Obituary [James B. Sidbury, Jr., M.D. (1922-2003)]

doi:10.2174/1566524033479780

Abstract

Dr. James B. Sidbury, Jr. passed away in Mount Vernon, Washington on February 17, 2003. He was the Scientific Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from 1975 to 1981 and remained at the NICHD as a Scientist Emeritus until a year before his death. We were very fortunate to have him serve as an Associate Editor of Current Molecular Medicine. Jim Sidbury was born in Wilmington, North Carolina. He received his undergraduate training at Yale University graduating in 1944. He studied medicine at Columbia University in New York and received his M.D. degree in 1947. He was a practicing pediatrician at the Babies Hospital in Wilmington for several years before joining the faculty at Johns Hopkins University Medical School in 1955. He returned to his home state of North Carolina and served in the pediatric faculty of Duke University in Durham, N.C. from 1961 to 1975 when he was appointed the Scientific Director of NICHD. One of Jim Sidburys life long scientific interests was to understand the molecular mechanisms of glycogen storage diseases (GSD) and to develop an effective treatment. In collaboration with his colleagues he was able to develop the only treatment for GSDs using uncooked corn starch and to delineate the molecular mechanism of GSD 1a. Those of us who knew Jim closely will remember him as an unassuming gentleman who was full of wit and humor, an imaginative scientist, a compassionate physician, a trusted friend, a helpful colleague and above all, a genuine human being. His devotion and concern for improving childrens health and welfare are his legacy. Aside from his dedication to science and medicine, he enjoyed sailing, which led him to spend his retired life in Deale, a small community on the Chesapeake Bay. Jim Sidbury married Alice Lucas who died in 1977. He is survived by two sons and three daughters, five grand children, two sisters as well as seven nephews and nieces.

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