Irving L. Schwartz, M.D.
Biography
Irving L. Schwartz, MD, the Lamport Distinguished Professor and the first Dean of the Graduate School of Biological Sciences. He was Dean from 1965 to 1980, when he became Dean Emeritus. Under Dr. Schwartz's early leadership, Mount Sinai grew as a center of excellence in translational research. He believed in the "vital interdisciplinary interactions among clinicians, basic scientists, medical students, and graduate students within one institution." Dr. Schwartz was also the first Chair of what is now the Department of Structural and Chemical Biology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Director of the Mount Sinai Center for Polypeptide Research. His work evolved from whole animal and organ physiology to molecular science. His studies on peptides ranged from bedside observations, to biochemical mechanisms of action, to the definition of the three-dimensional structure of such molecules in solution and in the crystalline state. After retiring in 1989, Dr. Schwartz continued to actively support the intellectual vitality of the Graduate School. He drew upon his worldwide network of scientific colleagues, inviting them to Mount Sinai as distinguished speakers and guests.