In memoriam: Alan G. Goodridge

Alan G. Goodridge, a longtime associate editor of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, died August 8 at age 88. He had been an American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology member since 1971.

Alan G. Goodridge

Born April 2, 1937, in Peabody, Massachusetts, Goodridge developed a passion for birdwatching that shaped his scientific path. He received a B.S. in biology from Tufts University and a Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Michigan. During his Ph.D., Goodridge studied how migrating birds fuel their wing muscles and identified a critical role for fatty acid biosynthesis in maintaining energy balance. After his Ph.D., he completed postdoctoral research in biochemistry at Harvard Medical School.

Goodridge’s academic career included being an assistant professor of physiology at the University of Kansas Medical Center, working in the Banting and Best Medical Research Department at the University of Toronto, being a professor of pharmacology and biochemistry at Case Western Reserve University, and becoming chair of the department of biochemistry at the University of Iowa.

Goodridge became best known for his work in lipid metabolism. He was part of the first generation of biochemists to use the techniques of molecular biology to investigate the synthesis of lipogenic enzymes in response to dietary and hormonal changes.  His laboratory was the first to clone cDNAs for malic enzyme and fatty acid synthase, key enzymes in the synthesis of fatty acids. Most notably, he characterized the transcriptional regulation of these enzymes by thyroid hormone via the thyroid hormone receptor. This work highlighted the importance of DNA-binding proteins in regulating intermediary metabolism and identified these proteins as potential targets for drugs to treat obesity and hyperlipidemia, a condition of excess fat in the bloodstream.

In 1996, Goodridge switched from academic to administrative roles. He began as dean of the College of Biological Sciences at the Ohio State University, followed by an appointment as Provost of the University of Toledo, Ohio, and later, as provost and acting president of Alfaisal University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Goodridge was instrumental in establishing four colleges at Alfaisal: Life Sciences, Medicine, Engineering and Business.

Throughout his career, Goodridge trained numerous graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Through his mentorship, many went on to productive careers at universities and in academic research. “He was always a stickler for precision in scientific writing and public speaking, a process few of his mentees will forget,” Lisa Salati, a former postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory and current professor emeritus at West Virginia University, said.

Goodridge is survived by his two sons, three grandchildren and his wife.