Edmond H. Fischer
| Edmond Fischer | |
|---|---|
| Born | Edmond Henri Fischer April 6, 1920 Shanghai International Settlement, Shanghai, China |
| Institutions | University of Washington |
| Alma mater | University of Geneva |
| Thesis | La purification et l'isolement de l'alpha-amylase de pancréas (1947) |
| Doctoral advisor | Kurt Heinrich Meyer |
| Doctoral students | Edwin G. Krebs |
| Known for | Phosphorylation |
| Notable awards |
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Edmond Henri Fischer (born April 6, 1920) is a Swiss American biochemist. He and his collaborator Edwin G. Krebs were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1992 for describing how reversible phosphorylation works as a switch to activate proteins and regulate various cellular processes. From 2007 until 2014, he was the Honorary President of the World Cultural Council.
Fischer was born in the Shanghai International Settlement, China. His mother, Renée Tapernoux, was born in France, and his father, Oscar Fischer, was born in Austria. Fischer's maternal grandfather founded the "Courrier de Chine" in Shanghai, which is the first newspaper published in French in China; he also helped to establish "l'Ecole Municipale Française" in Shanghai, where Fischer attended primary school.
At age 7, Fischer and his two older brothers were sent to the Swiss boarding school La Châtaigneraie, near the home town of his mother, Renée Tapernoux, in Vevey. At high school he made a pact with a childhood friend, one of them would become a doctor and the other a scientist and then they could cure the ills of the world. While at high school Fischer was admitted to the Geneva Conservatory of Music, he also considered becoming a professional musician.
At the completion of high school, Fischer wanted to study microbiology; however, he was advised to study chemistry. He studied at the University of Geneva during World War II, he enjoyed organic chemistry and also studied biology. He completed a PhD in organic chemistry under the supervision of Kurt Heinrich Meyer, who worked on the structure of polysaccharides, and the enzymes needed for their synthesis and breakdown. Fischer worked on alpha-amylase.
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