Donald David Brown, a biologist who mentored scientists, died from lung disease May 31 at his home in the Woodbrook section of Baltimore County. He was 91.
Dr. Brown was a department leader at the Carnegie Institution for Science, described by The Sun in 2006 as being “one of Baltimore’s best-kept scientific secrets.” His department is on the grounds of, and has an affiliation with, the Johns Hopkins University.
Born in Cincinnati, he was the son of Dr. Albert Brown, an ophthalmologist and retina surgery pioneer, and Louise Rauh. A graduate of Dartmouth College, he earned a degree at the University of Chicago School of Medicine.
Dr. Brown practiced medicine as an intern and soon turned to pure science. He spent a year studying with Nobel Prize winner Jacques Lucien Monod at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, then joined Carnegie as a fellow in 1961, initially serving as a staff scientist.
In 1976 he became the director of the embryology department, where he built a respected staff. He spent decades working in buildings on University Parkway and in Wyman Park.
“He was insightful about how to organize research,” Dr. Allan Spradling, a colleague, said. “He liked to minimize wasted time. We would not have faculty meetings that used up a portion of the day — he liked to talk to people directly,” Dr. Spradling said.
“He told people, ‘Life is too short to try to do all your ideas — do your best ones, the ones that could have the biggest effect in science,'” Dr. Spradling said.
Dr. Joseph Gall, another colleague, said: “Don was a great administrator. He was straightforward, honest and approachable. You knew where you stood with him.”
“Don not only learned what great science was but also how to grow great science,” Dr. Douglas E. Koshland, a friend and colleague, said. “During Don’s directorship, he hired 15 faculty. The research of those faculty led to 10 elections to the National Academy [of Medicine], two Lasker Awards [for major contributions to medicine], and one Nobel Prize — an unparalleled efficiency of faculty success.
“It started with Don’s keen eye for bold and creative faculty who, in turn, could advise him to find more young, bold, and creative faculty.”
Dr. Spradling said his colleague’s work in molecular biology research advanced the understanding of the fundamental nature of genes and led to breakthroughs in genetic engineering.
“He played a pivotal role in transforming developmental biology from a primarily observational pursuit, in which researchers relied on microscopic observations of processes, to a mechanistic discipline in which investigators used novel techniques to study the interlocking functions of genetic coding and cellular components,” Dr. Spradling said.
Dr. Brown was co-honored in 2012 by the Lasker Foundation with a Special Achievement award in medical science, given for “exceptional leadership and citizenship in biomedical science.”
Dr. Brown mentored researchers at Carnegie and through the Life Sciences Research Foundation, which he helped establish to financially support early career scientists.
Dr. Koshland recalled Dr. Brown’s encouragement of scientific talent: “I think it derived from his belief that every young exceptional scientist should be encouraged and given the opportunity to chase their dreams, just as he had. And the pleasure he got in seeing them try.”
He was recognized with a lifetime achievement award by the Society for Developmental Biology in 2009.
“He was a humble man with a great sense of humor,” said his wife, Linda Weil Brown. “His two interests were fly-fishing and tennis. He loved his trips to Spruce Creek in Pennsylvania.”
Dr. Brown was a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
He received the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize from Columbia University and the E.B. Wilson Medal from the American Society of Cell Biology, among others.
“Don Brown was a straight shooter,” Dr. Steve McKnight, a colleague, said. “He was a terrific scientist and a generous leader. He was an inspiration to me as a young man.”
Survivors include Dr. Brown’s wife of nearly 66 years, Linda Weil Brown, a catering director at Linwoods in Owings Mills; two daughters, Deborah Brown of Bethesda and Sharon Burris-Brown of Minneapolis; a son, Christopher Brown of Arnold; five grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held in September.
