Professor emeritus of neurobiology dies at
91
Charles “Tom” Sawyer, a professor emeritus of
neurobiology at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and one of
the creators of the UCLA Brain Research Institute’s
Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, died June 20 at the age of
91.
A pioneer in the field of neuroendocrinology, his research
helped lay the groundwork for the development of the birth control
pill and the treatment of infertility.
“Tom was an outstanding neurobiologist who played a major
role in the development of neuroendocrinology at UCLA and
worldwide,” Roger Gorski, a former colleague of
Sawyer’s and a UCLA professor emeritus of neurobiology, said
in a statement.
Sawyer’s research in neuroendocrinology, which is the
study of the relationship between the nervous system and the
endocrine system, helped to pinpoint how the brain controls the
secretion of hormones from the pituitary gland and link it to the
reproductive system.
“Tom was a giant in the field of
neuroendocrinology,” said Arthur Arnold, UCLA chair of
physiological sciences and director of the UCLA Laboratory of
Neuroendocrinology.
Sawyer was born in 1915 in Ludlow, Vt. He graduated from
Middlebury College in 1937 and would later marry fellow student
Ruth Schaeffer.
Sawyer received his doctoral degree in zoology from Yale
University in 1941.
In 1951, Sawyer joined the anatomy department at the newly
created UCLA School of Medicine.
In addition to his wife, Sawyer is survived by his daughter, his
son-in-law Dr. William Steffan and his grandsons Joseph and Thomas
Steffan.
Compiled by Peach Indravudh, Bruin senior staff.