THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 3, 1996 TAG: 9604030364
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: PALO ALTO, CALIF. LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
Michael Komaromy, Ph.D., a distinguished young scientist at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation's Research Institute for nearly 10 years, died unexpectedly at his home in Pacifica Monday afternoon, March 25, 1996, of cardiac arrest.
Komaromy, 43, was a molecular biologist specializing in genetic engineering studies at the Research Institute. He was the first scientist to successfully clone an important gene in the field of lipid (cholesterol) metabolism, the gene for the hepatic lypase enzyme.
``He was one of the smartest people I've worked with, with broad interests, a broad fund of knowledge and an insatiable desire to discover new things,'' Allen D. Cooper, M.D., Research Institute director and a colleague of Dr. Komaromy's said of his professional interest.
Dr. Cooper said that on Tuesday the Institute received a letter from a major scientific journal reviewing a scientific paper by Dr. Komaromy for publication, describing how he constructed a model ``cell system.'' The reviewer described it as an ``imaginative and very useful system to study an important problem in lipoprotein metabolism.''
Dr. Cooper said the cells developed by Dr. Komaromy ``will be a resource for many scientists for many years to come. This will be fitting memorial for Mike.''
Dr. Komaromy did his undergraduate studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he was a postdoctoral fellow in molecular biology. He later worked with the cardiovascular research group at UCLA.
He and his wife, Miriam, resided in San Francisco and then in Pacifica during his tenure at the Research Institute. She is a physician in internal medicine and a researcher in public health policies at the University of California, San Francisco.
They have two sons, Gabriel, 2, and Isaac, 7 months. Dr. Komaromy also is survived by his mother, Alice Komaromy of Arlington, Va.; and a sister, Suanne Hull of Woodstock, Ga.
He was born in Bethesda, Md., and like his father, the late Julius C. Komaromy, was in the U.S. Navy. He was raised in numerous locations, including Naples, Italy, and Norfolk, where he graduated with honors from Lake Taylor High School with the class of 1969-1970.
KEYWORDS: DEATH OBITUARY by CNB