John Gofman

John W. Gofman
John Gofman at his home in San Francisco in August 2005
Born	September 21, 1918 Cleveland, Ohio
Died	August 15, 2007 (aged 88) San Francisco, California
Citizenship	United States
Fields	Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Medicine
Alma mater	Oberlin College (Bachelor's) University of California at Berkeley (Ph.D) University of California, San Francisco (M.D.)
Thesis	The discovery of Pa-232, U-232, Pa-233, and U-233. The slow and fast neutron fissionability of U-233. (1943)
Doctoral advisor	Glenn T. Seaborg
Notable awards	Right Livelihood Award

John William Gofman (September 21, 1918 – August 15, 2007) was an American scientist and advocate. He was Professor Emeritus of Molecular and Cell Biology at University of California at Berkeley.

Gofman pioneered the field of clinical lipidology, and was honoured with the title of "Father of Clinical Lipidology" by the Journal of Clinical Lipidology in 2007. With Frank T. Lindgren and other research associates, Gofman discovered and described three major classes of plasma lipoproteins, fat molecules that carry cholesterol in the blood. The team he led at the Donner Laboratory went on to demonstrate the role of lipoproteins in the causation of heart disease.

Gofman was instrumental in inducing the health physics scientific community both to acknowledge the cancer risks of ionizing radiation and to adopt the Linear No-Threshold (LNT) model as a means of estimating actual cancer risks from low-level radiation and as the foundation of the international guidelines for radiation protection.

Gofman's earliest research was in nuclear physics and chemistry, in close connection to the Manhattan Project. He co-discovered several radioisotopes, notably uranium-233 and its fissionability ; he was the third person ever to work with plutonium, and, having devised an early process for separating plutonium from fission products at J. Robert Oppenheimer’s request, he was the first chemist ever to try and isolate milligram quantities of plutonium.

In 1963, Gofman established the Biomedical Research Division for the Livermore National Laboratory, where he was on the cutting edge of research into the connection between chromosomal abnormalities and cancer.

Later in life, Gofman took on a role as an advocate warning of dangers involved with nuclear power. From 1971 onward, he was the Chairman of the Committee for Nuclear Responsibility. He was awarded the Right Livelihood Award for his work on the effects of the Chernobyl disaster's low-level radiation exposure on the population.