A tribute to Stuart A. Kornfeld (1936-2025) - Obituary

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by Himbo

Obituary tribute to Stuart A. Kornfeld, MD (1936–2025), describing his passing in St. Louis on August 17, 2025 after complications from Parkinson’s disease. The tribute highlights his long clinical research leadership at Washington University School of Medicine, including hematology-oncology and hematology directorships and stewardship of the MSTP and the founding of a physician-scientist training program in the United States. It summarizes his foundational role in glycobiology, discoveries on protein glycosylation, glycan regulation of lysosomal trafficking, and his career path from Dartmouth to WUSM and NIH.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages3

Reading Time8 min

AccessFree to download

Obituary Overview

Leadership and Training Contributions

Scientific Contributions in Glycobiology

Early Life and Education

Research Themes and Career Milestones

The Journal of Clinical Investigation OBITUARY A tribute to Stuart A. Kornfeld (1936–2025) Richard Steet1 and Richard D. Cummings2 1Greenwood Genetic Center, Greenwood, South Carolina, USA. 2Department of Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Agiantin the field of biomedical research, Stuart Arthur Kornfeld, MD (Figure 1), passed away in St. Louis on Sunday, August 17, 2025, following complications from Parkinson’s disease. Stuart was the David C. and Betty Farrell Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM) . His leadership roles at WUSM, where he spent his entire clinical research career, included serving as co-director of the Division of Hematology-Oncology from 1976 to 1992 and codirector of the Division of Hematology from 1993 to 2009. Importantly, Stuart directed the Washington University Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) from 1991to 1997. He was also the founder in 2000 of the first physician-scientist training program (PSTP) in the United States. His commitment to research and the training of physician-scientists was monumental and historic. Stuart was one of the founders of the field of glycobiology, as well as being the one of the first to identify clinical causes of diseases related to protein glycosylation and modification. His studies on glycoprotein biosynthesis, the pathways of glycosylating asparagine residues, and the functions of the oligosaccharides (glycans) and his discovery of their roles in regulating trafficking of lysosomal hydrolases to the lysosome—as well as the formation of that organelle — were groundbreaking (1, 2) . He was the quintessential physician-scientist, and one could imagine the term having been created in his honor. Stuart was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on October 4, 1936. Stuart’s father, Max, was a dentist and faculty member at Washington University in St. Louis, where he taught and conducted research. Stuart’s mother, Ruth, was his father’s laboratory assistant. Stuart had an intense interest in sports, played tennis and golf throughout his life, and loved baseball. He was an avid, lifelong fan of the St. Louis Figure 1. Stuart A. Kornfeld, MD. Image credit: Karen Guth. Cardinals and could easily be drawn into deep conversations about batting averages. But while Stuart was interested in sports and architecture, and imagined following in the footsteps of Frank Lloyd Wright, his family encouraged him to go into medicine (3) . He enrolled at Dartmouth, where he graduated in 1958 with a degree in zoology. During that time, he was impressed by textbook articles on metabolism from the incredible duo of Gerty and Carl Cori, who in 1931 had become faculty members at WUSM. The Coris were among the few married couples to be awarded the Nobel Prize (1947) for their work on glucose metabolism. This encouraged Stuart to enroll at WUSM, from which he received his MD in 1962. While a medical student, he found time to work with Luis Glaser, who had worked with the Coris and whose lab was next door to Gerty Cori’s. Among the highlights of Copyright: © 2026, Steet et al. This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Reference information: J Clin Invest. 2026;136(1):e202948 . [https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI202948](https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI202948) . his student days at WUSM was meeting a young PhD student named Rosalind Hauk. They married in 1959, and a new powerhouse research duo was created. They worked together for 48 years until Rosalind’s passing in 2007. Following his clinical training at WUSM, and based on suggestions from Carl V. Moore, Chair of Medicine, and Carl Cori, both Stuart and Rosalind moved to Washington, DC, and the NIH. Here Stuart, and later Rosalind, worked with Victor Ginsburg, oneof the founding biochemists in the field of glycobiology. During this time, Stuart devel

FAQs

What were the circumstances of Stuart A. Kornfeld’s death?

The tribute states that he passed away in St. Louis on Sunday, August 17, 2025, following complications from Parkinson’s disease.

What key academic and leadership roles did he hold at Washington University School of Medicine?

He served as co-director of the Division of Hematology-Oncology (1976–1992), codirector of the Division of Hematology (1993–2009), and directed the Washington University Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) from 1991 to 1997.

Which scientific field did he help pioneer, and what were some landmark research contributions?

He was described as one of the founders of glycobiology and early investigators of clinical causes related to protein glycosylation. His work covered glycoprotein biosynthesis, glycan recognition, and how glycans regulate trafficking of lysosomal hydrolases to the lysosome.

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by Himbo