Mazia, Daniel

born Dec. 18, 1912, Scranton, Pa., U.S.

died June 9, 1996, Monterey, Calif.

U.S. cell biologist.

He received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. His research focused on various aspects of cell reproduction, including mitosis and regulation. He is best known for isolating the structure responsible for cell division, research that he carried out with Katsuma Dan (1905?–96) in 1951.

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▪ 1997

      U.S. cell biologist (b. Dec. 18, 1912, Scranton, Pa.—d. June 9, 1996, Monterey, Calif.), studied the structure, division, and regulation of cells and was best known for having isolated the cellular structures involved in mitosis (the process by which chromosomes within the nucleus of a cell double and divide), research that he carried out in 1951 with Japanese biologist Katsuma Dan. Mazia, who was interested in all aspects of cell reproduction, focused on a variety of other issues in cellular biology, such as the role of DNA in chromosomes and the function of the centrosome, an organizing structure of the cell. He carried his enthusiasm into the classroom, where he was a stimulating and inspiring lecturer. Mazia was raised in Philadelphia and studied zoology at the University of Pennsylvania (A.B., 1933; Ph.D., 1937). After graduation he was a National Research Council fellow at Princeton University and at the Marine Biological Laboratories in Woods Hole, Mass. Between 1938 and 1950 he taught at the University of Missouri, taking time out to serve in World War II. Mazia joined the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley, where he was professor of zoology until his retirement in 1979. He then moved to Stanford University and was professor emeritus of biological sciences at the Hopkins Marine Station in Pacific Grove, Calif. Mazia was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and he served one term as president of the International Cell Research Organization of UNESCO.

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▪ American biologist

born Dec. 18, 1912, Scranton, Pa., U.S.

died June 9, 1996, Monterey, Calif.

      American cell biologist who was notable for his work in nuclear and cellular physiology, especially the mechanisms involved in mitosis (the process by which the chromosomes within the nucleus of a cell double and divide prior to cell division).

      Mazia was educated at the University of Pennsylvania (Ph.D., 1937). He was a National Research Council fellow at Princeton University and at the Marine Biological Laboratories, Woods Hole, Mass. (1937–38). He then taught at the University of Missouri (1938–50) and joined the faculty of the University of California at Berkeley (1951–79).

      Throughout his career Mazia's research focused on various aspects of cell reproduction, including division and regulation. He is best known for isolating the mitotic apparatus, the structure responsible for cell division, research that he carried out with the Japanese biologist Katsuma Dan in 1951.

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