In Memory of Dr. Simon H. Chang
The Dr. Simon H. Chang Scholarship in Biological Sciences pays tribute to LSU’s long-time professor of Biochemistry, who passed away in January 2022. To honor his contributions to LSU and create a living legacy, his family has established the Dr. Simon H. Chang Scholarship in Biological Sciences, to be awarded to undergraduate and graduate students in Biological Sciences, with preferences for Biochemistry majors as well as first-generation college attendees. Thank you for considering a contribution to the Dr. Simon H. Chang Scholarship in Biological Sciences.
Dr. ChangSimon immigrated to the U.S. in 1959 to pursue his graduate studies. He received his Master and PhD degrees in Biochemistry from Oklahoma State University and joined the LSU faculty in 1968.
Prior to joining LSU, Simon was accepted into the prestigious Institute for Enzyme Research, Nobel award winner Dr. Gobind Khorana’s lab, at University of Wisconsin. His work there solidified his research interest in the organic synthesis of DNA and transfer RNA, and helped him land a faculty position at Louisiana State University. There, his lab grew with the department, from small beginnings in a chemistry lab, to the basement of the Agricultural Administration Building, and finally to Choppin Hall in a lab space he helped design. He was awarded numerous grants from the National Institutes of Health, and published in countless prestigious journals. Simon’s initial research at LSU centered on the structure and function of transfer RNA molecules, and this nucleic acid work eventually broadened to include site-directed mutagenesis of a key enzyme in the critical glycolytic pathway, phosphofructokinase. Later in his career, he was the first ever to crystallize a mammalian PFK molecule and publish its crystal structure. At age 89, he was still investigating the effects of mutations on this enzyme’s kinetic properties when the pandemic started.
Dr. ChangBeyond research, Simon was dedicated to teaching biochemistry. He originated the current LSU undergraduate biochemistry laboratory course and continuously updated it. Simon brought recombinant DNA technology to LSU from one of his sabbaticals, using it in his own research and introducing the technology to students in graduate and undergraduate laboratory courses. He obtained a grant to revamp the teaching laboratory as well as all the instrumentation used, giving students a true window into the nature of research and an understanding of the methods behind advances in medicine. Even after his retirement in 2000, Simon redesigned the undergraduate biochemistry laboratory experiments into a semester-long cohesive project, providing students a sense of the overall flow of biochemistry investigation. Throughout his years of teaching, Simon loved sharing his knowledge, and inspired students with his enthusiasm and joy in learning. In addition to his research contributions to science, Simon helped train dozens of research scientists and science professors, hundreds of doctors and other medical professionals, and thousands of college students. As the first in his family to graduate from college and then earn a PhD, and as an immigrant, Simon paid it forward by giving opportunity to and mentoring women, immigrants, and others who might otherwise have been overlooked.
If you would prefer to pay via check, make check payable to: LSU Foundation
Notation Line: In Memory of Dr. Simon H. Chang
Send to: LSU Foundation
3796 Nicholson Dr.
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
The LSU Foundation will work with Dr. Chang’s family to establish the purpose of tribute funds contributed through this effort. His family will also represent all donors for any needed revision to the purpose of the fund.
The LSU Foundation will share notices about memorial gifts with Dr. Chang’s family. We do not share the gift amount unless a donor explicitly gives us permission to do so.