Frank T. Lindgren, lipoprotein scientist, dies at 83

Frank Lindgren, born April 14, 1924, passed away peacefully in Auburn, California on April 6, 2008. He was born in San Francisco.  In 1953 Frank married Helen Montgomery Darrow, who predeceased him in 1993. They had no children. He lived in a home on Rose Street in Berkeley, CA for over 50 years.  Frank served in the U.S. Army Ordinance Corps from 1943-47 where he achieved the rank of 1st Lieutenant. After his discharge from the Army, he entered the University of California at Berkeley and graduated in 1947 with a B.S. in physics. In 1955 he received a Ph.D. in Biophysics, also from U.C. Berkeley.  His Ph.D. advisor was Dr. John Gofman, with whom he continued to collaborate at the Lawrence Berkeley Radiation Laboratory’s Donner Laboratory in the 1950s, performing the pioneering work that identified blood lipoproteins (low density lipoproteins, carriers of the so called ‘bad’ cholesterol) as a cause of coronary heart disease and high density lipoproteins as the carrier of the so-called “good” cholesterol.  His devotion to refining the analytical ultracentrifuge procedures, established it as the “gold standard” of lipoprotein measurements for 56 years. 

Frank was a member of: Phi Beta Kappa, the American Oil Chemists' Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Heart Association Council on Arteriosclerosis (Fellow).  Frank authored or coauthored 154 original scientific publications.  He served for several years as a scientific advisor to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. He helped to establish a lipoprotein laboratory in Porto, Portugal and was invited by Chinese government scientists to set up another lipoprotein laboratory at the University of Beijing in 1985.  Frank retired in 1992 as Senior Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory after 42 years of distinguished service.

One of his major avocations was mountain climbing. He climbed many of the major peaks in the Sierra Nevada range. He was never happier than when he was camping and climbing in Yosemite National Park and, in particular, the Tuolumne Meadows region of Yosemite. Either alone or with friends he climbed Mount Whitney several times and was a member of the Sierra Club.

Frank's other avocation was a love for railroads, probably stemming from his childhood and the fact that his father worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad. His interest in trains was well established by his travels on all the trains within US, on the Siberian railway, and by 6000 miles of travel on trains in India.  In his later years he served as a docent at the Railway Museum in Sacramento, CA.  Portugal honored Frank by making him an Honorary Captain of Portugal Railways.  He was also an accomplished pianist, and indeed had two grand pianos in the living room of his house in Berkeley. 

Frank died at the home of his dear friend, Carmen T. Wilson, who provided care and accommodation for him since 2003.    He will be deeply missed by his friends and coworkers.  A memorial gathering for Dr. Lindgren is being planned in the Berkeley area.  For additional information please contact [email protected].