As the greater Glenside community basks in the glow of Abington biochemist Katalin Karikó’s recent Nobel Prize achievements, local historian Chuck Langerman has shared with us another local Nobel laureate in Dr. Michael S. Brown, a 1958 graduate of Cheltenham High School.

According to Langerman, on December 10, 1985, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden presented the Nobel Prize in Medicine to the Elkins Park native for his discovery of the cellular regulation of cholesterol. This discovery has since helped prevent and treat heart attacks, hardening of the arteries, and strokes.

Dr. Joseph L. Goldstein, a colleague and longtime friend, helped Dr. Smith discover the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor, which controls the level of cholesterol in blood and in cells. This monumental determination became the basis for statin medications that reduce cholesterol levels in the blood.

Dr. Smith was also the former sports editor of The Cheltonian, Langerman notes.

From NobelPrize.org’s biography of Dr. Smith:

Cholesterol is an important component in the body’s cells and plays an important role in several biochemical processes. Too much cholesterol in the blood can cause problems, however, by forming strictures in blood vessels. In 1973 Michael Brown and Joseph Goldstein discovered the receptor, or receiver, in cells that takes in cholesterol and clarified how the conversion of cholesterol is regulated by our genes and other substances. The discoveries became the basis for statins, medications that reduce cholesterol levels in the blood.

In 2019, Dr. Brown received an honorary doctorate of science at Arcadia University’s 2019 undergraduate commencement ceremony. For the full story, you can click here.

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Photo: Wikipedia Commons