Earl Wilbur Sutherland Jr. | |
---|---|
Born |
Burlingame, Kansas |
November 19, 1915
Died | March 9, 1974 Miami, Florida |
(aged 58)
Nationality | American |
Fields | biochemistry |
Institutions | Vanderbilt University, Case Western Reserve University |
Alma mater |
Washington University in St. Louis (M.D) Washburn University (B.S) |
Doctoral students | Ferid Murad |
Known for | epinephrine, cyclic AMP |
Influences | Carl Cori, Gerty Cori |
Notable awards | Gairdner Foundation International Award (1969) Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research (1970) Dickson Prize (1971) Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1971) National Medal of Science (1973) |
Earl Wilbur Sutherland Jr. (November 19, 1915 – March 9, 1974) was an American pharmacologist and biochemist born in Burlingame, Kansas. Sutherland won a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1971 "for his discoveries concerning the mechanisms of the action of hormones," especially epinephrine, via second messengers, namely cyclic adenosine monophosphate, or cyclic AMP. Sutherland died on March 9, 1974 in Miami, Florida, at the age of 58.
Sutherland was born on November 19, 1915, in Burlingame, Kansas. The second youngest of six children, Sutherland was raised by his mother, Edith M. Hartshorn, and his father, Earl W. Sutherland. Though his father, who was originally from Wisconsin, had attended Grinnell College for two years, he ultimately led an agrarian lifestyle that took him to both New Mexico and Oklahoma before settling down in Burlingame to raise a family. Edith, a Missouri native, had some training in nursing at what was called a “ladies college.” To provide for the family, Sutherland’s father ran a dry goods store, where he gave each of his children working jobs. Sutherland began fishing at the age of five, and this became a pastime that he enjoyed for most of his life. As a high school student, Sutherland played and excelled in several sports, including tennis, basketball, and football.
In 1933, at the age of 17, Sutherland enrolled in Washburn College, a school located in Topeka, Kansas and began the pursuit of a Bachelor of Science degree. In order to pay for tuition, he worked throughout his undergraduate years as a medical staff assistant at a local hospital. Sutherland graduated in 1937, at the age of 21. He was then accepted to Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, where he developed a strong mentorship with Carl Ferdinand Cori. In 1942, Sutherland graduated with a Doctor of Medicine.