Thomas H. Haines

Thomas Henry Haines (August 9, 1933 -) is Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at City College of New York and of Biochemistry at the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education and Visiting Professor [1] in the Laboratory of Thomas Sakmar [2] at Rockefeller University. He serves on the board of the Graham School, a social services and foster care agency in New York City. His scientific research has focused on the structure and function of the living cell membrane.

Early life

Thomas Haines was born on August 9, 1933 to Elsie Cubbon Haines(1895-1950) and Charles Haines, who deserted when Haines was two. In 1937, "by reason of the insanity of he mother," a judge placed him at the Graham School, an orphanage in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. The orphanage, now a foster care agency, was founded in 1806 by Isabella Graham and Elizabeth Hamilton, the recently widowed Mrs. Alexander Hamilton. Haines remained at the orphanage until high school, when he became a resident houseboy and gardener for a wealthy Hastings family.

Haines attended the City College of New York, graduating in 1957. During that time he worked as live-in baby sitter for then-blacklisted American songwriter Jay Gorney (co-writer with Yip Harburg of the Depression era anthem, “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?”) and his wife Sondra. Haines came to know many other blacklisted professionals including actors Zero Mostel, Paul Robeson, and Lionel Stander, philosopher Barrows Dunham, and Bella Abzug, then a young lawyer defending blacklisted artists and intellectuals at HUAC hearings.

After CCNY, Haines became a laboratory assistant to Dr. Richard Block[3] at the Boyce Thompson Institute where he studied the microorganism ochromonas danica.[4] In 1964 he obtained his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.

The story of Haines' early life appears as "From the Orphanage to the Lab" in The Story Collider, True Personal Stories About Science[5]

Professional career

Haines became Assistant Professor of Chemistry at City College in 1964 and Full Professor of Chemistry in 1972, a position he held until retiring in 2007. In 1972 he co-founded the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education with University President Robert Marshak. Haines taught biochemistry to undergraduates and served as Director of Biochemistry at the School from 1974 to 2006. He simultaneously taught as Professor of Biochemistry in the Doctoral Program of Biochemistry at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

Haines served as Visiting Professor at the Mitsubishi Institute in Japan, and in many other universities. He has published extensively on the structure and function of living membranes, including on the function of cholesterol in blocking sodium leakage through membranes, and most recently on the function of cardiolipin in the mitochondrial membrane.

Personal life

In 1960, Haines married painter Adrienne Rappaport, professional name Adrian Rappin (1934-1985). They had one daughter, Avril Haines (1969- ), an attorney and prominent figure in the Obama Administration.

In 1986, Haines married his present wife, economist Mary Cleveland (1945 - ).

Published works, honors and awards

Haines's publications, honors and awards are listed on his website, www.thomashaines.org [6]

References

  1. ↑ Visiting Professor
  2. ↑ Thomas Sakmar
  3. ↑ McNew, George L. (1962-04). "DIVISION OF MICROBIOLOGY*: RICHARD J. BLOCK AS SCIENTIST AND INDIVIDUAL MAY 4, 1906-FEBRUARY 4, 1962". Transactions of the New York Academy of Sciences. 24 (6 Series II): 670–674. doi:10.1111/j.2164-0947.1962.tb01903.x. ISSN 0028-7113. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ↑ Ochromonas danica
  5. ↑ "From the Orphanage to the Lab". The Story Collider. Retrieved 2018-08-23.
  6. ↑ http://www.thomashaines.org/shortvita2009.pdf
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