{"id":465732,"date":"2021-01-14T11:09:34","date_gmt":"2021-01-14T16:09:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=465732"},"modified":"2021-01-14T11:12:06","modified_gmt":"2021-01-14T16:12:06","slug":"biology-professor-emeritus-remembered-as-researcher-mentor-and-colleague-465732","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/biology-professor-emeritus-remembered-as-researcher-mentor-and-colleague-465732\/","title":{"rendered":"Biology professor emeritus remembered as researcher, mentor, and colleague"},"content":{"rendered":"

Biologist Stanley Hattman was known for his molecular biology research, student mentorship, and jovial demeanor.<\/h2>\n
\"portrait
Stanley Hattman, Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ biology professor emeritus, died on December 20. (Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ photo \/ University Archives)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ biology professor emeritus Stanley Hattman is being remembered by colleagues and former students as a scientist who made foundational contributions to the field of molecular biology and as a teacher who shaped the course of students\u2019 academic careers. Hattman died December 20 at the age of 82 from complications of COVID-19.<\/p>\n

Hattman, who joined the Department of Biology<\/a> in 1968, was \u201ca great colleague, who was always so kind and so bright,\u201d says Cheeptip Benyajati<\/a>, an associate professor of biology.<\/p>\n

Benyajati notes that Hattman\u2019s work was integral to the field of genetics, specifically his research on the regulation of gene expression and enzymes that mediate DNA methylation\u2014a biological process by which methyl groups are added to DNA molecules\u2014in lower eukaryotes.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe provided a foundation for the field through his research in pure science,\u201d Benyajati says. \u201cWith advances in mapping the human genome, the scientific world is now applying to humans some of this foundational research that Stan undertook.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hattman was born in Brooklyn, New York, and attended the City College of New York, originally as a physics major with a minor in mathematics. During the fall of his junior year, he had what he called an epiphany when he took his first biology course.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt came during one of the first dissection exercises; viz. the earthworm,\u201d Hattman wrote in a Department of Biology newsletter in 2004. \u201cI was blown away when I discovered all that \u2018stuff\u2019 inside. Biology suddenly became interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n

He combined his interests in physics and biology as a biophysicist, focusing on the effects of radiation on viruses, bacteria, and phage-infected cells. He graduated from CCNY in 1960 with a degree in biophysics and received his PhD in microbiology from MIT in 1965.<\/p>\n

He held postdoctoral research appointments at the Max Planck Institute in Munich, Germany\u2014where he became fluent in German\u2014and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx before joining the Rochester faculty in 1968.<\/p>\n

In 1963, he married Rosemarie, with whom he had three daughters, Heidi, Ursula \u201989, and Rebecca \u201991, and five grandchildren. Rosemarie later served as an administrator in the Department of English at Rochester, and their two youngest daughters attended the University as undergraduates.<\/p>\n

A beloved professor in the biology department until his retirement in 2004, Hattman additionally served as director of the undergraduate program in biology and medicine for four years, mentoring and advising students.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was after I took Dr. Hattman\u2019s wonderful introductory genetics course that I realized how fascinating and dynamic the cell is, so I promptly decided to major in molecular genetics and become involved in research,\u201d says Hattman\u2019s former student Max Popp \u201904, who is now a postdoctoral research associate at the Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ Medical Center.<\/a> \u201cDr. Hattman was, of course, a great teacher, but he was also a great mentor. When I was interested in working in a lab, he took the time to connect me with an old student of his from when he was in grad school, who is currently a professor at MIT. This opportunity that Dr. Hattman opened up for me was really what made me decide to go to grad school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even in retirement, Hattman was a regular presence on campus; he retained an office in Hutchison Hall and visited campus often until last year\u2019s COVID-19 lockdown.<\/p>\n

\"archival
Biology professor Stanley Hattman, in 1995, plays an African drum for students in his lab. (Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ photo \/ University Archives)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI arrived at the URochester after Stan had retired, but I got to know him as a jovial and personable member of the department,\u201d says Michael Welte<\/a>, professor and chair of the biology department. \u201cHe still regularly came to Hutchison Hall and attended scientific seminars. He never failed to say hello and practice his German with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to his research, Hattman was an avid swimmer, tennis player, African drummer, and photographer<\/a>, pursuits he enjoyed in retirement and during his time at Rochester.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I arrived at Rochester from California in 1988, Stan was one of the most welcoming and supportive senior faculty,\u201d says David Goldfarb<\/a>, a professor of biology, who often swam with Hattman and had an office next to his. \u201cWe talked a lot during these swims, often about developments in his research field, but also a lot about our families and our kids\u2019 pursuits. He was a top competitive masters-level swimmer who held New York State records and was nationally ranked, but he was also a confident scientist, with a great sense of humor and lack of an irritable ego. He was very easy to be around.\u201d<\/p>\n

This positive attitude and cheerful disposition, extended to everyone on campus, were hallmarks of Hattman\u2019s personality.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was particularly beloved by the staff,\u201d says Brenna Rybak, biology department administrator. \u201cHe stopped in often and we loved talking with him. He was always happy to see us, to chat, and he was always very grateful for our help.\u00a0We will all really miss him.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stanley Hattman, who taught at the University for more than 25 years, was known for his molecular biology research, student mentorship, and jovial demeanor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":912,"featured_media":465742,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[18722,3396,16072],"class_list":["post-465732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-university-news","tag-department-of-biology","tag-obituaries","tag-school-of-arts-and-sciences"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBiology professor emeritus remembered as researcher, mentor, and colleague<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Stanley Hattman, who taught at the University for more than 35 years, was known for his research, student mentorship, and jovial demeanor.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/biology-professor-emeritus-remembered-as-researcher-mentor-and-colleague-465732\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Biology professor emeritus remembered as researcher, mentor, and colleague\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Stanley Hattman, who taught at the University for more than 35 years, was known for his research, student mentorship, and jovial demeanor.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/biology-professor-emeritus-remembered-as-researcher-mentor-and-colleague-465732\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-01-14T16:09:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-01-14T16:12:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/fea-hattman.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lindsey Valich\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lindsey Valich\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/biology-professor-emeritus-remembered-as-researcher-mentor-and-colleague-465732\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/biology-professor-emeritus-remembered-as-researcher-mentor-and-colleague-465732\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lindsey Valich\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fcd7d29a5b8e855924bf73b764dcd827\"},\"headline\":\"Biology professor emeritus remembered as researcher, mentor, and colleague\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-14T16:09:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-01-14T16:12:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/biology-professor-emeritus-remembered-as-researcher-mentor-and-colleague-465732\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":877,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/biology-professor-emeritus-remembered-as-researcher-mentor-and-colleague-465732\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/fea-hattman.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Department of Biology\",\"obituaries\",\"School of Arts and Sciences\"],\"articleSection\":[\"University News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/biology-professor-emeritus-remembered-as-researcher-mentor-and-colleague-465732\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/biology-professor-emeritus-remembered-as-researcher-mentor-and-colleague-465732\\\/\",\"name\":\"Biology professor emeritus remembered as researcher, mentor, and colleague\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/biology-professor-emeritus-remembered-as-researcher-mentor-and-colleague-465732\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/biology-professor-emeritus-remembered-as-researcher-mentor-and-colleague-465732\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/fea-hattman.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-14T16:09:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-01-14T16:12:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fcd7d29a5b8e855924bf73b764dcd827\"},\"description\":\"Stanley Hattman, who taught at the University for more than 35 years, was known for his research, student mentorship, and jovial demeanor.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/biology-professor-emeritus-remembered-as-researcher-mentor-and-colleague-465732\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/biology-professor-emeritus-remembered-as-researcher-mentor-and-colleague-465732\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/biology-professor-emeritus-remembered-as-researcher-mentor-and-colleague-465732\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/fea-hattman.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/fea-hattman.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"Stanley Hattman, Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ biology professor emeritus, died on December 20. (Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ photo \\\/ University Archives)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/biology-professor-emeritus-remembered-as-researcher-mentor-and-colleague-465732\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Biology professor emeritus remembered as researcher, mentor, and colleague\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/\",\"name\":\"News Center\",\"description\":\"Ä¢¹½´«Ã½\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fcd7d29a5b8e855924bf73b764dcd827\",\"name\":\"Lindsey Valich\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/author\\\/lvalich\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Biology professor emeritus remembered as researcher, mentor, and colleague","description":"Stanley Hattman, who taught at the University for more than 35 years, was known for his research, student mentorship, and jovial demeanor.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/biology-professor-emeritus-remembered-as-researcher-mentor-and-colleague-465732\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Biology professor emeritus remembered as researcher, mentor, and colleague","og_description":"Stanley Hattman, who taught at the University for more than 35 years, was known for his research, student mentorship, and jovial demeanor.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/biology-professor-emeritus-remembered-as-researcher-mentor-and-colleague-465732\/","og_site_name":"News Center","article_published_time":"2021-01-14T16:09:34+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-01-14T16:12:06+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/fea-hattman.jpg","width":1000,"height":600,"type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Lindsey Valich","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Lindsey Valich","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/biology-professor-emeritus-remembered-as-researcher-mentor-and-colleague-465732\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/biology-professor-emeritus-remembered-as-researcher-mentor-and-colleague-465732\/"},"author":{"name":"Lindsey Valich","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/#\/schema\/person\/fcd7d29a5b8e855924bf73b764dcd827"},"headline":"Biology professor emeritus remembered as researcher, mentor, and colleague","datePublished":"2021-01-14T16:09:34+00:00","dateModified":"2021-01-14T16:12:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/biology-professor-emeritus-remembered-as-researcher-mentor-and-colleague-465732\/"},"wordCount":877,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/biology-professor-emeritus-remembered-as-researcher-mentor-and-colleague-465732\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/fea-hattman.jpg","keywords":["Department of Biology","obituaries","School of Arts and Sciences"],"articleSection":["University News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/biology-professor-emeritus-remembered-as-researcher-mentor-and-colleague-465732\/","url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/biology-professor-emeritus-remembered-as-researcher-mentor-and-colleague-465732\/","name":"Biology professor emeritus remembered as researcher, mentor, and colleague","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/biology-professor-emeritus-remembered-as-researcher-mentor-and-colleague-465732\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/biology-professor-emeritus-remembered-as-researcher-mentor-and-colleague-465732\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/fea-hattman.jpg","datePublished":"2021-01-14T16:09:34+00:00","dateModified":"2021-01-14T16:12:06+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/#\/schema\/person\/fcd7d29a5b8e855924bf73b764dcd827"},"description":"Stanley Hattman, who taught at the University for more than 35 years, was known for his research, student mentorship, and jovial demeanor.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/biology-professor-emeritus-remembered-as-researcher-mentor-and-colleague-465732\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/biology-professor-emeritus-remembered-as-researcher-mentor-and-colleague-465732\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/biology-professor-emeritus-remembered-as-researcher-mentor-and-colleague-465732\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/fea-hattman.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/fea-hattman.jpg","width":1000,"height":600,"caption":"Stanley Hattman, Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ biology professor emeritus, died on December 20. (Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ photo \/ University Archives)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/biology-professor-emeritus-remembered-as-researcher-mentor-and-colleague-465732\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Biology professor emeritus remembered as researcher, mentor, and colleague"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/","name":"News Center","description":"Ä¢¹½´«Ã½","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/#\/schema\/person\/fcd7d29a5b8e855924bf73b764dcd827","name":"Lindsey Valich","url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/author\/lvalich\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/912"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=465732"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465732\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":465802,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465732\/revisions\/465802"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/465742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=465732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=465732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=465732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}