Carl Frieden

Carl Frieden is a professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, bringing expertise from his Ph.D. in Chemistry. He earned his B.A. degree from Carleton College in 1951 and his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin in 1955 under the mentorship of Robert A. Alberty. In 1955, Frieden joined the Department of Biological Chemistry at Washington University School of Medicine as a postdoctoral fellow working with Sidney Velick. He was hired as an Instructor in 1957 by Carl Cori and promoted to full professor in 1967. Frieden served as Interim Head of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics from 1987 to 1990 and from 1997 to 2000, and as Head from 2000 to 2005. He held the Alumni Endowed Professorship from 1995 to 2000 and the Wittcoff Endowed Chair from 2000 to 2005. Additionally, he directed the Medical Scientist Training Program from 1986 to 1991.

Frieden's research focuses on protein folding, aggregation, intrinsically disordered proteins, and fluorescence methods, particularly investigating apolipoprotein E lipoproteins as a risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease and bacterial systems leading to biofilm formation. Notable publications include “A Lifetime of Kinetics” in the Journal of Biological Chemistry (2008), “Protein oligomerization as a metabolic control mechanism: Application to apoE” in Protein Science (2019), and “APOE3-Jacksonville (V236E) variant reduces self-aggregation and risk of dementia” in Science Translational Medicine (2021). His impact on the field is evidenced by election to the National Academy of Sciences in 1988 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2004, as well as awards such as the Carl and Gerty Cori Faculty Achievement Award, the Second Century Award from Washington University, the Peter Raven Lifetime Achievement Award from the St. Louis Science Center, and the Christian B. Anfinsen Award from the Protein Society.

Professional Email: friedenc@wustl.edu