Myron Gordon was an American biologist and geneticist and became an expert on platy fish Xiphophorus while using them for his pioneering cancer research, starting in the late 1920s. Early papers were published while still a graduate student at Cornell University, but he is best known for his research at New York University and the New York Zoological Society.
Education
Gordon received his education at Cornell University, achieving first his Bachelor of Science in 1925, going on to study for a Masters of Science in Genetics and Agriculture, 1925-1926, and finally achieving a Ph.D in Zoology, Limnology and Genetics in 1929.
Activities through summer periods during education
Gordon held a variety of professional posts throughout his career;
1925-1929 and 1931-1932: Whilst still studying and just after the completion of his Ph.D, Gordon worked at the Heckscher Foundation for the Advancement of Research at Cornell University. He was in charge of a cooperative study between the departments of zoology, genetics and fish culture devoted to genetics of fishes. In 1932, he was the leader of the second Mexican expedition.
1929-1931: In the intervening years between his work with the Heckscher Foundation, Gorndon was National Research Fellow at Cornell University, where he was a member of the first expedition to Mexico.
1941: Gordon became a Research Associate in Genetics at the New York Zoological Society. He was in charge of the fish genetics laboratory in the Whitney Wing, American Museum of Natural History. He was supported in his research by the National Cancer Institute of the U.S. Public Health Service sponsored by the New York Zoological Society. Gordon held continuous 3 year appointments as a Research Associate with the museum until his death.
1944: Gordon was appointed as Assistant Curator of Fishes at the New York Aquarium. He conducted research into the heritable qualities of melanotic tumors in fishes. In 1947, he was given the title of ‘geneticist’ at the Aquarium.
Research
Whilst at the AMNH he developed advanced systems to study genetic and molecular events in melanoma formation. During his tenure at the museum he published a key review The Melonoma Cell as an Incompletely Differentiated Pigment Cell.
Other endeavors and achievements
, of TFH Publications, knowing of Gordon's academic reputation and ability to write clearly on any level, recruited him to write a very popular series of booklets and magazine features aimed at tropical fish hobbyists. In 1939 he established the Xiphophorus Genetic stock center to provide a reliable supply of genetically identical fish to be used in cancer research. The lines he established remain widely used today. The center was maintained by Gordon and his student Klaus Kallman throughout their tenure at the Aquarium. Kallman transferred it to its current location at Texas State University. Gordon died suddenly in March, 1959 and his obituary in the Dec 1959 Copeia noted that “…conclusively demonstrated the heritable nature of melanoma in Xiphophorus and the essential relationship of the macromelanophore to its development…” During his collection trips, he discovered and named several new species, and in 1963, Robert Rush Miller and W. L. Minckley named Xiphophorus gordoni in his honor.
Myron Gordon Award
The Myron Gordon Award was established to honor the memory of an esteemed and respected scientist, Myron Gordon, who is credited with establishing the International Pigment Cell Conferences. The Myron Gordon Award is presented at the International Pigment Cell Conference in recognition of one or more scientists for distinguished and outstanding contributions to the pigment cell field. Established in 1961 after the death of Myron Gordon in 1959 and first presented at IPCC V. Myron Gordon was instrumental in organizing IPCC I-IV.
