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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of an
4 esteemed member of the faculty of the University of Chicago,
5 Dr. Lewis S. Seiden, who passed away on July 26, 2007; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Lewis Seiden was born on August 1, 1934 in
7 Chicago, where he grew up in the South Shore neighborhood; he
8 signed on to an early enrollment program at the University of
9 Chicago, where he eventually earned his undergraduate and
10 doctoral degrees; at age 18 he was stricken with dystonia,
11 which caused him to abandon his plans to attend medical school;
12 after spending a year in the hospital, he instead turned his
13 attention to the neurobiology field; and
 
14     WHEREAS, He then spent a year in Sweden doing post-doctoral
15 research with Arvid Carlsson, who would later win the 2000
16 Nobel Prize in medicine; and
 
17     WHEREAS, In 1963 he returned to Chicago and the University
18 and rose through the ranks of the Department of Pharmacology
19 and Physiology and the Department of Psychiatry, becoming a
20 full professor in 1977; he also taught in the College and was a
21 member of the Committee on Neurobiology and the Brain Research
22 Institute; during his career at the University he trained more

 

 

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1 than 30 doctoral students, including many scholars who went on
2 to play leading roles in the field; and
 
3     WHEREAS, Lew Seiden was considered a pioneer in the field
4 of neuropharmacology, conducting studies on the effects of
5 anti-depressants and methamphetamines on the brain; he was an
6 expert on how drugs, especially amphetamines, could
7 selectively damage certain neurons; his research showed that
8 drugs such as methamphetamines, Ecstasy, and fen-phen caused
9 damage to brain cells; and
 
10     WHEREAS, Lew Seiden, recognized as a world expert on
11 psychopharmocology, won many awards for his research: he was
12 elected a Fellow of the American Association for the
13 Advancement of Science and of the American Psychological
14 Association; he was awarded an honorary doctorate in medicine
15 from the University of Goteborg; and he won the University of
16 Chicago's Gold Key Award, recognizing outstanding service to
17 the Biological Sciences Division and to the University; and
 
18     WHEREAS, Lew Seiden published more than 220 scientific
19 papers and 40 book chapters on neurochemistry, the brain and
20 behavior, drug effects, and neurotoxicity; and
 
21     WHEREAS, Lew Seiden served on the President's Advisory
22 Committee on Mental Health, the board of scientific counselors

 

 

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1 for the National Institute of Environmental Health Services,
2 and the Life Sciences Working Group for the National
3 Aeronautics and Space Administration; and
 
4     WHEREAS, Lew Seiden is survived by his loving wife, Anne;
5 his children, Samuel Seiden, Alex (Larraine) Seiden, and Evelyn
6 (Toby) Ivey; and his grandson, Lewis George Seiden; he will
7 also be missed by the University community, his colleagues, and
8 his many friends; therefore, be it
 
9     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
10 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
11 mourn, along with his family, friends, and colleagues, the
12 passing of Dr. Lewis S. Seiden; and be it further
 
13     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
14 presented to the family of Dr. Lewis S. Seiden as an expression
15 of our sympathy.