Merton Bernfield, MD, former chairman and chief of BWH’s Department of Newborn Medicine and chief of the Division of Newborn Medicine at Children's Hospital Boston, died Monday, March 18 at the age of 63.
Bernfield, who also served as chief of the Joint Program in Neonatology and Clement A. Smith Professor of Pediatrics and Professor of Cell Biology at Harvard Medical School, was a pioneer in the field of glycobiology. Bernfield’s research lead to the discovery of syndecans —molecules that control or influence tissue repair, energy metabolism, tumorigenesis and immune response development.
Expressions of sympathy in his memory may be donated to the American Society for Cell Biology, 8120 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 750, Bethesda, MD 20814.