In memoriam: Sampath Parthasarathy
Sampath Parthasarathy, a lipid scientist and cardiovascular researcher at the University of Central Florida, died of pneumonia on Dec. 1, 2020, the ͵͵ and ͵͵ Biology learned recently. He was 73.
Born Dec. 27, 1947, in India, Parthasarathy earned his Ph.D. at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore and was a postdoctoral fellow at Kyoto University in Japan, Duke University and the University of Minneapolis. He held positions at the University of California, San Diego, Emory University, Louisiana State University and Ohio State University before joining the faculty of the University of Central Florida College of Medicine in 2011, where he held an endowed chair in cardiovascular sciences and served as the associate dean for research. He was also is an inventor and held an MBA in technology management.
A recognized expert in lipids, Parthasarathy was credited with the co-discovery, while at UCSD, that oxidized low-density lipoprotein is involved in the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis. The on this finding is one of the most cited in atherosclerosis research. He also studied the beneficial effects of exercise and dietary polyunsaturated fats such as . He researched both pro- and antioxidants in the context of multiple inflammatory diseases, including diabetes, endometriosis, Alzheimer’s and Crohn’s, “always approaching scientific challenges from novel (outside-the-box) perspectives, connecting the dots, and finding parallels that were inconspicuous to others,” according to a in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.
In addition to being an ASBMB member, Parthsarathy was involved with the American Heart Association, the South Asian Society for Atherosclerosis and Thrombosis and other societies. He served as editor-in-chief of the journal Healthcare, as co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Medicinal Food, and on the editorial boards of numerous other journals, including the Journal of Lipid Research. Fondly known as “Dr. Sam,” he mentored more than 300 students, postdocs, clinical residents and junior investigators from around the world.
Parthsarathy was preceded in death by his first wife, Kalyani. He is survived by his wife, Linda; sons, Raghuveer and Bharath Parthasarathy, and their wives; and five grandchildren.
Enjoy reading ASBMB Today?
Become a member to receive the print edition four times a year and the digital edition weekly.
Learn moreGet the latest from ASBMB Today
Enter your email address, and we’ll send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.
Latest in People
People highlights or most popular articles
Guiding grocery carts to shape healthy habits
Robert “Nate” Helsley will receive the Walter A. Shaw Young Investigator in Lipid Research Award at the 2025 ASBMB Annual Meeting, April 12–15 in Chicago.
Leading the charge for gender equity
Nicole Woitowich will receive the ASBMB Emerging Leadership Award at the 2025 ASBMB Annual meeting, April 12–15 in Chicago.
Honors for de la Fuente, Mittag and De La Cruz
César de la Fuente receives the American Society of Microbiology’s Award for Early Career Basic Research. Tanja Mittag and Enrique M. De La Cruz are named fellows by the Biophysical Society.
In memoriam: Horst Schulz
He was a professor emeritus at City College of New York and at the CUNY Graduate Center in Manhattan whose work concentrated on increasing our understanding of mitochondrial fatty acid metabolism and an ASBMB member since 1971.
Computational and biophysical approaches to disordered proteins
Rohit Pappu will receive the 2025 DeLano Award for Computational Biosciences at the ASBMB Annual Meeting, April 12-15 in Chicago.
Join the pioneers of ferroptosis at cell death conference
Meet Brent Stockwell, Xuejun Jiang and Jin Ye — the co-chairs of the ASBMB’s 2025 meeting on metabolic cross talk and biochemical homeostasis research.