Fritzberg instrumental in medical research

David Lewis
Tribune reporter

  LYNDEN -- Alan Fritzberg recalls spending his early years growing up on the Stickney Island Road, west of Everson, enjoying the pastoral surroundings in the Pacific Northwest.
  Outdoors a lot, he and a friend even floated the Nooksack River on a raft that they crafted themselves all the way from Everson to Ferndale.
  But since his graduation from Nooksack Valley High School in 1962, Dr. Fritzberg has become so accomplished as a medical researcher that it is hard to believe that he has not only kept up, but cultivated, his passion for the outdoors in his leisure time. In fact, it’s hard to believe he has had any leisure time at all.
  After leaving Everson to pursue his academic aspirations, Dr. Fritzberg received his bachelor of science degree in chemistry from Washington State University in 1966, his masters of science in organic chemistry from the University of Wisconsin in 1968, and a Ph.D in organic chemistry from Wesleyan University in 1971. Following his degree work, he did postdoctoral research at the University of Utah and at the University of British Columbia.
  Fritzberg describes his largest professional accomplishment as having occurred while he was at the University of Utah. There, he was part of a group responsible for the development of “a compound for determining the function level of kidneys.”
  The compound was then “licensed from the University of Utah and commercialized by a company from St. Louis,” said Fritzberg. “It was successful and is still used routinely in nuclear medicine around the world.”
  He likened the probability of getting a treatment from development to FDA approval to the odds of winning the lottery. “I feel very fortunate to have been in the position for all of those steps to come together,” he said.
  After much moving around, Fritzberg, his wife Lisbeth, and their two sons, returned to the Pacific Northwest for good in 1984, when he was a member of the group to found the NeoRX Corporation in Seattle. At NeoRx, Fritzberg and his group “applied the chemistry they had used in their kidney function research to attach radioactivity to antibody proteins that target cancer.”
  After leaving NeoRX in 2002, Fritzberg remains active in the field of medical research where he maintains connections to several startup companies and professional societies.
  “More of my time now is taken up with being on the board of the SeaDoc Society, a University of California, Davis wildlife program focused on science of the Puget Sound - Georgia Basin marine system,” he said.
  Frtizberg’s passion for the outdoors has translated into great concern for the environment. He now volunteers to work for many local environmental groups.
  He also explores his passion for the outdoors by traveling. Recent trips include: the Indian Himalayas, Peru, Nepal, Tibet, and he hopes to finish hiking the Pacific Crest Trail across Washington state, which he is partway through.
  Despite the busyness of his daily schedule, Fritzberg appears to have found peace in the Pacific Northwest. He said, “Living now in Bellingham is so close to coming full circle and it has been very enjoyable to reconnect with people as well as work on preservation projects in a long-term way that are close to home.”