Gustav Embden
| Gustav Embden | |
|---|---|
| Born |
November 10, 1874 Hamburg, Germany |
| Died |
July 25, 1933 Nassau, Germany |
| Nationality | German |
| Fields | Physiological chemist |
| Known for | Embden–Meyerhof pathway |
Gustav Georg Embden (November 10, 1874 – July 25, 1933) was a German physiological chemist.
Education & Career
Embden initially studied in Freiburg, Strasbourg, Munich, Berlin, and Zurich under the famous physiologists of his time, including Johannes von Vries, Franz Hofmeister, Gaule, Paul Ehrlich, and Julius Richard Ewald.[1] In 1904, he became the director of the chemistry laboratory of the medical clinic at the Frankfurt-Sachsenhausen municipal hospital.[1] His research here helped to build the clinic into the Physiological Institute by 1907 and into the University Institute for Vegetative Physiology in 1914.[1] In the same year, he retained his directorship[1] and started teaching at the University of Frankfurt am Main.[2] Embden continued to serve as the rector of the university from 1925 - 1926.[1]
Research
Embden conducted studies on carbohydrate metabolism and muscle contraction, and he was the first to discover and link together all the steps involved in the conversion of glycogen to lactic acid.[1][2] In 1918, Otto Fritz Meyerhof's work on cellular metabolism showed that the process involved the breakdown of glucose to lactic acid. Embden is known for having worked out the precise steps involved in this breakdown. Henceforth, this cellular metabolic sequence from glycogen to lactic acid became known as the Embden–Meyerhof pathway.[2]
Embden had also worked on developing a technique to prevent tissue damage. In doing so, he discovered the liver's role in metabolic processes, thereby laying a foundation for understanding normal sugar metabolism and of its pathological form, diabetes.[1][2]
Some scientific historians, such as Thomas Kuhn, consider the work done in the 1930s in the laboratories of Meyerhof, Parnas, Embden, Warburg, etc. to be the mark of a true scientific revolution.[3]
Awards
Gustav Embden was nominated for 8 Nobel Prizes, receiving a total of 12 nominations.[4]
| Nobel Prize Academic Field | Year | Nominator(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Physiology or Medicine | 1923 | Karl Hürthle, Albrecht Julius Theodor Bethe, Ernst Schmitz |
| Physiology or Medicine | 1924 | Albrecht Kossel |
| Physiology or Medicine | 1927 | Albrecht Kossel |
| Physiology or Medicine | 1929 | L Seitz, Bernh. Fischer-Wasels, K Goldstein |
| Physiology or Medicine | 1930 | Ernst Schmitz |
| Physiology or Medicine | 1932 | A Dieudonné |
| Chemistry | 1932 | Hans von Euler-Chelpin |
| Physiology or Medicine | 1933 | E Cruickshank |
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Rogers, Kara (2011). The Chemical Reactions of Life: From Metabolism to Photosynthesis. Chicago: Britannica Educational Publishing. p. 76. ISBN 9781615303878.
- 1 2 3 4 Lipmann, Fritz (1975-03-01). "Reminiscences of embden's formulation of the embden-meyerhof cycle". Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry 6 (3): 171–175. doi:10.1007/BF01732075. ISSN 0300-8177.
- ↑ "Otto Meyerhof and the Physiology Institute: the Birth of Modern Biochemistry". NobelPrize.Org. Nobel Media AB. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
- ↑ "Nomination Database". NobelPrize.Org. Nobel Media AB. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
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