Goldstein, Joseph L.

Goldstein, Joseph L. (Leonard) (1940–  ) biochemical geneticist; born in Sumter, S.C. He was a biochemist for the National Heart Institute (1968–70) and a research fellow at the University of Washington (1970–72), before joining the University of Texas (1972). Clinical observations of patients with high cholesterol levels and circulatory impairment stimulated him to study the genetic relationship of high cholesterol and triglyceride levels to heart disease. He invited his close friend and professional colleague, Michael Brown, to Texas; in 1973, the two scientists discovered the cellular receptor molecules that control the blood level of low-density lipoproteins, the cholesterol-transporting substances which are associated with heart disease. For this work, Goldstein and Brown shared the 1985 Nobel Prize in physiology. Goldstein continued to make major advances in protein and lipid biochemistry.