T. C. Hsu

Professor T.C. Hsu (Traditional Chinese: 徐道覺, Simplified Chinese: 徐道觉; pinyin: Xú Dàojué), (17 April 1917 – 9 July 2003), was a Chinese American cell biologist. He was the 13^th president of American Society for Cell Biology, and known as the "Father of Mammalian Cytogenetics" [ [http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Aktion=ShowPDF&ProduktNr=224037&Ausgabe=230069&ArtikelNr=78954&filename=78954.pdf T.C. Hsu: In memory of a rare scientist] ] .

Life

Hsu was born Tao-Chiuh Hsu in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, China. He did his undergraduate and postgraduate studies in the College of Agricultural Sciences, Zhejiang University. 1948, he went to USA, and obtained PhD from the University of Texas at Austin in 1951.

He determined the accurate haploid chromosome number of Homo sapiens and characterized the human karyotype. His historic paper "Mammalian chromosomes "in vitro" - the karyotype of Man" was published in 1952. [Hsu T.C. 1952. Mammalian chromosomes "in vitro" - the karyotype of Man. "J. Heredity" 43, 167-72.] [Hsu T.C. "Human and mammalian cytogenetics: an historical perspective". Springer-Verlag N.Y. 1979.]

He worked in the laboratory of Charles Pomerat at UTMB in the early 50s where he discovered an improved method of preparing chromosomes that led to the accurate identification of 23 pairs of chromosomes in human somatic cells. He was president of the American Society for Cell Biology and served on faculty at M.D. Anderson for more than 30 years. He was a UTMB GSBS Distinguished Alumnus Award recipient in 1996. He is also a recipient of The International Center in New York's Award of Excellence.

His autobiography was published in the "American Journal of Medical Genetics" 59:304-325 (1995).

He died in Houston, Texas, USA.

References

ee also

*Cytogenetics
*Karyotype

External links

* [http://cse.nias.affrc.go.jp/shignak/chromosome.net/tchsu.html Announcement of death]
* [http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Aktion=ShowPDF&ProduktNr=224037&Ausgabe=230069&ArtikelNr=78954&filename=78954.pdf Obituary] Remembrance by S. Pathak for journal "Cytogenetic and Genome Research"
* [http://www.ascb.org/index.cfm?id=1440&navid=111&tcode=nws3 Obituary] Interesting piece by Bill R. Brinkley for the American Society of Cell Biology