intelligence to save time, increase accessibility and prepare students for a changing world.