Melvin J Glimcher

Dr. Glimcher, who had worked with amputees as a consultant to an insurance company, succeeded in devising an artificial upper arm that moved in response to instructions from the brain. In 2006, when he was 81, he teamed with his daughter, Dr. Laurie H. Glimcher, a leading immunologist, to publish a paper (their fourth together) on a newly discovered gene that helped control bone mass. Each led a team of researchers in pursuing the implications of the finding. At Purdue, Dr. Glimcher earned bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering and physics, both with highest distinction. He graduated from Harvard Medical School magna cum laude. He decided to become an orthopedic surgeon, he said, because a professor told him that it was a “barren” field. After his internship and residency, he studied biochemistry, biophysics and engineering for four years at M.I.T. to hone his research skills. He did more than enough work to earn a Ph.D. but chose not to get one. At 39, Dr. Glimcher was appointed to the first tenured chair in orthopedic surgery at Harvard. Dr. Glimcher’s marriages to Geraldine Lee Bogolub and Karin Wetmore ended in divorce. He is survived by three daughters from his first marriage, Susan, Laurie and Nancy Glimcher; six grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.