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Leonard Warren, PSOM, Wistar

Dr. Leonard Warren, professor emeritus of anatomy, died April 1. He was 94. 

Dr. Warren was born in Toronto, Canada. He received his BA in physiology in 1947 and medical degree in 1951 from the University of Toronto. After an internship at the Toronto General Hospital and a year as a research associate at Boston Children’s Hospital, he took a fellowship in biochemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, earning his PhD there in 1957. 

His career path took him next to the National Institutes of Health and then he came to the University of Pennsylvania, where in 1973 he began as Adolph & Felicia Leon ACS Professor of Therapeutic Research. In 1975, he became professor of anatomy/cell and developmental biology. At the same time, he held the position of Institute Professor at The Wistar Institute from 1975 until 2004. He became an emeritus professor of anatomy at Penn in 1978 and Institute Professor Emeritus at Wistar in 2005. 

Dr. Warren spent his sabbaticals at the Pasteur Institute in Paris; the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, London; and the Institute of Embryology and Histology, University of Rome. His research interests included: glycoproteins, synthesis and metabolism of sialic acids in normal and malignant cells, biochemistry of surface membrane of animals cells (normal and malignant), and secretory processes in normal and malignant cells and in cells from individuals suffering from hereditary diseases. He researched the mechanism of multiple drug resistance of malignant cells. He spent the summers doing research at the Marine Biological Institute in Woods Hole. At Penn, he served for several years on the Association of Senior and Emeritus Faculty (ASEF) Board. 

His extensive list of research publications include several biographies: Joseph Leidy, the Last Man Who Knew Everything, for which he received the Athenaeum Special Citation for non-fiction in 2000 as well as Adele Marion Fielde: Feminist, Social Activist, Scientist; Constantine Samuel Rafinesque: A Voice in the American Wilderness; and Maclure of New Harmony. 

He is survived by his wife, Eve; son, Daniel (Hannah Ginsborg), daughters, Kit (Mark O’Brien) and Suzanne; and grandchildren, Noah, Will and Naomi. A memorial service for Dr. Warren is planned for later in the spring.

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