Arthur F. Fishkin, an emeritus professor of biomedical sciences at Creighton University in Omaha, died of squamous cell carcinoma of the lung on May 27, his 80th birthday.
Born in New York City, Fishkin earned a B.A. in 1951 and an M.A. in 1953, both in zoology, at Indiana University. He earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Iowa in 1957, under Gene F. Lata.
Fishkin then accepted a one-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Southwest Foundation for Research & Education in San Antonio, Texas. In 1958, he joined the Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans, working as a biochemist in the laboratory of Gerald S. Berenson, where he did research on glycoproteins in connective tissues and also held the rank of assistant professor. In 1964, he joined the department of chemistry at New Mexico State University to establish a biochemistry program there.
In 1968, Fishkin joined the School of Medicine at Creighton, where he remained for nearly four decades, teaching biochemistry. He also served as head of the division of biochemistry, director of animal research, and member of both the Rank & Tenure Committee and the medical school Admissions Committee. He retired in 2007.
Fishkin was an emeritus member of ACS, which he joined in 1954.
He is survived by his wife, Jane; their four sons, Paul, Charles, James, and Joel; and five grandchildren.