Nicholas R. Cozzarelli, 67; Professor Edited Scientific Journal
Nicholas Robert Cozzarelli, 67, editor in chief of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and a professor of molecular and cell biology at UC Berkeley, died Sunday at his Berkeley home from complications of treatment for Burkitt’s lymphoma.
A member of the National Academy of Sciences, Cozzarelli was known for his research on how, in his words, “proteins push DNA around.”
During his career, he discovered the action of proteins that knit DNA together after it has been damaged, create the twisting double helix structure and tie and untie strands of DNA.
He advocated the mathematical study of knots to understand the function of these enzymes and how they cut and splice DNA to create and untangle complex knots.
As editor in chief since 1995 of the main publication of the National Academy of Sciences, Cozzarelli changed the journal’s methods for reviewing submitted manuscripts, making it a scientific publication that vies for prestige with the best.
Cozzarelli also was a champion of open access publishing, which allows the public, not just a journal’s paid subscribers, to read scientific articles.
Born March 26, 1938, in Jersey City, N.J., to Italian immigrants, Cozzarelli graduated from Princeton. He attended Yale University School of Medicine for one year before switching to Harvard Medical School, where he earned a doctorate in biochemistry in 1966.
Cozzarelli went to UC Berkeley in 1982 as a professor of molecular biology, chaired that department from 1986 to 1989 and directed the campus’ Virus Laboratory from 1986 to 1990. He wrote more than 160 scientific publications and many editorial commentaries for the journal.
