Emil L. Smith
Emil L. Smith | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 5, 1911 |
| Died | May 31, 2009 (aged 97) |
| Education | UCLA |
| Academic advisors | David Keilin, Selig Hecht |
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (February 2013) |
Emil L. Smith (July 5, 1911 – May 31, 2009) was an American biochemist who studied protein structure and function as well as
biochemical evolution
.
Initially intending to go into medicine, Smith became interested in biology and organic chemistry during his second year at
Cambridge University on a Guggenheim Fellowship to work with David Keilin on the chlorophyll-protein complex. Upon returning to the U.S. during World War II, he took a position at Yale University's Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station to work with Hubert Bradford Vickery. He joined the lab of eminent protein chemist Max Bergmann at the Rockefeller Institute in 1940, where he worked with a number of important biochemists and began a significant line of research on the intestinal enzyme erepsin
.
Between 1942 and 1946, he worked at
peptide sequence of the protein cytochrome c; based on comparisons between cytochrome c from different species, Smith and Margoliash performed some of the earliest work in the field of molecular evolution, applying the idea of the molecular clock to the highly conserved cytochrome c sequence. In 1969, he worked with James Bonner to sequence histone H4
in several species, which was also of significant use in evolutionary studies.
In 1963, he moved to
UCLA
as professor and chair of the department of biological chemistry in the school of medicine, and became an emeritus professor in 1979.
He was elected to the
The Protein Society
.
References
- ^ "Alumni Award Recipients | School of General Studies". gs.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
- ^ "Emil L. Smith". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved 2022-08-11.
- ^ "Emil L. Smith". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2022-08-11.
- ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 2022-08-11.
Sources
- "Smith, Emil L." American Men & Women of Science. Katherine H. Nemeh, ed. 25th ed. 8 vols. Gale, 2008.
- "Emil L. Smith." Marquis Who's Who. Marquis Who's Who, 2008.
- Kresge, Nicole; Robert D. Simoni; Robert L. Hill (2004-11-19). "The Characterization of Intestinal Peptidases by Emil L. Smith". Journal of Biological Chemistry. 279 (47): e6. . Retrieved 2008-11-16.
External links
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
