Tending Neurospora: David Perkins, 1919-2007, and Dorothy Newmeyer Perkins, 1922-2007.

THE death of David Perkins and his wife, Dorothy Newmeyer Perkins, just after the new year is a great loss to fungal genetics, but the work to which they devoted their lives has left the field in vibrant health. The contributions that David made, with the long-standing collaboration and support of his wife, extend over many areas of study using the model organism, the fungus Neurospora. These include pioneering work on its formal genetics, the most extensive studies performed with any eukaryotic microorganism at the time: its cytogenetics, its genomic organization, the biology of its mating systems, and an extensive exploration of its natural populations. During that time, David sustained the research of investigators worldwide by methodological innovations, running compendia of mutants and genetic maps, recruitment of women and young investigators, and illumination of the path to future research problems. He thereby furthered the role of Neurospora as a model for studies of filamentous fungi in general for >50 years (Davis 2000). Indeed, no single investigator can claim a greater role in the origin and development of the large field of fungal genetics and biology. David Dexter Perkins died on January 2, 2007, at the age of 87 in Stanford, California, after a short illness. Born in Watertown, New York, on May 2, 1919, he received his bachelor's degree in biology in 1941 at the University of Rochester. After serving as an intelligence officer in the Army Air Force in England during World War II, David received his Ph.D. degree in 1949 at Columbia University for work in genetics with Francis Ryan. He took a position in the Biology Department at Stanford University the same year. Since 1951, David's work on the genetics of the fungus Neurospora continued without interruption for 58 years. Although compelled to retire “officially” at the age of 70 in 1989, David maintained an active laboratory at Stanford as professor emeritus until his death in 2007. Dorothy (“Dot”) Lorraine Newmeyer Perkins died of natural causes on January 6, 2007, a few days after David. Born on May 28, 1922, she ultimately had four siblings. Both of her parents were musicians. Dot maintained an interest in music, but yearned to have a career as a research scientist. Thinking at the time that this goal was unattainable for a woman, she enrolled in the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and graduated with high honors in the mid-1940s. She took a job as a chemist in a drug factory, but escaped its routines for a position as a lab technician, and later as a graduate student, with Edward L. Tatum at Yale University. She completed her Ph.D. at Stanford in 1951, following Tatum's move back to the West Coast. She married David Perkins in 1952 and worked thereafter on Neurospora genetics as a Senior Research Scientist in David's lab. Poor health forced her to work part time in mid-career and to retire early, although she continued to contribute to the work of the laboratory. David and Dorothy Perkins are survived by their only child, Susan, born in 1956. In addition to science, the entire family enjoyed hiking and camping trips in the California coast range and Sierra Nevada Mountains. Sue Perkins became a geologist, and she and her husband, John Bergin, live in Seattle. Figure 1.— David and Dot Perkins in the 1970s. Photograph kindly provided by Susan Perkins.