Gilda H Loew

Gilda H. Loew (1930–January 5, 2001) was an American chemist recognized for applying computational chemistry to biological sciences. Born in Brooklyn, New York, she attended Erasmus Hall High School before earning a bachelor’s degree from New York University and a master’s degree from Columbia University, both in chemistry. She later received her PhD in chemical physics from UC Berkeley. Loew held various research positions during the 1950s and 1960s at institutions such as the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, Lockheed Missiles and Space Company, and Hansen Laboratories at Stanford University. In 1969, she became an adjunct professor in the genetics department at Stanford, a position she held until 1979 when she founded the Molecular Research Institute in Palo Alto, which she led for twenty years. She also served as an adjunct professor at Rockefeller University from 1978 to 1990. Her groundbreaking research focused on the cytochrome P450 protein family, spanning thirty years and exploring their characteristics, three-dimensional structures, and interactions with enzymatic substrates. Loew was a pioneer in utilizing advanced computer modeling techniques for protein studies. Loew’s contributions were honored posthumously when the International Society of Quantum Biology and Pharmacology established the ISQBP Loew Lectureship and the Gilda Loew Memorial Award in 2004, funded by her husband. A memorial meeting was organized in 2005, featuring over twenty speakers discussing topics related to her research interests. Loew was married to Gregory Loew and had five children and three grandchildren at the time of her death from breast cancer in 2001 at the age ...