Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry

David L. Nelson, born in Fairmont, Minnesota, received his BS inchemistry and biology from St. Olaf College in 1964, and earned his PhD inbiochemistry at Stanford Medical School, under Arthur Kornberg. He was apostdoctoral fellow at the Harvard Medical School with Eugene P. Kennedy,who was one of Albert Lehninger’s first graduate students. Nelson joinedthe faculty of the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1971 and became afull professor of biochemistry in 1982. For eight years he was Director ofthe Center for Biology Education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Hebecame Professor Emeritus in 2013. Nelson’s research focused on the signaltransductions that regulate ciliary motion and exocytosis in the protozoanParamecium. For 43 years he taught (with Mike Cox) an intensive survey ofbiochemistry for advanced biochemistry undergraduates in the life sciences.He has also taught graduate courses on membrane structure and function, aswell as on molecular neurobiology. He has received awards for hisoutstanding teaching, including the Dreyfus Teacher–Scholar Award and theAtwood Distinguished Professorship. In 1991–1992 he was a visitingprofessor of chemistry and biology at Spelman College. Nelson’s second loveis history, and in his dotage he teaches the history of biochemistry andcollects antique scientific instruments.

Michael M. Cox was born in Wilmington, Delaware. In his firstbiochemistry course, the first edition of Lehninger’s Biochemistry was amajor influence in refocusing his fascination with biology and inspiringhim to pursue a career in biochemistry. After graduate work at BrandeisUniversity with William P. Jencks and postdoctoral work at Stanford with I.Robert Lehman, he moved to the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1983. Hebecame a full professor of Biochemistry in 1992. Mike Cox has coordinatedan active research team at Wisconsin investigating the function andmechanism of enzymes that act at the interface of DNA replication, repair, and recombination. That work has resulted in over 200 publications to date.For more than three decades, Cox has taught introductory biochemistry toundergraduates and has lectured in a variety of graduate courses. Heorganized a course on professional responsibility for first-year graduatestudents and established a systematic program to draw talented biochemistryundergraduates into the laboratory at an early stage of their collegecareer. He has received multiple awards for both his teaching and hisresearch, including the Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry, electionas a AAAS fellow, and the UW Regents Teaching Excellence Award. Cox’shobbies include turning 18 acres of Wisconsin farmland into an arboretum,wine collecting, and assisting in the design of laboratory buildings.