Philip Handler
| Philip Handler | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 13, 1917 New York City |
| Died | December 29, 1981 (aged 64) Boston, MA |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Fields | Biochemistry |
| Institutions | Duke University |
| Alma mater | City College of New York (B.S) (1936) University of Illinois (Ph.D) (1939) |
| Doctoral advisor | H. E. Carter |
| Doctoral students | Irwin Fridovich |
| Known for | The textbook Principles of Biochemistry, and the popular book Biology & The Future of Man |
| Notable awards | National Medal of Science (1981) |
Philip Handler (August 13, 1917 – December 29, 1981) was an American nutritionist, and biochemist. He was President of the United States National Academy of Sciences for two terms from 1969 to 1981. He was also a recipient of the National Medal of Science.
Handler grew up in a Jewish family in New York City. He received his B.S. degree from the City College of New York in 1936 and his Ph.D. from University of Illinois in 1939. He taught at Duke University where he was named the youngest chairman of the Department of Biochemistry at age 35. Handler remained at Duke until 1969 at which point he accepted the position of president of the National Academy of Sciences.
As a biochemist, he published more than 200 papers on nutrition and metabolic activity. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1964. He received the National Medal of Science in 1981 for, "his outstanding contribution to biochemical research, resulting in significant contributions to mankind, including research which led to a clearer understanding of pellagra" (Bioscience Article).
His research led to the first understanding of nicotinic acid deficiency, and the discovery of the tryptophan-nicotinic acid relationship. Handler also provided an understanding of the oxidation of sarcosine to glycine and formaldehyde which led to the importance of single carbon atoms in metabolism. His final work showed that methionine is the only methyl donor in mammalian metabolism, and that there is no pool of methyl groups.
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