In memoriam: Simeon G. Margolis

Simeon G. (Moan) Margolis, an endocrinologist and educator and a member of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology since 1974, died May 16, 2022, the ASBMB learned recently. He was 91.

Simeon Margolis

Margolis was born March 29, 1931, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, to Edward and Bella Margolis, a watch repairman and homemaker. He received a full scholarship to Johns Hopkins University, where he earned his bachelor’s  degree and M.D.; served as an intern, resident and chief resident; and then earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry. During his time as a premed student at JHU, Margolis played both baseball and basketball, and he set the single-game basketball scoring record, which he still holds today.

At a party in his hometown when he was a young teenager, Margolis met Mary Alice Kahl. They married after his first year of medical school and were together until her death in 2011.

For more than 50 years, Margolis was a faculty member at Johns Hopkins. He became director of the endocrinology and metabolism division four years after receiving his doctorate, leading the division until 1981 and then again from 1984 to 1990. He served twice as an associate dean, once for academic affairs and later for faculty affairs.

Margolis’ research focused on cholesterol, diabetes and heart disease. He was also a devoted physician and professor. He worked to control diabetes and prevent coronary heart disease in patients, and he taught both medical students and his fellow physicians about controlling serum lipids and lipoproteins. 

In the interest of providing accurate medical information, Margolis served as an editor for JHU’s “Heath After 50” newsletter, contributed medical columns to the Baltimore Sun and Yahoo! Health, edited books, and wrote pamphlets.

In 2016, a former medical student established the Charles C. Homcy and Simeon Margolis professorship at the JHU School of Medicine.

Margolis is survived by three daughters, Amy Hardin, Karen Griswold, and Susan Margolis, and six grandchildren.