HR0648

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HOUSE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of 
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Representatives are saddened to  learn of the death of
an 
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esteemed member of the faculty of the University of Chicago, 
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Dr. Lewis S. Seiden, who passed away on July 26, 2007; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Lewis Seiden was born on August 1, 1934 in 
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Chicago, where  he grew up in the South Shore neighborhood; he 
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signed on to an early enrollment program at the University of 
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Chicago, where he eventually earned his undergraduate and 
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doctoral degrees; at age 18 he was stricken with dystonia, 
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which caused him to abandon his plans to attend medical school; 
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after spending a year in the hospital, he instead turned his 
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attention to the neurobiology field; and
 
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    WHEREAS, He then spent a year in Sweden doing post-doctoral 
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research with Arvid Carlsson, who would later win the 2000 
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Nobel Prize in medicine; and

 
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    WHEREAS, In 1963 he returned to Chicago and the University 
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and rose through the ranks of the Department of Pharmacology 
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and Physiology and the Department of Psychiatry, becoming a 
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full professor in 1977; he also taught in the College and was a 
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member of the Committee on Neurobiology and the Brain Research 
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Institute;  during his career at the University he trained more 
 


 






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than 30 doctoral students, including many scholars who went on 
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to play leading roles in the field; and
 
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    WHEREAS, Lew Seiden was considered a pioneer in the field 
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of neuropharmacology, conducting studies on the effects of 
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anti-depressants and methamphetamines on the brain; he was an 
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expert on how drugs, especially amphetamines, could 
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selectively damage certain neurons; his research showed that 
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drugs such as methamphetamines, Ecstasy, and fen-phen caused 
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damage to brain cells; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Lew Seiden,  recognized as a world expert on 
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psychopharmocology, won many awards for his research: he was 
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elected a Fellow of the American Association for the 
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Advancement of Science and of the American Psychological 
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Association; he was awarded an honorary doctorate in medicine 
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from the University of Goteborg; and he won the University of 
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Chicago's Gold Key Award, recognizing outstanding service to 
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the Biological Sciences Division and to the University; and
 
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    WHEREAS, Lew Seiden published more than 220 scientific 
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papers and 40 book chapters on neurochemistry, the brain and 
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behavior, drug effects, and neurotoxicity; and
 
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    WHEREAS, Lew Seiden served on the President's Advisory 
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Committee on Mental Health, the board of scientific counselors 
 


 






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for the National Institute of Environmental Health Services, 
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and the Life Sciences Working Group for the National 
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Aeronautics and Space Administration; and
 
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    WHEREAS, Lew Seiden is survived by his loving wife, Anne; 
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his children, Samuel Seiden, Alex (Larraine) Seiden, and Evelyn 
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(Toby) Ivey; and his grandson, Lewis George Seiden; he will 
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also be missed by the University community, his colleagues, and 
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his many friends; therefore, be it

 

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    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
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NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we 
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mourn, along with his family, friends, and colleagues, the 
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passing of Dr. Lewis S. Seiden; and be it further

 
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    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
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presented to the family of Dr. Lewis S. Seiden as an expression 
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of our sympathy.