John B. Balinsky

John (Ivan) Boris Balinsky (July 4, 1934^[1] in Kyiv – October 1, 1983^[1] in Ames, Iowa) was a Ukrainian-South African zoologist. His father Boris Balinsky was an embryologist.

John Boris Balinsky
Іван (Джон) Балінський
Born	(1934-07-04)4 July 1934 Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR
Died	1 October 1983(1983-10-01) (aged 49) Ames, Iowa
Citizenship	USSR (1934–1950) South Africa (1950–1983)
Alma mater	St. John's College, Johannesburg University of the Witwatersrand
Scientific career
Fields	Biochemistry, zoology
Institutions	University of the Witwatersrand University of London Columbia University Iowa State University

Early life

Balinsky was born in Kyiv into a family of biologists; his father, Boris Balinsky, was a university professor and his mother, Katia Syngayevskaya,^[1] was a laboratory researcher. In 1937, his mother was sentenced to 10 years in a Gulag work camp, as part of Stalin's Great Purge.^[2] The sentence was later reduced but she died suddenly in 1943.^[2]

Balinsky graduated from St. John's College in Johannesburg, South Africa.^[1] He obtained his Bachelors of Science in Zoology and Chemistry in 1955 from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and a Ph.D. in biochemistry in 1959 from the University of London.^[1]

Career

Balinsky studied amphibian physiology. He investigated cell environmental adaptation regulation during development.^[1] Balinsky authored 47 research publications, including a chapter in the book "Comparative Biochemistry of Nitrogen Metabolism".^[1]

Balinsky also described several species of Echinodermata:

• Ophiactis delagoa JB Balinsky, 1957
• Macrophiothrix mossambica JB Balinsky, 1957
• Amphiura inhacensis JB Balinsky, 1957

Awards and grants

Balinsky received numerous awards and grants, including:

• Witwatersrand Council of Education Overseas Scholarship (1956)^[1]
• Nuffield Foundation in dominions (1962)^[1]
• Carnegie Corporation of New York (1967)^[1]
• U. S. National Institutes of Health International Fellowship (1968)^[1]
• South African Council for the scientific and Industrial Research Senior Bursary (1975);^[1] and
• Harry Oppenheimer Fellowship Award (1975).

Membership

Balinsky was a member of:

• AAAS^[1]
• Biochemical Society^[1]
• Royal Society of South Africa^[1]
• Physiological Society of Southern Africa;^[1] and
• Society for Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes of Southern Africa^[1]

He was also the vice-chair from 1974-1975 of the South African Biochemical Society and, from 1973-1974, chair of the Society for Experimental Biology, Transvaal.^[1]

Further reading

• Balinsky, Boris (1988). Digital surrogate of Boris Balinsky Memoir. University of Illinois Archives.