͵͵

In Memoriam

In memoriam: Joel Dain

ASBMB Today Staff
Dec. 13, 2021

Joel A. Dain, a longtime professor at the University of Rhode Island and a member of the ͵͵ and ͵͵ Biology since 1970, died Aug. 21 in Kingston, Rhode Island. He was 89.

Joel Dain

Born Oct. 26, 1931, in the Bronx, New York, Dain earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Cornell University. He was a professor of biochemistry at URI for almost 60 years. Dain and his family traveled for his work, living in Germany, California and Japan while he collaborated with scientists at local universities. He gave invited lectures at conferences and universities around the world. He retired in 2015 and worked as an emeritus professor until his death.

Dain’s lab studied complex glycated protein structures called advanced glycation endproducts, or AGEs, that are associated with complications in diabetes and other diseases. They researched the formation of AGEs with dietary sugars such as fructose, galactose, ribose and glyceraldhyde. Of particular interest was glucosamine, an analog of glucose in which an amine replaces the hydroxyl group on carbon-2. It is widely used as a dietary supplement to relieve osteoarthritis symptoms. The lab worked to develop capillary electrophoresis and high-performance liquid chromatography methods to describe the formation of previously undescribed AGEs.

From early on, Dain opened his lab to graduate students of all genders from all over the world and from diverse backgrounds. He mentored numerous grad students and postdocs with whom he maintained regular contact. In addition to the ASBMB, he belonged to the American Chemical Society and the American Association of University Professors.

Dain was a runner in high school and a basketball player from his teens into his 80s. He also loved tennis and was an avid reader of suspense and detective novels. A lifelong stamp collector, he taught for many years stamp collecting to children through a local community center.

Dain is survived by his wife of 64 years, Eleanor; three sons, Peter, Jonathan and Leonard, and their wives; and six grandchildren.

Enjoy reading ASBMB Today?

Become a member to receive the print edition four times a year and the digital edition weekly.

Learn more
ASBMB Today Staff

This article was written by a member or members of the ASBMB Today staff.

Related articles

In memoriam: Horst Schulz
Manfred Philipp
In memoriam: Bengt Samuelsson
Christopher Radka
In memoriam: William L. Smith
Marissa Locke Rottinghaus
In memoriam: Roger Thibert
Christopher Radka

Get 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

Transforming learning through innovation and collaboration
Award

Transforming learning through innovation and collaboration

Nov. 22, 2024

Neena Grover will receive the William C. Rose Award for Exemplary Contributions to Education at the 2025 ASBMB Annual Meeting, April 12–15 in Chicago.

Guiding grocery carts to shape healthy habits
Award

Guiding grocery carts to shape healthy habits

Nov. 21, 2024

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
Award

Leading the charge for gender equity

Nov. 19, 2024

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
Member News

Honors for de la Fuente, Mittag and De La Cruz

Nov. 18, 2024

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
In Memoriam

In memoriam: Horst Schulz

Nov. 18, 2024

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
Award

Computational and biophysical approaches to disordered proteins

Nov. 14, 2024

Rohit Pappu will receive the 2025 DeLano Award for Computational Biosciences at the ASBMB Annual Meeting, April 12-15 in Chicago.