Edwin Krebs

Edwin Krebs was an American biochemist who received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1992. He shared the award with his long-time collaborator Edmond H. Fischer for their discovery of reversible protein phosphorylation, a fundamental regulatory mechanism in cell biology. Their work elucidated how the cAMP-dependent protein kinase acts as a switch to control cellular processes, profoundly impacting understanding of signal transduction and diseases like cancer.

Early life and education

Edwin Gerhard Krebs was born in Lansing, Iowa, and grew up in Greenville, Illinois. His father, a Presbyterian minister, died when Krebs was young, and the family later moved to Urbana, Illinois. He completed his undergraduate studies in chemistry at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1940. Initially intending to become a physician, he earned his medical degree from the Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine in 1943. His medical training was accelerated due to World War II, after which he served as a medical officer in the United States Navy.

Career and research

Following his naval service, Krebs returned to Washington University in St. Louis for a fellowship in biochemistry under the mentorship of Carl Cori and Gerty Cori, who were Nobel Prize laureates. In 1948, he joined the faculty at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he began his pivotal collaboration with Edmond H. Fischer. Their research focused on glycogen phosphorylase, an enzyme crucial for energy metabolism. They discovered that the activation and deactivation of this enzyme were controlled by the addition and removal of phosphate groups, a process termed reversible protein phosphorylation. This work identified the first protein kinase, specifically the cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA), establishing a paradigm for cellular regulation. Krebs later chaired the Department of Biochemistry at the University of California, Davis, before returning to the University of Washington as chairman of the Department of Pharmacology.

Awards and honors

Krebs received numerous prestigious awards for his groundbreaking research. In 1989, he and Fischer were jointly awarded the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research. The pinnacle of recognition came in 1992 when they received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He was also a member of several esteemed academies, including the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Other notable honors included the Passano Award, the Gairdner Foundation International Award, and the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize from Columbia University.

Personal life and legacy

Krebs married Virginia "Deedy" French in 1945, and they had three children. He was known as a modest and dedicated mentor who valued rigorous scientific inquiry. His discovery of reversible protein phosphorylation created an entirely new field of study, revealing a universal language of cell signaling. This work has had immense implications for understanding and treating a vast array of diseases, including diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, and various cancers, influencing the development of many modern kinase inhibitor drugs. He died in Seattle in 2009.

Category:American biochemists Category:Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine Category:1918 births Category:2009 deaths