Asen A. Hadjiolov (
Bulgarian: Асен А. Хаджиолов) (December 10, 1930 - April 22, 1996) was one of the most distinguished scientists in
Bulgaria, and was a member of the
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.[1]
Vita in brief
Hadjiolov's scholarly research on the
nucleolus and
ribosome biogenesis and his leadership in the scientific community touched many lives. As a young researcher he followed the path of his father: Professor Asen I. Hadjiolov was a well-known
Bulgarianhistologist and
cytologist. Hadjiolov began experimental work in the Department of
Biochemistry of the Medical Faculty of
Sofia and was awarded the PhD in 1958 for his studies on the role of
nucleic acids in
cancer. In 1963 Hadjiolov became chair of the Department of Molecular
Genetics in the Central Laboratory of
Biochemistry, which was transformed into the Institute of
Molecular Biology of the
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in 1969. During his early years, Hadjiolov had the chance to work with such eminent scientists as F.B. Straub (
Budapest), R Grabar (Paris), the
Nobel Prize winner
Fritz Lipmann[6] (
Cold Spring Harbor, New York) and later with R. Cox (London)[7][8] and D. Sabatini (New York). Early on, he became fascinated by the structure and biosynthesis of
ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and the biogenesis of
eukaryoticribosomes.
Mechanisms of regulation of rRNA synthesis
Hadjiolov's laboratory was the first to provide reliable evidence that the change in the rate of rRNA synthesis in higher
eukaryotes is not accompanied by alterations in the number of active
genes.[9] During his active research years Hadjiolov published more than hundred of articles focused on the
ribosome (see
PubMed for a complete list). Hadjiolov's list of publications totals 106 listed in PubMed. Hadjiolov's contribution to the world's science can also be measured by contribution of the scientists he recruited and supported throughout his career. All together the heritage of his group exceeds 1,000 articles annotated by
PubMed, which matches today's highest quantitative achievements in science. For example, the most cited author since 1994 by the
Institute for Scientific Information's Citation Report, Dr. John C. Reed (
Burnham Institute for Medical Research) and his group have reached similar number of articles (
PubMed:728 as of April 4, 2007).[10]
Science Heritage
Hadjiolov's group (not limited to this list, cumulative
PubMed count > 860 articles):
♦ Krasimira V. Hadjiolova, PhD (23) NYU Langone Medical Center (New York)
♦ Nikolai Nikolaev, PhD (111) (1943 - 2004)
♦ Kalin P. Dudov, PhD, (15) Inst. of Genetic Engineering,
Bulgaria