J. Michael Edwards
President (1984-1985)
Michael Edwards held degrees from the Univ. Cambridge, England, and from Melbourne
University, Australia, both in Organic Chemistry. His Ph.D. studies involved the structure and
chemistry of chorismic acid, which led him to a lasting interest in the shikimic acid pathway of
amino acid biosynthesis, and to formation of natural products containing
aromatic systems in general. After postdoctoral studies in Georgetown and
Birmingham (UK), he spent three years at NIH, working with Ulrich
Weiss, who was an ASP member for many years. Dr. Edwards then
moved to the Univ. Connecticut to take up a position in the School of
Pharmacy which became available when Arthur Schwarting was elected to
the Deanship. Dr. Edwards was granted sabbatical leaves at the
Universities of Surrey (UK), Cape Town (S. Africa), and Western
Australia, where he was able to study the occurrence and biosynthesis of
the unusual phenalenone pigments of the Haemodoraceae, his major academic interest. Dr.
Edwards retired from the Univ. Connecticut where he had been the Associate Dean of the School
of Pharmacy for sixteen years. (JME)