Nicholas Robert Cozzarelli
Nicholas Robert Cozzarelli,
editor-in-chief of the journal
Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences and a
professor of molecular and
cell biology at the University
of California, Berkeley.
Courtesy of UC Berkeley.

Editor-in-Chief  Nicholas Cozzarelli (1938-2006)

Nicholas R. Cozzarelli, editor-in-chief of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and professor of molecular and cell biology at the University of California, Berkeley, died Sunday, March 19 at the age of 67 at his home in Berkeley, California, from complications related to treatment for Burkitt’s lymphoma.

Elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1989 for his contributions to the understanding of how proteins alter the topology of DNA, Cozzarelli elucidated the nature of DNA architecture and growth through enzymologic studies of polymerases, ligases, recombinases, and topoisomerases. His recent work focused on the partitioning of chromosomes and unlinking of DNA during replication, using prokaryotic and eukaryotic systems to study DNA-protein interactions and physiological roles.

"We are all deeply saddened by his death. He was both liked and respected by everyone he worked with," says Kenneth R. Fulton, executive director of the National Academy of Sciences and publisher of PNAS. Cozzarelli was known “for his extraordinary contributions as editor-in-chief…his profound vision, his dedication to the highest standards, and his many achievements in improving the quality and impact of the Proceedings,” says Fulton.

Nick Cozzarelli and his family
Nick Cozzarelli and his family outside the National Academy
of Sciences in Washington, DC. From right to left:
Cozzarelli; his wife, Linda Cozzarelli; daughter Laura
Cozzarelli-Wood; and son-in-law, Brian Wood.
As editor-in-chief of PNAS since July 1995, Cozzarelli spearheaded dynamic initiatives vastly improving the quality and reach of the journal. In the first few months of his tenure, he opened research article submissions to PNAS to the global scientific community by allowing authors to submit papers without sponsorship of a National Academy of Sciences member. A proponent of open access publishing, Cozzarelli also instituted changes to give researchers and the general public free and easy access to PNAS papers online, and challenged others to follow suit.

A retrospective and an editorial on Cozzarelli are available online and appear in the April 18 print issue of PNAS.




PNAS Retrospective on Nicholas Cozzarelli >>

PNAS Editorial by Bruce Alberts >>


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