European Peptide Society

Prof. John M. Stewart passed away on December 29, 2011 in Denver Colorado at the age of 87.

The EPS Executive Committee asked from his long time friend Prof. Maurice Manning to write an In Memoriam article as a Formal Tribute to John Stewart's Memory; it will be presented in the forthcoming issue of the EPS Newsletter.

Please follow the next links to:

Read the Denver Post Obituary for Prof. John M. Stewart

Share your memories, express your condolences and add photos in the Guest Book for John M. Stewart;
Sign the Guest Book

Make a donation to honor his memory; the family requests that those who wish to honor John's memory may do so by making a donation to the: John M. Stewart Chair for Peptide Research, University of Colorado Foundation, Building 500, Mail Stop A065, Aurora, CO 80045, Attention: Karen Aarestad

Below you can find a transcript of the APS Announcement, by Ben Dunn.

APS Announcement: Peptide Community Mourns the Loss of Beloved Peptide Pioneer

It is with much sadness that I announce the death of Professor John Stewart, one of the pioneers in the peptide field. John passed away on December 29, 2011 in Denver Colorado, after a long illness. He was 87. He was Professor Emeritus, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics. Professor Stewart was an internationally renowned leader in the peptide field for almost five decades. In the late fifties and early sixties, John was a keen observer of the birth of the revolutionary Solid Phase Method by his friend and colleague, Bruce Merrifield in the D.W. Woolley laboratory at Rockefeller University in New York City. He subsequently played a pivotal role in helping Bruce design and build the first automated solid phase peptide synthesizer.

Thereafter, John became a highly persuasive and a staunch advocate for the Merrifield Solid Phase method, which at that time encountered much skepticism and severe criticism from many le aders in the peptide field. The 1969 and 1984 editions of his book, coauthored with Jan Young, entitled "Solid Phase Peptide Synthesis" became highly acclaimed in peptide laboratories worldwide.

Subsequently, John continued to make highly significant contributions in many areas of peptide science, most notably in the design of a wide array of potent and oraly active antagonists of bradykinin. For the past 22 years, his friend and coworker, Dr Lajos Gera played a key role in these studies.

John's contributions to the peptide field have been recognized by many awards - most notably by the American Peptide Society Lifetime Achievement Award at the American Peptide Symposium in Columbus, Ohio in 1995.

John has been a highly regarded world wide ambassador for the peptide field for many years. He has friends in the Peptide community and also in the Kinin field here in the US and all over the World. He will be greatly missed by all of them.

To his wife Dr. Laima Tarasevicien and his children, stepchild and granddaughters, we extend our deepest sympathies on your great loss.

The family requests that those who wish to honor John's memory may do so by making a donation to the: John M. Stewart Chair for Peptide Research, University of Colorado Foundation, Building 500, Mail Stop A065, Aurora, CO 80045, Attention: Karen Aarestad.

Ben Dunn
President, American Peptide Society