Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry, Indiana University School of Medicine
Passed by the IU Indianapolis Faculty Council at their meeting on April 7, 2015.
Hiremagalur N. Jayaram, Ph.D., died on February 7, 2015, from complications of lymphoma. Born on April 11, 1941, in Mysore, India, Jay studied pharmacy in India, at Gujarat University, and received a Master in Pharmacy, at Andhra University, and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Pharmacology in Bangalore at the prestigious Indian Institute of Science. During his Ph.D. studies, he married his sweetheart and life partner Shantha Jayaram. After they immigrated to the United States, Jay completed postdoctoral training at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and was awarded a Fogarty Fellowship for research at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda. At the National Cancer Institute, he progressed through the ranks to the position of Senior Investigator before joining the Indiana University School of Medicine in 1985 as professor of biochemistry and research scientist in the Laboratory of Experimental Oncology at the James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children. Upon retiring from IU as professor emeritus in 2006, Jay accepted the position of senior scientist in the Research Service of the Richard L. Roudebush Veterans Affairs Medical Center where he continued his investigations and established a well-funded and productive laboratory. In recognition of his outstanding work for veterans, Jay was promoted in 2013 to the position of career research scientist by the Veterans Affairs Administration.
Jay’s research focused on the mechanism of action of chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of cancer. He received international recognition for his discovery of several compounds that were lethal for cancer cells by inhibiting purine nucleotide synthesis. He was an exceptional chemist and biochemist, especially well-known for his work on tiazofurin, a selective inhibitor of IMP dehydrogenase that provided a novel approach for the treatment of leukemia and other types of cancer. He was totally committed to developing drugs and delivery methods that would selectively kill cancer cells. At the time of his death he was focused on a novel approach for targeting chemotherapeutic drugs to colorectal cancer cells via folic acid receptors. He published 185 peer reviewed papers, 125 of them during his tenure as a member of the faculty of Indiana University School of Medicine.
Jay had a great smile. Everyone looked up to him (literally as well as figuratively). He was a gentleman, he was kind – he helped so many people in their pursuit of matters scientific, whether it was designing an experiment or providing advice for a lifetime. A perfect example was his long-time commitment to the Project SEED Program of the American Chemical Society which fosters successful career paths for economically disadvantaged high school students. He was always eager to find ways to help exploit new ideas, always ready to jump at the chance to let life lead him to the next big adventure. When he joined the VA Research Service, he could easily have chosen to relax, at least a little, to rest on the laurels of his previous accomplishments, but of course he didn’t do that. Instead, he set about greatly expanding laboratory resources. He infused the service with new energy, positive energy, creating an environment that ultimately led to some of the medical school’s best investigators and staff moving to the VA.
The influence that he had on people’s lives and careers was extraordinary. His work ethic and all that made up his person became a role model for the rest of us. He was a most-valued colleague of researchers in the IU School of Medicine and the Richard L. Roudebush Veterans Affairs Medical Center. He will be missed, but never forgotten.
Jay is survived by his wife Shantha; two sons, Navin and Nagesh; Nagesh's wife, Smitha; and their two children, Aneesha and Tejas.
Committee members:
William F. Bosron, Ph.D.
John T. Callaghan, M.D., Ph.D.
Robert A. Harris, Ph.D.
Howard Pratt, M.D.