University Times

Irving Lieberman of Point Breeze, professor emeritus of neurobiology, died Nov. 11, 2011. He was 90.

Lieberman joined the Pitt faculty in 1956 as an assistant professor of microbiology, having held positions previously at Miami University of Ohio and the Washington University School of Medicine.

At Pitt, Lieberman was promoted to associate professor of microbiology in 1958 and became a professor in 1961. In 1966 he became a professor of anatomy and cell biology. He was awarded emeritus status in 1991.

A liver biologist and biochemist, Lieberman co-authored a number of research papers on liver chemistry and metabolism, but in his retirement turned his attention from molecular biology toward research on factors that affect Alzheimer’s disease, said Sandra Murray, a faculty member in the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, who had been a colleague of Lieberman’s in the former Department of Anatomy.

“He was a superb and dedicated researcher with a well-focused and sharp mind. He retained that and had the capacity to ask probing questions right until the end,” said Murray, who met Lieberman when she first came to campus in 1981.

Although he had retired, he remained active on campus.

“He came into the library almost every day,” Murray said, adding that although he wasn’t doing hands-on research, he devoted himself to reading and developing collaborative research projects related to Alzheimer’s disease.

“He never stopped thinking,” she said.

Lieberman earned his bachelor’s degree at Brooklyn College and his doctorate in veterinary medicine at Middlesex Veterinary College. He earned a master’s degree at the University of Kentucky and received his PhD in 1952 from the University of California.

He is survived by his wife, Evelyn M. Lieberman; a daughter, Mary D’Abarno, and two grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to lsrael-Laad.org.

—Kimberly K. Barlow