Frank Westheimer

Frank Henry Westheimer (born January 15, 1912 in Baltimore , † April 14, 2007 in Cambridge (Massachusetts) ) was an American chemist and biochemist .

Life

Westheimer graduated from Dartmouth College in 1932, then enrolled in the graduate school at Harvard University . After completing his doctorate in 1935, he went to Columbia University , the following year took a position at the University of Chicago . During the Second World War he worked at the Explosives Research Laboratory in Bruceton near Pittsburgh . He then returned to Chicago . From 1953 he held a professorship at Harvard. From 1967 to 1970 he was a research advisor to Lyndon B. Johnson . In 1983 he retired.

Frank Westheimer was married to Jeanne Friedmann († 2001) from 1937. The marriage resulted in two daughters.

Act

Frank Westheimer was the author of over 200 scientific publications. Together with Birgit Vennesland and colleagues, he used deuterium labeling to show that hydrogen is transferred directly to the coenzyme in NAD ⁺ -dependent redox reactions and that the reaction catalyzed by alcohol dehydrogenase is stereospecific . With Edward A. Dennis, Westheimer developed rules for the occurrence of pseudorotation in the hydrolysis of phosphoric acid esters from 1966 onwards . Westheimer introduced photoaffinity labeling , a method for studying ligand-receptor interactions. Another field of activity Westheimer was the mechanism of the enzymatic decarboxylation of acetoacetic acid .

In 1964/65 Westheimer chaired a committee of the National Academy of Sciences ( National Academy of Sciences Committee for the Survey of Chemistry ), which evaluated the funding of basic chemical research and called for an increase in federal spending.

Awards

In 1954 Westheimer was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and in 1976 to the American Philosophical Society .

In 1980 he received the NAS Award in Chemical Sciences from the National Academy of Sciences "for his groundbreaking investigations into the understanding of organic chemistry and enzymatic reactions through the application of physical chemistry" , 1981 the Rosenstiel Award and 1982 the Welch Award in Chemistry .

In 1986 he was awarded the National Medal of Science . The American Chemical Society honored him in 1988 with the Priestley Medal of "for his series of extraordinary, original and profound research on the mechanisms of organic and enzymatic reactions of the types of advance chemical a unique role in enhancing our knowledge and biochemical Processes played ” .

Harvard University donated the Frank H. Westheimer Medal in 2002 .

literature

• John. A. Gerlt: Obituary: Frank H. Westheimer (1912-2007). In: Nature. Volume 447, Number 7144, May 2007, p. 543, ISSN  1476-4687 . doi : 10.1038 / 447543a . PMID 17538611 .
• Addison Ault: Frank Westheimer's Early Demonstration of Enzymatic Specificity. In: Journal of Chemical Education. 85, 2008, p. 1246, doi : 10.1021 / ed085p1246 .
• K. Noelle Gracy: A conversation with Frank Westheimer. Interview by K. Noelle Gracy. In: Biochemical and biophysical research communications. Volume 296, Number 1, August 2002, pp. 5-7, ISSN  0006-291X . PMID 12147218 , doi : 10.1016 / S0006-291X (02) 00845-8 .
• Jeremy Pearce: Frank Westheimer, 95, Who Developed Model Valuable in Biochemistry, Dies . In: The New York Times . April 21, 2007.

Web links

• Elias J. Corey : Frank H. Westheimer, 95, Pioneering Harvard Chemist, Dies - Harvard University Obituary, April 16, 2007

Individual evidence

1. ↑ HF Fisher, EE Conn, B. Vennesland, FH Westheimer: The enzymatic transfer of hydrogen. I. The reaction catalyzed by alcohol dehydrogenase. In: The Journal of biological chemistry. Volume 202, Number 2, June 1953, pp. 687-697, ISSN  0021-9258 . PMID 13061492 .
2. ↑ FA Loewus, P. Ofner, RF Fisher, FH Westheimer, B. Vennesland: The enzymatic transfer of hydrogen. II. The reaction catalyzed by lactic dehydrogenase. In: The Journal of biological chemistry. Volume 202, Number 2, June 1953, pp. 699-704, ISSN  0021-9258 . PMID 13061493 .
3. ^ FH Westheimer: Pseudo-rotation in the hydrolysis of phosphate esters. In: Accounts of Chemical Research. 1, 1968, pp. 70-78, doi : 10.1021 / ar50003a002 .
4. ↑ A. Singh, ER Thornton, FH Westheimer: The photolysis of diazoacetylchymotrypsin. In: The Journal of biological chemistry. Volume 237, September 1962, pp. 3006-3008, ISSN  0021-9258 . PMID 13913310 .
5. ↑ RJ Vaughan, FH Westheimer: A method for marking the hydrophobic binding sites of enzymes. An insertion into the methyl group of an alanine residue of trypsin. In: Journal of the American Chemical Society. Volume 91, Number 1, January 1969, pp. 217-218, ISSN  0002-7863 . PMID 5782459 .
6. ^ PH Abelson: Chemistry: Opportunities and Needs. In: Science . Volume 150, Number 3701, December 1965, p. 1247, ISSN  0036-8075 . doi : 10.1126 / science.150.3701.1247 . PMID 17751841 .
7. ↑ Westheimer Report Seeks Increase In Spending for Chemical Research  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.   . In: The Harvard Crimson , December 4, 1965.