Albert Baird Hastings
| Albert Baird Hastings | |
|---|---|
| Born |
November 20, 1895 Dayton, Kentucky |
| Died | September 24, 1987 (aged 91) La Jolla, California |
| Cause of death | Heart failure |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan (B.S.), Columbia University (Ph.D.) |
| Known for | Study of acid-base homeostasis |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Biochemistry, physiology |
| Institutions | |
| Thesis | (1921) |
| Doctoral advisor | Ernest L. Scott |
| Notable students | John Buchanan |
Albert Baird Hastings (1895-1987) was an American biochemist and physiologist. He spent 28 years as the department chair and Hamilton Kuhn Professor of Biological Chemistry at Harvard University. After retiring from Harvard, Hastings moved to the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation (now the Scripps Research Institute), where he became the director of the division of biochemistry and helped to establish the institution's emerging program in basic research. In 1966, he became one of the first faculty members at the University of San Diego's new medical school. His research focused on the biochemical underpinnings of physiology and included characterizing acid-base homeostasis in blood and pioneering the use of radioactive tracers for studying metabolism. Hastings received a number of honors and awards for his work, including election to the National Academy of Sciences in 1937 and the President's Medal for Merit in 1948 following his wartime service on the Committee for Medical Research. Hastings died of heart failure in 1987 at age 91.
Hastings was born in Dayton, Kentucky on November 20, 1985 and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana. After his father died young of tuberculosis, Hastings intended to drop out of high school to find work, but a high school teacher arranged a biology assistantship for him that enabled him to finish his studies. After graduation, Hastings began his undergraduate work at the University of Michigan, originally intending to study chemical engineering but switching to chemistry after being recruited as a laboratory assistant by physical chemist Floyd Bartell.
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