Michael Menaker

May 19, 1934 - February 14, 2021

In Memoriam: Groundbreaking 'Giant' in Study of Circadian Rhythms, Influential Mentor Michael Menaker -Lorenzo Perez, Senior Writer, UVA Arts & Sciences Communications

Michael Menaker, an internationally renowned researcher, generous mentor and retired biology professor at the University of Virginia, died recently at the age of 86. A giant in the field of circadian rhythms, Menaker was widely considered one of the pioneers in the physiological analysis and identification of circadian pacemakers in the vertebrate nervous and endocrine systems. He died on Februay 14, 2021.

Menaker's groundbreaking discoveries included the first single-gene circadian mutation in mammals and the existence of widespread circadian oscillators in peripheral tissues in mammals. The National Science Foundation Center for Biological Timing, conceived and established under Menaker's watch and active support at UVA, functioned as the headquarters of a multi-university institute that made pioneering discoveries. It placed UVA at the center of the circadian rhythms universe.

"Many of us will miss Mike for the simple and selfish reason that we have lost a dear friend and scientific father," said Russell Foster, past president of the European Biological Rhythms Society. "But the bigger, and more bitter loss, is that Mike will no longer be there at our meetings, asking those brilliant questions and inspiring the next generation of circadian biologists."

Born on May 19, 1934 in Vienna, Austria, Menaker received his B.A. in biology from Swarthmore College in 1955. He married his Swarthmore sweetheart, the late Shirley Lasch Menaker, that same year. He went on to Princeton University for graduate school and received his Ph.D. in 1960 before serving as a postdoctoral fellow with Donald Griffin at Harvard University. Menaker began his academic career as an assistant professor in the Department of Zoology at the University of Texas, Austin and rose through the ranks to professor. In 1979, Mike was recruited to the University of Oregon, where he served as Director of the Institute of Neuroscience. After joining UVA in 1987, he served as Commonwealth Professor of Biology until his retirement last year.

It may be impossible to catalogue the breadth of Menaker's scientific impact. He published some 200 peer-reviewed papers, and the notable awards and recognitions that he earned over the course of his career include election to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences; a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Photobiology: a Virginia's Outstanding Scientists: Lifetime Achievement Award; and the Peter C. Farrell Prize in Sleep Medicine from the Harvard Medical School Division of Sleep Medicine. However, his colleagues and proteges said Menaker's greatest impact came in the influence he had on the many undergraduate students, graduate students and post-doctoral scholars he trained over the years and with whom he remained close.

Prof. Ignacio Provencio, a graduate student in UVA's Department of Biology during Menaker's tenure as department chair, returned to join UVA's faculty in 2005, drawn in part by the prospect of working closely with him.

"As my friendship with Mike grew, I never forgot what a giant he was in the field," Provencio said. "I never took for granted the times Mike would enter my office just to shoot the breeze, knowing it was an opportunity others would love to have."

Another of Menaker's accomplished students, Joe Takahashi, wrote a tribute to him for the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms.

"Mike was an exceptional individual who had an unusual talent for innovative discovery and insight in biology. During his career, he was able to stimulate and foster the research careers of a substantial number of individuals who have gone on to contribute significantly to the fields of neuroscience and biology. Menaker was a profound thinker, listener and integrator of knowledge. He was charismatic and a delight to be around. He was very open and readily shared both his intellectual and political experience and opinions with his students and peers. All of these qualities contributed greatly to this success," wrote Takahashi, the Loyd B. Sands Distinguished Chair in Neuroscience at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. "But perhaps his most important talent was his belief in his own judgment and his 'nose' for interesting biological questions. He was a rare and precious leader and pioneer. Mike will truly be missed by all his friends, colleagues and family."

As accomplished and engaged as Mike and his wife Shirley were in their respective fields, they were even more involved and available for their family and friends. Always encouraging, motivating and supportive, they raised their children in a household full of love and learning. That legacy lives on today with their children and grandchildren and extended scientific family.

Menaker is survived by his daughter, Ellen Briones and his son-in-law, Jon Briones; his son, Nicholas Menaker; his grandchildren, Demetris, Nikkita and Izzy Briones; and his brother, Dr. Thomas Menaker.