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Bernard Fried, professor emeritus of biology, has been selected to appear in the 57th edition of Who’s Who in America.
Inclusion is based on one’s position and/or noteworthy achievements of significant value to society. The entry for Fried, one of the world’s foremost experts in the field of parasitology, includes positions held during his career in the Lafayette faculty, authorship of books and journal articles, grants, degrees, professional memberships, and family information.
Fried’s research has led to important advances in the effort to conquer tropical diseases caused by parasitic flatworms. Of special note is his work on the disease schistosomiasis, which affects at least 200 million people, many in Third World countries.
Two years ago, the Discovery Channel featured Fried in a one-hour, prime time program about parasites. The importance of his contributions in the field of parasitology is reflected by the fact that three organisms have been named in his honor. In the latest instance, scientists at the University of Valencia, Spain, named Echinostoma friedi for him.
“The species name is dedicated to Professor Bernard Fried,” the researchers wrote in their study of the parasite’s life cycle in the journal Systematic Parasitology last year, “for his great contributions to the study of the biology of the 37-collar spines echinostomes.” The other species named for him are Fessisentis friedi and Cercaria friedi.
He has mentored many Lafayette students in his research, including Erin Muller ’01, named one of the top 100 college students in the nation by USA Today, which included her in its “2000 All-USA College Academic Team.” Some of the students mentored by Fried have presented their research at the annual meetings of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science, of which he is a past president and an honorary lifetime member. He has published over 400 articles, reviews, and books on the biology, physiology, and biochemistry of parasites and gastropods, as well as the applications of thin-layer chromatography to biology. More than half of theses titles have been coauthored with Lafayette students.
Fried retired from teaching in May 2000 after 37 years as a member of the Lafayette faculty. That same month, Lafayette dedicated the Bernard Fried Research Suite in Kunkel Hall in his honor. At the time of his retirement, he held the title of Gideon R. Jr. and Alice L. Kreider Professor of Biology. He continues to conduct research and coauthor papers with Lafayette students.
Fried will give a talk tentatively titled “Recent Advances in the Biology of Intestinal Trematodes” at Johns Hopkins University Jan. 23. He will review recent studies on food- and water-borne trematodiasis on a world-wise basis, including information on his research on echinostomes as models to better understand problems of human trematodiasis.