Martha D. Berliner

Martha D. Berliner VIRGINIA BEACH - Martha D. Berliner, beloved wife, mother and grandmother, died March 4, 2009, at the age of 80, from complications of multiple myeloma. She was born in 1928 in Antwerp, Belgium, to Abraham and Frieda Mandelbaum Dresner. Martha lived in Belgium, France and Brazil until coming to the United States in 1942. A lifelong scientist, Martha graduated from Hunter College in 1949 with a B.A. in zoology, (elected to its Alumni Hall of Fame in 1995), the University of Michigan in 1950 with an M.S. in botany and natural resources and Columbia University in 1953, where she earned her Ph.D. in botany and microbiology. Martha met S. Newton Berliner while they were both attending Columbia. She married Newton, a mechanical engineer by profession, in 1952. They moved to Massachusetts in 1953 and lived in Marblehead until l982, where Martha was active in town affairs as a trustee of the Mary Alley Hospital and president of the Marblehead Taxpayer's Association. In her 30-year career, Martha served as senior scientist at AVCO Corporation, Wilmington, Mass., where she designed experiments for the NASA Biosatellite Program and Lunar module (1958-1965); she was a senior research associate of the Dept. of Microbiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, (1965-1974) where she worked on vaccines against human fungal infections; a professor of bilogy at Simmons College, Boston (1965-1980), where she served as a role model to women undergraduates interested in science careers; she was a program officer in Cell Biology and Biological Instrumentation (1980-1982) at the National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C.; she was a chairman and professor in the Dept. of Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Richmond, Va.; and a professor of microbiology and immunology, Medical College of Virginia (1982-1987). Dr. Berliner established patent and intellectual property committees at Simmons College and at VCU. She was also adjunct professor of microbiology and immunology, Eastern Virginia Medical School (l987-96). Martha published more than 100 research papers, book chapters and reviews and served as a consultant to industry and government and on the editorial boards of several professional research journals. She was a member and officer of national and international microbiology research societies, and traveled extensively presenting research funded by the National Science Foundation, The Research Corporation, National Institutes of Health, American Thoracic Society, General Foods and Biotechnical Resources Inc. She co-founded a Plant Biotechnology Laboratory at VCU, was active in the Tidewater and Virginia Infectious Diseases Societies and consulted to Virginia medical, industrial and legal clients. Martha moved to Virginia Beach in 1983, maintaining a second home in Richmond until l987. She served as vice president and treasurer of the Baylake Pines Civic League, volunteer educator at the Virginia Marine Science Museum, officer in the Brandeis University Womens' Committee, the Board of the regional Anti-Defamation League of B'nai Brith, and the Board of the Virginia Chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Martha's beloved husband, Newton, passed away at the age of 86 in January of 2009. Martha is survived by her daughter, Leni Berliner of Washington, D.C.; her son, Michael Berliner and his wife Juel Berliner; and her much beloved granddaughter, Johanna, all of Chapel Hill, N.C. She is also survived by her brothers, Dr. Joseph Dresner of Princeton, N.J., and Simon Dresner of Kingstown, R.I., as well as several nieces and nephews. A private memorial is being planned. Martha requested that charitable donations in her memory be made to any non-sectarian educational organization, such as the University of Michigan Biological Station, 2541 Chemistry Bldg., 930 North University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-1055, (734) 763-4461.