Samuel Carroll Brooks Jr., Ph.D., a retired professor of Biochemistry at the Wayne State University School of Medicine, died Dec. 15 after a battle with cancer.

Dr. Brooks, a resident of Steamboat Springs, Colo., was a faculty member from 1959 to 2006. He was widely known for his scientific and scholarship contributions to

breast cancer research. He was the first to describe the estrogen receptor in breast cancer cell line MCF-7, the first human breast cancer cell line produced. He characterized the line, and was instrumental in recognizing the importance of the estrogen receptor in regulating breast cancer growth. This research led to the development of a clinical laboratory test for estrogen receptor used to determine which patients are eligible for treatment with anti-estrogen drugs.

He also worked to characterize the MCF10 cell line that led to the first continuously growing line of human pre-neoplastic breast cells, which allow researchers to study the earliest events in breast cancer progression and to test strategies to interfere with those events.

He was a charter member of the WSU Academy of Scholars, and made many contributions on behalf of the university, School of Medicine, Cancer Biology, Oncology, Faculty Senate, medical school admissions and his Department of Biochemistry.

Dr. Brooks is survived by Frieda Brooks, his wife of 58 years; children Katie Brooks Robertson and husband Mike of Fishers, Ind., and Carroll Brooks and wife Jamie of Seoul, South Korea; grandchildren Samuel, Phillip, Jake, Lauren and Ben; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his brother James Webster Brooks and son James Winfried Brooks.

Dr. Brooks was born and raised in Winchester, Va. He received his bachelors degree from Carnegie Mellon University and masters and doctorate degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He served in the United States Army and was promoted from Lieutenant to Captain during the Korean War.

In his free time, Dr. Brooks enjoyed traveling, skiing, reading WWII history novels, watching Wisconsin Badgers football and spending time with family and friends. He will be fondly remembered for his kindness, sense of humor, knack for storytelling, and his love of animals.

A celebration of life will take place at 11 a.m. Dec. 29 at St. Martin-Tours Catholic Church, 400 Sharp Ave., in Oak Creek, Colo. Memorial contributions may be made in his name to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northwest Colorado, 325 7th St., Steamboat Springs, CO. 80487.

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Dr. Sam Brooks, pioneer in breast cancer research, dies at 91 - The South End