Konrad Emil Bloch

Born Jan. 21, 1912, in Neisse. American biochemist, German by nationality. Graduated from the Technische Hochschule in Munich.

After Hitler came to power, Bloch moved to Switzerland, and later to the USA (1936). He worked at Columbia University (starting in 1938) and the University of Chicago (1946–54); since 1954 he has been a professor at Harvard University. His basic work has dealt with isotope analysis of cellular metabolism, problems of biosynthesis, and the study of the structure of steroids, porphyrins, and enzymes. Bloch with his coworkers showed that the biosynthesis of cholesterol consists of 36 steps, and examined its intermediate products (squalene and others). He won the Nobel Prize for medicine and physiology in 1964, along with F. Lynen, for investigations into the biosynthesis of cholesterol and fatty acids. [3–1272–21