Mahlon Hoagland

Mahlon Bush Hoagland was born in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. in 1921 to Hudson Hoagland and Anna Hoagland. Hudson was an American physiologist who was known for co-founding the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology with Gregory Pincus. He graduated from The Hill School in 1940 and attended Williams College, and in 1948 received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School with intentions of becoming a pediatric surgeon. After a bout with tuberculosis, Hoagland was forced to change career directions and became involved with research.

After graduating from Harvard Medical School, he lived with designer Louise Kenyon and her family. Kenyon was part of the Folly Cove Designers, and Hoagland worked with them in Gloucester for several years while he commuted to Boston for work.

Hoagland took a research position at Massachusetts General Hospital in the lab of Paul Zamecnik, where he researched and detailed the role of transfer RNA in forming proteins. He was working with Zamecnick and Elizabeth Keller when he discovered the initial steps of protein synthesis.

From 1953-1967 Hoagland served as an associate professor of microbiology at Harvard Medical School. In 1967, upon leaving Harvard, he was appointed professor in the biochemistry department at Dartmouth Medical School. In 1970, Hoagland became scientific director of the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology, retiring in 1985 after 15 years in the directorship.