In memoriam: Charles Kasper
Charles Boyer Kasper, a professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research and a member of the American Society of Biochemistry and 麻豆传媒色情片 Biology since 1970, died Sept. 5 in Appleton, Wisc. He was 88.

Kasper was born April 27, 1935, in Illinois. As a high school senior, he joined the Navy Reserve and served for eight years. He studied chemistry at the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, then transferred to the University of Illinois Chicago College of Pharmacy, graduating in 1958. He received a scholarship for graduate school at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he worked in Harold Deutsch’s lab and earned his Ph.D. in physiological chemistry in 1962. With a National Institutes of Health fellowship, he pursued postdoctoral studies at the University of Utah and then at UCLA, where he was hired as an assistant professor.
When he was offered his own lab at the McArdle Laboratory, Kasper moved with his family in 1965 to Madison, Wisconsin and remained there until he retired, establishing a successful research program, teaching graduate-level oncology and toxicology courses, and mentoring undergraduates, medical and doctoral students, and postdoctoral fellows for 38 years.
Kasper studied proteins of the endoplasmic reticulum and nuclear envelope. His research focused on understanding the biochemical regulation of enzymes involved in the metabolism of chemical carcinogens, including NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase and epoxide hydrolase. His lab discovered the CYP3A gene family and pioneered understanding its contribution in the metabolism of numerous endogenous compounds and more than half of all prescription drugs. Throughout his career, he had uninterrupted research funding from the NIH and other organizations, and he was an author on more than 100 peer-reviewed articles.
For many years, Kasper served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Biological Chemistry and Chemical-Biological Interactions and on study sections and advisory boards for the American Cancer Society. He was chair of the Safety Committee for the university’s oncology department for more than 20 years.
He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Mary Jean, and four children, seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Read more about Kasper’s life and scientific contributions .
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

Meet the 2025 SOC grant awardees
Five science outreach and communication projects received up to $1,000 from ASBMB to promote the understanding of molecular life science.

Unraveling cancer鈥檚 spaghetti proteins
MOSAIC scholar Katie Dunleavy investigates how Aurora kinase A shields oncogene c-MYC from degradation, using cutting-edge techniques to uncover new strategies targeting 鈥渦ndruggable鈥 molecules.

How HCMV hijacks host cells 鈥 and beyond
Ileana Cristea, an ASBMB Breakthroughs webinar speaker, presented her research on how viruses reprogram cell structure and metabolism to enhance infection and how these mechanisms might link viral infections to cancer and other diseases.

Understanding the lipid link to gene expression in the nucleus
Ray Blind, an ASBMB Breakthroughs speaker, presented his research on how lipids and sugars in the cell nucleus are involved in signaling and gene expression and how these pathways could be targeted to identify therapeutics for diseases like cancer.

In memoriam: William S. Sly
He served on the 麻豆传媒色情片 and 麻豆传媒色情片 Biology Council in 2005 and 2006 and was an ASBMB member for 35 years.

ASBMB committees welcome new members
Members joined these committees: Education and Professional Development, Maximizing Access, Meetings, 麻豆传媒色情片, Public Affairs Advisory, Science Outreach and Communication, Student Chapters and Women in Biochemistry and 麻豆传媒色情片 Biology.