In memoriam: Lucy Chang and Fred Bollum
Lucy Chang and Fred Bollum, personal and professional partners for more than four decades and longtime members of the 精品国产一区二区桃色, both died in the past year; Bollum on March 2 and Chang on Nov. 13. Bollum was 95, and Chang was 81.
Frederick James Bollum was born June 14, 1927, in Ellsworth, Wisconsin, the son of Frederick Edward and Helen (Bucholtz) Bollum. He started college at the University of Minnesota as a zoology major and graduated in 1956 with a Ph.D. in physiological chemistry. He conducted a U.S. Public Health Service postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Wisconsin. He then worked at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, as a biochemistry professor at the University of Kentucky Medical School, and as chair and professor of biochemistry at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland.
Lucy Ming Shih Chang was born August 20, 1942, in China, to Timothy Y.N. Chang and Florence I.C. Chang. She earned a B.S. in chemistry at Case Western Reserve University in 1964 and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Indiana University in 1968; she then pursued postdoctoral research at the University of Kentucky. She began her independent research career the University of Connecticut before serving as professor and department chair at USUHS.
Bollum joined the ASBMB in 1961, and Chang joined in 1974. Bollum was a member of the Journal of Biological Chemistry editorial board in the mid-1960s. During their joint research career, they conducted seminal work on DNA polymerases and discovered the mammalian terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase, or TdT, a specialized DNA polymerase expressed in precancerous cells and acute leukemia and lymphoma cells.
In 1982, Bollum and Chang founded , a biotechnology firm in Rockville, Maryland, specializing in diagnostics for leukemia and apoptosis research. They worked to produce and market monospecific antibodies to TdT. Certain cancerous cells express abnormal concentrations of TdT, making high levels of TdT-positive cells in blood and bone marrow a symptom of disease. Together, Bollum and Chang developed numerous patents related to TdT and other related enzymes.
Bollum’s many interests included music (clarinet and guitar), radio-controlled plane and boat models, astronomy, sculpture and cabinetry. Chang enjoyed knitting. They both liked to travel and spend time at their house on the Chesapeake Bay where Bollum kept an eye on the wildlife and the heavens with his collection of telescopes and binoculars.
Enjoy reading ASBMB Today?
Become a member to receive the print edition four times a year and the digital edition monthly.
Learn moreGet the latest from ASBMB Today
Enter your email address, and we鈥檒l send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.
Latest in People
People highlights or most popular articles

Understanding the roles of extracellular matrix and vesicles in valvular disease
MOSAIC scholar Cassandra Clift uses mass spectrometry and multiomics to study cardiovascular calcification and collagen dysregulation, bridging her background in bioengineering and biology to investigate extracellular vesicles and heart disease.

Learning, leading and lifting others
Tigist Tamir鈥檚 journey from aspiring astronaut in Ethiopia to cancer researcher at the University of North Carolina highlights the power of mentorship, persistence and curiosity in shaping a scientific career focused on discovery and equity.

Biochemists and molecular biologists sweep major 2025 honors
Recent Nobel, MacArthur and Kimberly Prize honorees highlight the power of biochemistry and molecular biology to drive discovery, including immune tolerance, vaccine design and metabolic disease, and to advance medicine and improve human health.

Subramanian receives electron microscopy honor
He delivered remarks at the International Conference on Electron Microscopy in Bangalore, India.

Bioart for fall: From order to disorder
The cover of the fall issue of ASBMB Today was created by ASBMB member, Soutick Saha, a bioinformatics developer at Wolfram Alpha LLC.

Doudna wins Priestley Medal
She will receive a $20,000 research grant and will formally accept the honor at the ACS Spring 2026 conference.