Handler, Philip, Papers, 1933-1982

Collection Number: MC.0015
Philip Handler Papers, 1933 - 1982

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Copyright for Official University records is held by Duke University; all other copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Philip Handler papers, Duke University Medical Center Archives.

Acquisitions Information

Gift; 1985.

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Collections may contain Medical Center Administrative records. These include records of the officers of the University, as defined in the Bylaws, the deans of schools and colleges, and departments, institutes, and other offices as designated by the President. For a period of twenty-five years from the origin of the material, permission in writing from the director of the office of record and the Medical Center Archivist is required for use. After twenty-five years, records that have been processed may be consulted with the permission of the Medical Center Archivist.

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The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings and Medical Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collectionsuch as folders or items.

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• Duke University--Faculty.
• Duke University. Dept. of Biochemistry.
• Duke University. Medical Center.
• Duke University. School of Medicine.
• Perlzweig, William Alexander, b. 1891
• Biochemistry
• Education, Medical

Philip Handler was born in New York, N.Y. in 1917. He received degrees from the College City of New York (B.S., 1936); and University of Illinois (Ph.D., 1939). Dr. Handler joined Duke University as an instructor of biochemistry in 1939. He held many positions at Duke University: instructor (1939-1940), associate professor (1940-1941), assistant professor of physiology (1941-1944), associate professor of biochemistry and nutrition (1944-1949), professor of biochemistry (1949-1969). He also served as chair of the Department of Biochemistry from 1950-1969 and was named a James B. Duke Professor of Biochemistry in 1961.

In 1964 Dr. Handler was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences. Five years later, he was selected to be the society's eighteenth president. He served two consecutive six-year terms from 1969 to 1981.

As a biochemist, Dr. Handler published more than 200 papers in important professional journals and was the coauthor of the widely used textbook Principles of Biochemistry. One of his first major research efforts was on the underlying problems that cause pellagra. He also made other contributions to understanding the mechanisms by which enzyme proteins carry out their catalytic functions in metabolism. Handler was also on the editorial board of periodicals including Geriatrics, Journal Theoretical Biology, Journal Biological Chemistry, and Journal of Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology.

Dr. Handler was the recipient of numerous awards and twenty-eight honorary doctorate degrees. Among many honors, he was the Annual Orator of the Harvey Cushing Society and of the Welch Foundation, Sigma Xi National Lecturer, and delivered memorial lectures at many scientific institutions in the United States and abroad. He served on the boards and visiting committees of more than a dozen scientific institutions and was decorated by the governments of Austria, Belgium, and Poland. Handler also served as a consultant to the United States Veteran's Administration, Mead Johnson and Company, Squibb, Inc., and Continental Baking Company.

Dr. Handler's major activities in science and public policy began in 1951, when he accepted the first in a series of government advisory appointments. He served for twelve years on the National Science Board and was member of the President's Science Advisory Committee under two presidents. In 1981, he was awarded the National Medal of Science. A citation signed by President Reagan honored him "...for his outstanding contribution to biochemical research, resulting in significant contributions to mankind, including research that led to a clearer understanding of pellagra, and for his national leadership in furthering the state of American science."

Dr. Handler married Lucille P. Marcus in 1939. Together they had two children. Dr. Handler died on December 29, 1981.

Organized into the following series: Professional Correspondence, 1933-1982; Biographical Materials and Memoirs, 1961-1982.

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