Losing a Radiant Star—Dr. Edward C. De Fabo (1937–2019)

On December 24, 2019, the pigment, melanoma, and photobiology research communities lost a treasure. Dr. Edward De Fabo passed away peacefully after a valiant 5-year battle against advanced colon cancer. He was 82. He is survived by his wife of 33 years, Dr. Frances Noonan, who had also been his scientific partner. Together, they were a remarkable team, seeking and finding answers to critical scientific questions that had plagued researchers for decades. Ed was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on June 10, 1937. He received his bachelor’s degree from King’s College, and M.Ed. from the University of Virginia. This was the time of Sputnik and highly trained science teachers were in great demand. So, he started his professional career as a high school science teacher. During this time, he would spend his summers carrying out research in laboratories across the United States, funded by several fellowships awarded by the National Science Foundation. He became interested in the biologic effects of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) by accident while studying radiation biology in New Mexico. When the X-ray instrument was broken, the only available source was a UV lamp which yielded some interesting results and piqued his interest in photobiology. He joined George Washington University for his PhD and carried out his doctoral thesis research at the Smithsonian Radiation Biology Lab with Dr. Walter Shropshire. During this time, he developed the high-intensity monochromator, which could produce narrowband UVR over a large area of exposure, making it possible to derive high-resolution action spectra of UVR for biologic effects in vivo. For his PhD thesis, he determined the wavelength dependence (action spectrum) for carotenoid biosynthesis in Neurospora crassa and identified a role for beta-carotene as a “blue light” photoreceptor. Following his doctorate, Ed joined the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) where he was responsible for establishing within the Biologic and Climate Effects Research (BACER) group a program to study the impact of increased UVB, due to stratospheric ozone depletion, on plant, animal, and human health. While still at EPA, Ed got an opportunity to work with Dr. Margaret Kripke at the Frederick Cancer Research Center where he established the basic photobiology of UV-induced skin immunosuppression. After joining the Kripke Lab full-time, he constructed a new UV monochromator and used it, together with Frances, to carry out an action spectrum for UV-induced immunosuppression. This work identified the trans/cis isomerization of a small molecule in the stratum corneum, urocanic acid, as the likely initiator of UV-induced immunosuppression. In 1986, Ed and Frances established the Laboratory of Photobiology and Photoimmunology at the George Washington University Medical Center, where they continued their crucial work on the mechanisms of UV-induced immunosuppression. In 1991, Ed was approached by the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE), established by the International Science Council, Paris, to chair the preparation of a multidisciplinary research implementation plan to investigate the biologic effects of increased UVR as a result of stratospheric ozone depletion, by then recognized to result from stratospheric CFC pollution. This turned out to be a formidable task that involved raising funds, organizing meetings, and preparing reports, with only limited administrative support. He assembled groups of international experts on terrestrial plants, aquatic systems, human health, biogeochemical cycles, and ecology, and arranged meetings in Budapest and Sardinia. These efforts produced two reports: “Effects of increased ultraviolet radiation on biological systems” and “Effects of increased ultraviolet radiation on global ecosystems” in 1992, which were well-received and impactful. For these efforts, Ed received a United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) Global Ozone Award for “outstanding contributions to the protection of the ozone layer” at the 10th anniversary of the Montreal Protocol in 1997. Because of the success of the SCOPE reports, Ed was then approached by the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) to produce a similar report on the effects of increased UVR resulting from stratospheric ozone depletion in the Arctic. He chaired two reports for IASC in 1995–1996: “Effects of increased ultraviolet radiation in the arctic” and “Ultraviolet International Research Centers; a proposal for UVB effects research in the Arctic.” I (GM) was first introduced to Ed through Frances about 25 years ago and I knew instantly that Ed was that rare scientist who understood both the physics of photobiology and the biology of photophysics. Thus, began a long collaboration that would in many ways help define our careers. One of our first publications together 19 years ago set a standard for melanoma mouse models. The hepatocyte growth factor transgenic (Hgf-Tg) mouse, created in our laboratory, produced melanomas in response to human-relevant doses of UVR with pathology that was strikingly similar to that of human melanomas. The most unique feature of Ed’s custom-designed UV monochromator was the ability to cleanly segregate the UVB and UVA wavebands. Using the Hgf-Tg in vivo model, we discovered disparate waveband-specific effects of UVR on melanomagenesis. These studies also produced the first in vivo evidence of a striking alliance between melanin pigment and UVA wavebands to induce melanoma. Our work together was the first to demonstrate experimentally that sunblock was effective in inhibiting melanomagenesis. Ed’s photobiology expertise was also at the heart of a collaboration in which we identified interferon-gamma as a significant player in UV-induced modulations in the skin microenvironment and susceptibility to melanoma. I (MRZ) had the good fortune and honor of working with Ed very closely as I spent a significant amount of time with him at GWUMC while we characterized the effects of UVR on melanocytes utilizing the iDct-GFP mouse model I had generated in Glenn’s laboratory. He was a fantastic storyteller and I always enjoyed listening to his life’s adventures as well as his commentaries on Washington’s political landscape. However, as much as Ed’s mild and pleasant demeanor was heartwarming, the scientist side of his personality was equally fierce. If we were asked to identify one thing that truly characterized Ed, it would be his intense emphasis on the meticulousness of the research design. He was a man of steadfast professionalism, unwavering in his demand for precision. There was only one way to do science and that was to arrive at the correct conclusion through thorough and painstaking workmanship. Poorly conducted, undisciplined science infuriated Ed, which was a natural extension of his passion for his work and a personal quality that we always respected and admired. Ed had a deadly cancer, yet he was what is known as an exceptional responder. He responded very well to many treatments, and in fact, only succumbed to his cancer when he ran out of treatment options; Ed was a warrior. But it turns out that Ed was exceptional in many ways. He was an exceptional husband and an exceptional friend. There was nothing he would not do for his family, friends, and colleagues. We will always remember Ed for his professional exactitude, his outlook on life and science, and his warm and caring friendship.

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