Neville Colman (July 30, 1945 – February 11, 2003)[1] was a hematologist and forensic DNA expert who made ground-breaking discoveries about folate and nutrition. He also founded the West Side Soccer League,[1] the largest all-volunteer sports organization in New York City.[2] There is a sports field named after him in NYC's Riverside Park.[3]
Early life
Colman was born in Germiston, South Africa, and attended the University of the Witwatersrand, where he received doctorates in medicine and pathology, as well as a masters in nuclear medicine.[4] He was also described as an "outstanding athlete".[5] He left South Africa in 1974, due to his opposition to the apartheid regime, and emigrated to the United States.[1]
Colman is credited with ground-breaking research on folate.[1] During his doctoral research at the University of Witwatersrand, he discovered that the anemia suffered in many rural communities under attack from apartheid was caused by a folate deficiency.[7] His research eventually led to the fortification of food products with folic acid, which is endorsed by the World Health Organization and the United States Food and Drug Administration. For much of his medical career, he worked closely with Victor Herbert on folate research.[8]
He also developed a technique for delivering supplementary vitamin B-12 with a nasal gel to those with Crohn's disease.
Colman also worked extensively in the area of DNA research, calling for increased standards in its use as a forensic tool.[1] Throughout the 1980s, he collaborated with attorney Peter Neufeld on work about the proper use of new scientific techniques in criminal cases. Colman frequently provided expert testimony in criminal cases on the veracity of DNA fingerprinting and quality control in criminology laboratories.[9] Colman and Neufeld identified a problem with the lax regulation of crime laboratories, noting "there is more regulation of clinical laboratories that determine whether one has mononucleosis than there is of forensic laboratories able to produce DNA test results that can help send a person to the electric chair."[10] In 1990, Colman and Neufeld summed up this work in an article in Scientific American, which was reprinted in numerous textbooks.[11][12] The National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences released their own policy on rigor and oversight in forensic science two years later.[13]
Colman left South Africa in 1974, due to his opposition to the apartheid regime, and emigrated to the United States. His experience is featured in The Rift, Hilda Bernstein's book on South African exiles.[16][17] Bernstein interviewed Colman in New York City, and the interview is in file at the University of the Witwatersrand Historical Papers Research Archive.[18][19]
West Side Soccer League
In 1987, Colman founded the West Side Soccer League. He was the league's regional commissioner from 1987 to 1996.[3] He went on to become New York area director of the American Youth Soccer Organization.[20] According to one source, Colman grew up playing soccer in South Africa and worked to educate American parents who had no soccer experience about the game.[21] In 2005, after Colman's death, a sports field in Riverside Park was named Neville Colman Field in honor of his contributions to youth soccer in New York City.[3]
Death
Colman died in 2003 in New York City. The cause of death was metastasized gastric cancer.[1]
Selected publications
Colman, Neville; Herbert, V. (1977). "Transport and delivery of folate". Topics on Hematology. Amsterdam: Exerpta Medica.
Colman, Neville; Herbert, V. (1977). "Folate binders in cerebrospinal fluid". Clinical Research. 25 (3): A336.
Colman, Neville; Gardner, Ann; Herbert, Victor (1979). "Non-mutagenicity of gossypol in the salmonella/mammalian-microsome plate assay". Environmental Mutagenesis. 1 (4): 315–320. doi:10.1002/em.2860010403. ISSN0192-2521. PMID399915.
Rana, Sohail R.; Colman, Neville; Goh, Kong-Oo; Herbert, Victor; Klemperer, Martin R. (1983). "Transcobalamin II deficiency associated with unusual bone marrow findings and chromosomal abnormalities". American Journal of Hematology. 14 (1): 89–96. doi:10.1002/ajh.2830140111. ISSN0361-8609. PMID6837569. S2CID43417492.