In Memoriam

In memoriam: Guido Guidotti

ASBMB Today Staff
Aug. 16, 2021

Guido Guidotti, a professor of biochemistry at Harvard University who studied the functions of proteins within membranes in transport and signal processing, died April 5 in Newton, Massachusetts. He was 87.

Guido Guidotti

Born Nov. 3, 1933, in Florence, Italy, Guidotti spent most of his early life in Naples. After World War II, he visited Illinois as an American Field Service student. He returned to do premedical studies at Milliken College, then earned an M.D. at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He was an intern and resident at Barnes Hospital before earning a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Rockefeller University. He took a position at Harvard in 1963 and remained there until his death.

In his early research, Guidotti used his own blood to determine the sequence and biochemical properties of hemoglobin before moving on to the study of membrane proteins. He identified structures and topologies of numerous proteins and enzymes as well as studying hormone regulation of membrane protein activity. He discovered that the protein CD39, in the cell membrane, hydrolyzes extracellular adenosine triphosphate, ensuring that this extracellular ATP is present at an appropriate concentration.

A member of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology since 1968, Guidotti served on the editorial board of the Journal of Biological Chemistry from 1971 to 1976 and published 120 papers in the JBC. He also served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Membrane Biology and Molecular Biology of the Cell.

Nancy Kleckner, Guidotti's wife and a Harvard colleague, wrote in a remembrance, “From the perspective of the outside world, Guido's scientific work was seminally important in many respects … Guido's research was motivated only by his intellectual curiosity, his delight in figuring out how life works, and his joy in enabling the work and lives of the people he trained and with whom he worked. Scientific credit was not a priority.”

Enjoy reading ASBMB Today?

Become a member to receive the print edition four times a year and the digital edition monthly.

Learn more
ASBMB Today Staff

This article was written by a member or members of the ASBMB Today staff.

Get 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

AI can be an asset, ASBMB educators say
Advice

AI can be an asset, ASBMB educators say

July 9, 2025

Pedagogy experts share how they use artificial intelligence to save time, increase accessibility and prepare students for a changing world.

ASBMB undergraduate education programs foster tomorrow’s scientific minds
Feature

ASBMB undergraduate education programs foster tomorrow’s scientific minds

July 8, 2025

Learn how the society empowers educators and the next generation of scientists through community as well as accreditation and professional development programs that support evidence-based teaching and inclusive pedagogy.

Honors for Gagna and Sundquist
Member News

Honors for Gagna and Sundquist

July 7, 2025

Claude Gagna is being honored for the diagnostic tool he developed that uses AI to streamline diagnostics. Wesley Sundquist is being honored for his role in finding that HIV’s capsid was a target for treatment.

Gaze into the proteomics crystal ball
In-person Conference

Gaze into the proteomics crystal ball

July 1, 2025

The 15th International Symposium on Proteomics in the Life Sciences symposium will be held August 17–21 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Bassler receives National Medal of Science
Member News

Bassler receives National Medal of Science

June 30, 2025

She was recognized for her research on the molecular mechanisms bacteria use for intercellular communication.

2025 ASBMB election results
Society News

2025 ASBMB election results

June 25, 2025

Learn about the new president, secretary, Council members and committee members.