Earl Wilbur Sutherland Jr.
Earl Wilbur Sutherland Jr. | |
---|---|
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) | |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Biochemistry |
Institutions | Vanderbilt University, Case Western Reserve University, Washington University School of Medicine, University of Miami |
Doctoral students | Ferid Murad |
Earl Wilbur Sutherland Jr. (November 19, 1915 – March 9, 1974) was an American
Early life and education
Sutherland was born on November 19, 1915, in Burlingame, Kansas. The second youngest of six children, he was raised by his mother, Edith M. Hartshorn, and his father, Earl W. Sutherland.[1] 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.[2]
In 1933, at the age of 17, Sutherland enrolled in
Career
Academia and research
In 1940, while studying at the
After receiving his medical degree from Washington University in 1942, Sutherland served as a World War II army physician. He returned to Washington University in St. Louis in 1945, where he continued to do research in Cori's Laboratory. Sutherland accredits his decision to pursue a research career, as opposed to entering the medical profession, to his mentor Cori.[3]
Sutherland held various teaching titles during his time at the Washington University School of Medicine, including instructor in pharmacology (1945–46), instructor in biochemistry (1946–50), assistant professor in biochemistry (1950–52), and associate professor in biochemistry (1952–53).[5]
In 1953, Sutherland moved to
In 1963, Sutherland became professor of anatomy at
In 1973, after spending 10 years at Vanderbilt University, Sutherland moved to Miami, Florida, where he joined the faculty at Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine as a distinguished professor of biochemistry.[2][6] He continued to be involved in novel research about adenosine monophosphate and guanosine monophosphate, co-authoring four papers in 1973 alone.[7]
Discovery of cyclic AMP
While working in Cori's laboratory, Sutherland, with the help of his co-workers, made several discoveries concerning the mechanism of
After identifying the importance of LP, Sutherland moved his research efforts to Western Reserve University. There, he worked in collaboration with Ted Rall, Walter D Wosilait, and Jacques Berthet to publish a series of papers in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, "The Relationship of Epinephrine and Glucagon to Liver Phosphorylase", which was released in four parts.[8][9][10][11] These four papers document the purification of LP and the analysis of several of its properties. First, it was determined that the enzymatic activity of LP depends on the addition or removal of a phosphate group, a process called phosphorylation.[10] In a later experiment, they demonstrated that more phosphate is taken up in liver slices when epinephrine and glucagon are added, suggesting that these hormones were promoting the phosphorylation of LP, activating the enzyme.[10] The results of a later paper in the series suggested that this phosphorylation and activation of LP was a result of the action of phosphorlyase kinase.[11] This series also investigated the inactivation of liver phosphorylase and characterized an enzyme they initially called LP-inactivating enzyme, which functions by cleaving the phosphate group.[10] This enzyme was later renamed liver phosphorylase phosphatase.[11] These papers also characterized LP in terms of molecular weight and other factors. During their analysis, they found the unexpected result that LP activation increased with the addition of 5-AMP, which is a precursor of cAMP; however, this was not known at the time.[8]
The fourth paper published in this series, "The Relationship of Epinephrine and Glucagon to Liver Phosphorylase: IV Effect of Epinephrine and Glucagon on the Reactivation of Phosphorylase in Liver Homogenates", was published in 1956. In this paper, Sutherland and associates furthered their investigation of epinephrine and glucagon. The key to the success of this experiment was the use a
Even though the discovery of cyclic AMP and the idea of
Personal life
Sutherland married Mildred Rice in 1937, the same year that he graduated from
In 1962, Sutherland divorced his first wife. A year later, when he became professor of physiology at Vanderbilt University, Sutherland married Claudia Sebeste Smith, the assistant dean at the university, and they were together for the remainder of Sutherland's life.[2]
Awards and achievements
- 1937 – Bachelor of Science from Washburn College in Topeka, Kansas;
- 1942 – Doctor of medicine from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri;
- 1969 – Torald Sollman Award in Pharmacology | Gairdner Foundation International Award;
- 1970 – Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research;
- 1971 – Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine| Achievement Award from the American Heart Association;
- 1971 – Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement;[15]
- 1973 – National Medal of Science awarded by Richard Nixon.[5]
In 1952, Sutherland was awarded the Banting Memorial Lectureship and, in 1953, was elected as the Chairman of the Case Western Reserve University Department of Pharmacology in Cleveland, Ohio. He was awarded the Career Investigator position at the American Heart Association in 1967 and was elected as member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1973.[6]
Sutherland was also a member of various scientific societies which included the American Society of Biological Chemists, the American Chemical Society, the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Sigma Xi.[6] From 1951 to 1956, Sutherland was a member of the editorial board for the Biochemical Preparations Journal. The editorial board of the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics sought is attention from 1957 to 1958.[5]
Death
On March 9, 1974, Sutherland died of internal bleeding due to surgical complications following a massive esophageal
Legacy
After Sutherland's death, in 1974, the Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine established the Sutherland Memorial Lecture. In 1976, Vanderbilt University created the Sutherland Prize which is awarded annually to a faculty member whose work has garnered them national, if not international, acclaim and respect. Recipients are awarded $5,000, and their name is engraved on a silver bowl.[16] Vanderbilt honored Sutherland in 1997 by starting a Sutherland lecture, and again in 2001 in the creation of the Sutherland Chair of Pharmacology. Heidi E. Hamm, a member of the Vanderbilt faculty, was appointed to this position upon its establishment and still maintains this title.[17]
References
- ^ a b c Gale Group (2006). "World of Scientific Discovery on Earl Sutherland" Archived November 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. World of Scientific Discovery.
- ^ a b c d e "Earl Sutherland Biography" Archived October 21, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. BookRags.com
- ^ a b c d e Sutherland, Earl W (December 11, 1971). "Studies on the Mechanism of Hormone Action" Archived July 21, 2018, at the Wayback Machine. Nobel Lecture.
- ^ a b "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1947." Archived April 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Nobelprize.org.
- ^ a b c d e f "Earl W. Sutherland Jr. – Curriculum Vitae." Archived March 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Nobelprize.org.
- ^ a b c d e "Earl W. Sutherland Jr. – Biography." Archived March 1, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Louis Calder Memorial Library.
- ^ "Earl W. Sutherland Jr. – Additional Publications." Archived March 1, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Louis Calder Memorial Library.
- ^ PMID 13278353.
- PMID 13278354.
- ^ PMID 13278355.
- ^ PMID 13398422.
- .
- S2CID 7221384.
- ^ PMID 4320556.
- American Academy of Achievement. Archivedfrom the original on June 8, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
- ^ "Earl Sutherland Prize for Achievement in Research". Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.
- ^ Macmillan, Leigh (May 18, 2001) "Hamm AppointedSutherland Professor" Archived February 17, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
External links
- Earl Wilbur Sutherland Jr. on Nobelprize.org
- Lasker link
- NAS link
- Case-Western link