Jump to content

Christian B. Anfinsen: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
spelling
 
(32 intermediate revisions by 25 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|American biochemist (1916–1995)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox scientist
{{Infobox scientist
|birth_name = Christian Boehmer Anfinsen Jr.
| birth_name = Christian Boehmer Anfinsen Jr.
|image =Christian B. Anfinsen, NIH portrait, 1969.jpg
| image = Christian B. Anfinsen, NIH portrait, 1969.jpg
| image_size = 180px
| image_size = 180px
|caption = Christian B. Anfinsen in 1969
| caption = Anfinsen in 1969
|birth_date = March 26, 1916
| birth_date = March 26, 1916
|birth_place = [[Monessen, Pennsylvania]]
| birth_place = [[Monessen, Pennsylvania]], US
|death_date ={{death date and age|mf=yes|1995|5|14|1916|3|26}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|mf=yes|1995|5|14|1916|3|26}}
|death_place =[[Randallstown, Maryland]]
| death_place = [[Randallstown, Maryland]], US
|nationality =American
| fields = [[Biochemistry]]
⚫
| work_institutions =
|fields = [[Biochemistry]]
⚫
| alma_mater = {{ubl|[[Swarthmore College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])|[[University of Pennsylvania]] ([[M. S.|MS]])|[[Harvard Medical School|Harvard University]] ([[PhD]])}}
⚫
|work_institutions =
⚫
| doctoral_advisor = [[Albert Baird Hastings]]
⚫
|alma_mater = [[Swarthmore College]] (BA, 1937)<br>[[University of Pennsylvania]] (MS, 1939)<br> [[Harvard Medical School]] (PhD, 1943)
| thesis_title = Quantitative histochemical studies of the retina
⚫
|doctoral_advisor =
| thesis_url = http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/76978232
⚫
|doctoral_students =
| thesis_year = 1943
|known_for = [[Ribonuclease]], [[Anfinsen's dogma]]
⚫
| doctoral_students =
|influences =
|religion = [[Judaism]]
| known_for = [[Ribonuclease]], [[Anfinsen's dogma]]
|prizes = [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] (1972)
| influences =
| prizes = [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] (1972)
|spouse=Florence Kenenger (1941-1978; divorced; 3 children)<br>Libby Shulman Ely (m. 1979; 4 stepchildren)
| spouse = {{ubl|{{Marriage|Florence Kenenger|1941|1978|end=div}}|{{Marriage|Libby Shulman Ely|1979}}}}
| children = 3 with Kenenger, 4 stepchildren with Ely
}}
}}
'''Christian Boehmer Anfinsen Jr.''' (March 26, 1916 – May 14, 1995)<ref name="Who Was Who">{{cite book|title=Who Was Who in America, 1993-1996, vol. 11|year=1996|publisher=Marquis Who's Who|location=New Providence, N.J.|isbn=0837902258|page=7|chapter=Anfinsen, Christian Boehmer|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/whowaswhoinameri11marq}}</ref> was an American [[biochemist]]. He shared the 1972 [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] with [[Stanford Moore]] and [[William Howard Stein]] for work on [[ribonuclease]], especially concerning the connection between the [[amino acid]] [[sequence]] and the biologically active conformation (see [[Anfinsen's dogma]]).<ref>[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1972/press.html '&#39;The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1972'&#39; (The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences)]. Nobelprize.org. Retrieved on 2012-03-08.</ref>
'''Christian Boehmer Anfinsen Jr.''' (March 26, 1916&nbsp;– May 14, 1995)<ref name="Who Was Who">{{cite book|title=Who Was Who in America, 1993-1996, vol. 11|year=1996|publisher=Marquis Who's Who|location=New Providence, N.J.|isbn=0-8379-0225-8|page=7|chapter=Anfinsen, Christian Boehmer|chapter-url-access=registration|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/whowaswhoinameri11marq}}</ref> was an American [[biochemist]]. He shared the 1972 [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] with [[Stanford Moore]] and [[William Howard Stein]] for work on [[ribonuclease]], especially concerning the connection between the [[amino acid]] [[sequence]] and the biologically active conformation (see [[Anfinsen's dogma]]).<ref>[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1972/press.html "The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1972" (The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences)]. Nobelprize.org. Retrieved on March 8, 2012.</ref><ref name="BioNIH & Encyclopedia.com">
* {{Cite web| url=https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/spotlight/kk/feature/biographical| title=The Christian B. Anfinsen Papers: Biographical Overview | date=March 12, 2019 |publisher=National institute of Health}}
* [https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/anfinsen-christian-b "Anfinsen, Christian B. ."] <u>Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography</u>. . ''Encyclopedia.com''.</ref>


==Background==
==Background==
Anfinsen was born in [[Monessen, Pennsylvania]], into a family of [[Norwegian American]] immigrants. His parents were Sophie (née Rasmussen) and Christian Boehmer Anfinsen Sr., a mechanical engineer.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/ps/retrieve/Narrative/KK/p-nid/14|title=The Christian B. Anfinsen Papers: Biographical Information|website=profiles.nlm.nih.gov}}</ref> The family moved to Philadelphia in the 1920s. He earned a [[bachelor's degree]] from [[Swarthmore College]] in 1937. While attending [[Swarthmore College]] he played varsity football and joined the [[Delta Upsilon]] fraternity.
Anfinsen was born in [[Monessen, Pennsylvania]], into a family of [[Norwegian-American]] immigrants. His parents were Sophie (née Rasmussen) and Christian Boehmer Anfinsen Sr., a mechanical engineer. The family moved to Philadelphia in the 1920s. In 1933, he went to [[Swarthmore College]] where he played varsity football and earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1937.<ref name="BioNIH & Encyclopedia.com"/>


In 1939, he earned a [[master's degree]] in organic chemistry from the [[University of Pennsylvania]]. In 1939, [[The American-Scandinavian Foundation]] awarded Anfinsen a fellowship to develop new methods for analyzing the chemical structure of complex proteins, namely [[enzymes]], at the [[Carlsberg Laboratory]] in [[Copenhagen, Denmark]]. In 1941, Anfinsen was offered a university fellowship for doctoral study in the Department of Biological Chemistry at [[Harvard Medical School]]. There, Anfinsen received his [[Ph.D.]] in biochemistry in 1943.<ref>[https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/KK/Views/Exhibit/narrative/biographical.html '&#39;Biography of Christian B. Anfinsen'&#39; (U.S. National Library of Medicine)]. Profiles.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved on 2012-03-08.</ref> In 1979, he [[Conversion to Judaism|converted]] to Judaism, by undergoing an Orthodox conversion and that same year he quit smoking. Although Anfinsen wrote in 1985 that his feelings on religion still reflect a fifty-year period of orthodox [[agnosticism]].<ref name="National Institutes of Health">{{cite web|url=https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/KK/Views/Exhibit/narrative/biographical.html|title=''The Christian B. Anfinsen Papers''|publisher=National Institutes of Health|accessdate=2009-08-23}}</ref>
In 1939, he earned a [[master's degree]] in organic chemistry from the [[University of Pennsylvania]] and was awarded an [[American-Scandinavian Foundation]] fellowship to develop new methods for analyzing the chemical structure of complex proteins, namely [[enzymes]], at the [[Carlsberg Laboratory]] in [[Copenhagen, Denmark]]. In 1941, Anfinsen was offered a university fellowship for doctoral study in the Department of Biological Chemistry at [[Harvard Medical School]] where he received his [[PhD]] in biochemistry in 1943.<ref name="BioNIH & Encyclopedia.com"/> During [[World War&nbsp;II]] he worked for the [[Office of Scientific Research and Development]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/16/obituaries/christian-b-anfinsen-nobel-winner-in-chemistry-dies-at-79.html|title=Christian B. Anfinsen, Nobel Winner in Chemistry, Dies at 79|author=Wolfgang Saxon|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=May 16, 1995}}</ref>


Anfinsen had three children with his first wife, Florence Kenenger, to whom he was married from 1941 to 1978. He married Libby Shulman Ely, with whom he had 4 stepchildren, in 1979.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-christian-anfinsen-1620834.html|title=OBITUARY: Christian Anfinsen|date=May 24, 1995|website=The Independent}}</ref>
Anfinsen had three children with his first wife, Florence Kenenger, to whom he was married from 1941 to 1978. In 1979, he married Libby Shulman Ely, with whom he had 4 stepchildren,<ref name="JH & Independent">
* {{Cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-christian-anfinsen-1620834.html|title=OBITUARY: Christian Anfinsen|date=May 24, 1995|website=The Independent}}
* {{cite web |title=Nobel Laureate Christian Anfinsen Dies |url=https://pages.jh.edu/news_info/news/home95/may95/anfinsen.html |website=pages.jh.edu |publisher=Johns Hopkins University}}</ref> and [[Conversion to Judaism|converted]] to Orthodox Judaism. However, Anfinsen wrote in 1987 that "my feelings about religion still very strongly reflect a fifty-year period of orthodox agnosticism."<ref name="BioNIH & Encyclopedia.com"/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Anfinsen |first1=Christian B. |title=Autobiographical profile of Christian B. Anfinsen |url=https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/101584571X184 |website=profiles.nlm.nih.gov |series=The Christian B. Anfinsen Papers |publisher=Swarthmore College |location=Box: 41. Folder: 10 |date=April 1987 |id=Legacy ID: KKBBLX; NLM ID: [https://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101584571X184 101584571X184]}}</ref>


His papers were donated to the National Library of Medicine by Libby Anfinsen between 1998 and 1999.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://oculus.nlm.nih.gov/anfinsen|title=Christian Anfinsen Papers 1939-1999 (bulk 1964-1999)|publisher= National Library of Medicine}}</ref>
His papers were donated to the National Library of Medicine by Libby Anfinsen between 1998 and 1999.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://oculus.nlm.nih.gov/anfinsen|title=Christian Anfinsen Papers 1939-1999 (bulk 1964-1999)|publisher= National Library of Medicine}}</ref>

Anfinsen [[Conversion to Judaism|converted to Judaism]] and was [[Jews|Jewish]] since.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jewish Nobel Prize Winners in Chemistry |url=https://www.jinfo.org/Nobels_Chemistry.html |access-date=2023-03-30 |website=www.jinfo.org}}</ref>


==Career==
==Career==
[[File:Christian B. AnfinsenNIH.jpg|left|thumb|Anfinsen in the lab]]
[[File:Christian B. AnfinsenNIH.jpg|left|thumb|Anfinsen in the lab]]
In 1950, the [[National Heart Institute]], part of the [[National Institutes of Health]] in [[Bethesda, Maryland]], recruited Anfinsen as chief of its Laboratory of [[Cell physiology]]. In 1954, a [[Rockefeller Foundation]] fellowship enabled Anfinsen to return to the Carlsberg Laboratory for a year and a [[John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation|Guggenheim Foundation]] fellowship allowed him to study at the [[Weizmann Institute of Science]] in [[Rehovot, Israel]] from 1958–59.<ref>[http://www.gf.org/fellows/360-christian-b-anfinsen '&#39;Christian B. Anfinsen – 1957'&#39; (Guggenheim Foundation)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622012557/http://www.gf.org/fellows/360-christian-b-anfinsen |date=June 22, 2011 }}. Gf.org. Retrieved on 2012-03-08.</ref> He was elected a Fellow of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] in 1958.<ref name=AAAS>{{cite web|title=Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter A|url=http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterA.pdf|publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences|accessdate=18 April 2011}}</ref>
In 1950, the [[National Heart Institute]], part of the [[National Institutes of Health]] in [[Bethesda, Maryland]], recruited Anfinsen as chief of its laboratory of [[cell physiology]]. In 1954, a [[Rockefeller Foundation]] fellowship enabled Anfinsen to return to the Carlsberg Laboratory for a year and a [[John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation|Guggenheim Foundation]] fellowship allowed him to study at the [[Weizmann Institute of Science]] in [[Rehovot, Israel]] from 1958 to 1959.<ref>[http://www.gf.org/fellows/360-christian-b-anfinsen "Christian B. Anfinsen – 1957"(Guggenheim Foundation)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622012557/http://www.gf.org/fellows/360-christian-b-anfinsen |date=June 22, 2011 }}. Gf.org. Retrieved on March 8, 2012.</ref> He was elected a Fellow of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] in 1958.<ref name=AAAS>{{cite web|title=Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter A|url=http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterA.pdf|publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences|access-date=April 18, 2011}}</ref><ref name="BioNIH & Encyclopedia.com"/>


In 1962, Anfinsen returned to Harvard Medical School as a visiting professor and was invited to become chair of the Department of Chemistry. He was subsequently appointed Chief of the Laboratory of Chemical Biology at the National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases (now the National Institute of Arthritis, Diabetes, and Digestive and Kidney Diseases), where he remained until 1981. In 1981, Anfinsen became a founding member of the [[World Cultural Council]].<ref>{{cite web | title = About Us | publisher = [[World Cultural Council]] | url = http://www.consejoculturalmundial.org/about-us/ | accessdate = November 8, 2016}}</ref> From 1982 until his death in 1995, Anfinsen was Professor of Biophysical Chemistry at [[Johns Hopkins University|Johns Hopkins]].<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-christian-anfinsen-1620834.html '&#39;Obituary:Christian Anfinsen'&#39;]. independent.co.uk (1995-05-24). Retrieved on 2012-03-08.</ref>
In 1962, Anfinsen returned to Harvard Medical School as a visiting professor and was invited to become chair of the department of chemistry. He was subsequently appointed chief of the laboratory of chemical biology at the National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases (now the National Institute of Arthritis, Diabetes, and Digestive and Kidney Diseases), where he remained until 1981.<ref name="BioNIH & Encyclopedia.com"/> In 1981, Anfinsen became a founding member of the [[World Cultural Council]].<ref>{{cite web | title = About Us | publisher = [[World Cultural Council]] | url = http://www.consejoculturalmundial.org/about-us/ | access-date = November 8, 2016}}</ref> From 1982 until his death in 1995, Anfinsen was Professor of Biology and (Physical) Biochemistry at [[Johns Hopkins University|Johns Hopkins]].<ref name="BioNIH & Encyclopedia.com"/><ref name="JH & Independent"/>


[[Image:RibonucleaseA SS line.png|thumb|right| Ribonuclease A 3D structure, with SS bonds in gold]]
[[Image:RibonucleaseA SS line.png|thumb|right| Ribonuclease A 3D structure, with SS bonds in gold]]
Anfinsen published more than 200 original articles, mostly in the area of the relationships between structure and function in proteins. He was also a pioneer of ideas in the area of nucleic acid compaction. In 1961, he showed that [[ribonuclease]] could be refolded after denaturation while preserving enzyme activity, thereby suggesting that all the information required by protein to adopt its final conformation is encoded in its [[primary structure|amino-acid sequence]]. He belonged to the [[United States National Academy of Sciences|National Academy of Sciences]] (USA), the [[Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters]] and the [[American Philosophical Society]].<ref name="National Institutes of Health"/><ref>[http://www.snl.no/Christian_B._Anfinsen '&#39;Christian B. Anfinsen'&#39; (Store norske leksikon)]. Snl.no. Retrieved on 2012-03-08.</ref>
Anfinsen published more than 200 original articles, mostly in the area of the relationships between structure and function in proteins, as well as a book, The Molecular Basis of Evolution (1959), in which he described the relationships between protein chemistry and genetics and the promise those areas held for the understanding of evolution.<ref name="JH & Independent"/> He was also a pioneer of ideas in the area of nucleic acid compaction. In 1961, he showed that [[ribonuclease]] could be refolded after denaturation while preserving enzyme activity, thereby suggesting that all the information required by protein to adopt its final conformation is encoded in its [[primary structure|amino-acid sequence]]. He belonged to the [[United States National Academy of Sciences|National Academy of Sciences]] (USA), the [[Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters]] and the [[American Philosophical Society]].<ref name="BioNIH & Encyclopedia.com"/><ref name="JH & Independent"/>


==Christian B. Anfinsen Award==
==Christian B. Anfinsen Award==


Established in 1996, The Christian B. Anfinsen Award is presented annually to distinguished scientists, the Awards recognize excellence and outstanding achievements in the multidisciplinary fields of protein science, and honor distinguished contributions in the areas of leadership, education, or service. It is sponsored by The Protein Society, and recognizes significant technical achievements in the field of protein science.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.proteinsociety.org/protein-society-awards/the-christian-b-anfinsen-award/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160319204845/http://www.proteinsociety.org/protein-society-awards/the-christian-b-anfinsen-award/|deadurl=y|title=THE CHRISTIAN B. ANFINSEN AWARD|archivedate=March 19, 2016}}</ref>
Established in 1996, The Christian B. Anfinsen Award is presented annually to distinguished scientists, the Awards recognize excellence and outstanding achievements in the multidisciplinary fields of protein science, and honor distinguished contributions in the areas of leadership, education, or service. It is sponsored by The Protein Society, and recognizes significant technical achievements in the field of protein science.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.proteinsociety.org/protein-society-awards/the-christian-b-anfinsen-award/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160319204845/http://www.proteinsociety.org/protein-society-awards/the-christian-b-anfinsen-award/|url-status=dead|title=THE CHRISTIAN B. ANFINSEN AWARD|archive-date=March 19, 2016}}</ref>


Past recipients of the Christian B. Anfinsen Award include:
Past recipients of the Christian B. Anfinsen Award include:
{{colbegin}}
{{colbegin}}
*[[Donald F. Hunt|Donald Hunt]] (1996)
*[[Donald F. Hunt|Donald Hunt]] (1996)
*[[Wayne Hendrickson]](1997)
*[[Wayne Hendrickson]] (1997)
*James Wells (1998)
*James Wells (1998)
*[[Alan Fersht]] (1999)
*[[Alan Fersht]] (1999)
Line 69: Line 80:
*Lewis Kay (2017)
*Lewis Kay (2017)
*Yifan Cheng (2018)
*Yifan Cheng (2018)
*Anthony Kossiakoff (2019)
*Stephen Sligar (2020)
*Petra Fromme (2021)
*Jin Zhang (2022)
*Mei Hong (2023)
{{colend}}
{{colend}}


==Selected works==
==Selected works==
*[https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/ps/access/KKBBLS.pdf ''The Molecular Basis of Evolution''] (1959)
*[https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/ps/access/KKBBLS.pdf ''The Molecular Basis of Evolution''] (1959)
*Editor, ''Advances in Protein Chemistry''<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kresge |first1=Nicole |first2=Robert D. |last2=Simoni |first3=Robert L. |last3=Hill |date=April 7, 2006 |title=The Thermodynamic Hypothesis of Protein Folding: the Work of Christian Anfinsen |url=https://www.jbc.org/article/S0021-9258(19)56522-X/pdf |format=PDF |journal=The Journal of Biological Chemistry |volume=281 |pages=11–14}}</ref>
*''Advances In Protein Chemistry'' (1980)


==See also==
==See also==
*[[Anfinsen cage]]
*[[Anfinsen cage]]
*[[Anfinsen's dogma]]
*[[Anfinsen's dogma]]
*[[List of Jewish Nobel laureates]]


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==

* [https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/101584571X184 Autobiographical profile]
* [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-christian-anfinsen-1620834.html Obituary in the Independent]
* [https://pages.jh.edu/news_info/news/home95/may95/anfinsen.html Obituary from Johns Hopkins]
* [https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/spotlight/kk/feature/biographical-overview Papers & profile on the National Institute of health website]
* [https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/anfinsen-christian-b Entry in the Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography on Encyclopedia.org]


==External links==
==External links==
Line 86: Line 111:
*[http://oculus.nlm.nih.gov/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=nlmfindaid;id=navbarbrowselink;cginame=findaid-idx;cc=nlmfindaid;view=reslist;subview=standard;didno=anfinsen Christian Anfinsen Papers (1939–1999)] – National Library of Medicine finding aid
*[http://oculus.nlm.nih.gov/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=nlmfindaid;id=navbarbrowselink;cginame=findaid-idx;cc=nlmfindaid;view=reslist;subview=standard;didno=anfinsen Christian Anfinsen Papers (1939–1999)] – National Library of Medicine finding aid
*[https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/KK/ The Christian B. Anfinsen Papers] – Profiles in Science, National Library of Medicine
*[https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/KK/ The Christian B. Anfinsen Papers] – Profiles in Science, National Library of Medicine
*[http://www.patentgenius.com/inventor/AnfinsenChristianB.html Christian B. Anfinsen Patents]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120205212725/http://www.patentgenius.com/inventor/AnfinsenChristianB.html Christian B. Anfinsen Patents]
* [http://oculus.nlm.nih.gov/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=nlmfindaid;cc=nlmfindaid;view=reslist;subview=standard;didno=anfinsen Christian Anfinsen Papers 1939-1999 (bulk 1964-1999)]—National Library of Medicine finding aid
* [http://oculus.nlm.nih.gov/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=nlmfindaid;cc=nlmfindaid;view=reslist;subview=standard;didno=anfinsen Christian Anfinsen Papers 1939-1999 (bulk 1964-1999)]—National Library of Medicine finding aid
* {{Nobelprize|name=Christian Anfinsen}} including the Nobel lecture December 11, 1972 ''Studies on the Principles that Govern the Folding of Protein Chains''


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Nobel Prize in Chemistry Laureates 1951-1975}}
{{Nobel Prize in Chemistry Laureates 1951-1975}}
{{1972 Nobel Prize winners}}
{{Founding members of the World Cultural Council}}
{{Founding members of the World Cultural Council}}


Line 96: Line 123:
[[Category:1916 births]]
[[Category:1916 births]]
[[Category:1995 deaths]]
[[Category:1995 deaths]]
[[Category:American biophysicists]]
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Chemistry]]
[[Category:American Nobel laureates]]
[[Category:American Nobel laureates]]
[[Category:American biophysicists]]
[[Category:American Orthodox Jews]]
[[Category:American Orthodox Jews]]
[[Category:American people of Norwegian descent]]
[[Category:American people of Norwegian descent]]
Line 106: Line 134:
[[Category:Founding members of the World Cultural Council]]
[[Category:Founding members of the World Cultural Council]]
[[Category:Jewish American scientists]]
[[Category:Jewish American scientists]]
⚫
[[Category:Jewish biologists]]
[[Category:Jewish chemists]]
[[Category:Jewish chemists]]
[[Category:Johns Hopkins University faculty]]
[[Category:Johns Hopkins University faculty]]
[[Category:Harvard Medical School alumni]]
[[Category:Harvard Medical School alumni]]
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Chemistry]]
[[Category:People from Monessen, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:People from Monessen, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Swarthmore College alumni]]
[[Category:Swarthmore College alumni]]
[[Category:Swarthmore Garnet Tide football players]]
[[Category:Swarthmore Garnet Tide football players]]
[[Category:University of Pennsylvania alumni]]
[[Category:University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences alumni]]
[[Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences]]
⚫
[[Category:Guggenheim Fellows]]

Latest revision as of 14:26, 12 June 2024

Christian B. Anfinsen
Anfinsen in 1969
Born
Christian Boehmer Anfinsen Jr.

March 26, 1916
Monessen, Pennsylvania, US
DiedMay 14, 1995(1995-05-14) (aged 79)
Randallstown, Maryland, US
Alma mater
Known forRibonuclease, Anfinsen's dogma
Spouses
  • Florence Kenenger
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1941; div. 1978)​
  • Libby Shulman Ely
    ​
    (m. 1979)​
Children3 with Kenenger, 4 stepchildren with Ely
AwardsNobel Prize in Chemistry (1972)
Scientific career
FieldsBiochemistry
ThesisQuantitative histochemical studies of the retina (1943)
Doctoral advisorAlbert Baird Hastings

Christian Boehmer Anfinsen Jr. (March 26, 1916 – May 14, 1995)[1] was an American biochemist. He shared the 1972 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Stanford Moore and William Howard Stein for work on ribonuclease, especially concerning the connection between the amino acid sequence and the biologically active conformation (see Anfinsen's dogma).[2][3]

Background

[edit]

Anfinsen was born in Monessen, Pennsylvania, into a family of Norwegian-American immigrants. His parents were Sophie (née Rasmussen) and Christian Boehmer Anfinsen Sr., a mechanical engineer. The family moved to Philadelphia in the 1920s. In 1933, he went to Swarthmore College where he played varsity football and earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1937.[3]

In 1939, he earned a master's degree in organic chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania and was awarded an American-Scandinavian Foundation fellowship to develop new methods for analyzing the chemical structure of complex proteins, namely enzymes, at the Carlsberg Laboratory in Copenhagen, Denmark. In 1941, Anfinsen was offered a university fellowship for doctoral study in the Department of Biological Chemistry at Harvard Medical School where he received his PhD in biochemistry in 1943.[3] During World War II he worked for the Office of Scientific Research and Development.[4]

Anfinsen had three children with his first wife, Florence Kenenger, to whom he was married from 1941 to 1978. In 1979, he married Libby Shulman Ely, with whom he had 4 stepchildren,[5] and converted to Orthodox Judaism. However, Anfinsen wrote in 1987 that "my feelings about religion still very strongly reflect a fifty-year period of orthodox agnosticism."[3][6]

His papers were donated to the National Library of Medicine by Libby Anfinsen between 1998 and 1999.[7]

Anfinsen converted to Judaism and was Jewish since.[8]

Career

[edit]
Anfinsen in the lab

In 1950, the National Heart Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, recruited Anfinsen as chief of its laboratory of cell physiology. In 1954, a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship enabled Anfinsen to return to the Carlsberg Laboratory for a year and a Guggenheim Foundation fellowship allowed him to study at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel from 1958 to 1959.[9] He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1958.[10][3]

In 1962, Anfinsen returned to Harvard Medical School as a visiting professor and was invited to become chair of the department of chemistry. He was subsequently appointed chief of the laboratory of chemical biology at the National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases (now the National Institute of Arthritis, Diabetes, and Digestive and Kidney Diseases), where he remained until 1981.[3] In 1981, Anfinsen became a founding member of the World Cultural Council.[11] From 1982 until his death in 1995, Anfinsen was Professor of Biology and (Physical) Biochemistry at Johns Hopkins.[3][5]

Ribonuclease A 3D structure, with SS bonds in gold

Anfinsen published more than 200 original articles, mostly in the area of the relationships between structure and function in proteins, as well as a book, The Molecular Basis of Evolution (1959), in which he described the relationships between protein chemistry and genetics and the promise those areas held for the understanding of evolution.[5] He was also a pioneer of ideas in the area of nucleic acid compaction. In 1961, he showed that ribonuclease could be refolded after denaturation while preserving enzyme activity, thereby suggesting that all the information required by protein to adopt its final conformation is encoded in its amino-acid sequence. He belonged to the National Academy of Sciences (USA), the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters and the American Philosophical Society.[3][5]

Christian B. Anfinsen Award

[edit]

Established in 1996, The Christian B. Anfinsen Award is presented annually to distinguished scientists, the Awards recognize excellence and outstanding achievements in the multidisciplinary fields of protein science, and honor distinguished contributions in the areas of leadership, education, or service. It is sponsored by The Protein Society, and recognizes significant technical achievements in the field of protein science.[12]

Past recipients of the Christian B. Anfinsen Award include:

Selected works

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Anfinsen, Christian Boehmer". Who Was Who in America, 1993-1996, vol. 11. New Providence, N.J.: Marquis Who's Who. 1996. p. 7. ISBN 0-8379-0225-8.
  2. ^ "The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1972" (The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences). Nobelprize.org. Retrieved on March 8, 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h
  4. ^ Wolfgang Saxon (May 16, 1995). "Christian B. Anfinsen, Nobel Winner in Chemistry, Dies at 79". The New York Times.
  5. ^ a b c d
  6. ^ Anfinsen, Christian B. (April 1987). "Autobiographical profile of Christian B. Anfinsen". profiles.nlm.nih.gov. The Christian B. Anfinsen Papers. Box: 41. Folder: 10: Swarthmore College. Legacy ID: KKBBLX; NLM ID: 101584571X184.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  7. ^ "Christian Anfinsen Papers 1939-1999 (bulk 1964-1999)". National Library of Medicine.
  8. ^ "Jewish Nobel Prize Winners in Chemistry". www.jinfo.org. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  9. ^ "Christian B. Anfinsen – 1957"(Guggenheim Foundation) Archived June 22, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Gf.org. Retrieved on March 8, 2012.
  10. ^ "Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter A" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved April 18, 2011.
  11. ^ "About Us". World Cultural Council. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  12. ^ "THE CHRISTIAN B. ANFINSEN AWARD". Archived from the original on March 19, 2016.
  13. ^ Kresge, Nicole; Simoni, Robert D.; Hill, Robert L. (April 7, 2006). "The Thermodynamic Hypothesis of Protein Folding: the Work of Christian Anfinsen" (PDF). The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 281: 11–14.

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Christian B. Anfinsen.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Christian_B._Anfinsen&oldid=1228669684"