Fischer, Edmond H.

Fischer, Edmond H. (Henri)

(1920– ) biochemist; born in Shanghai to Swiss parents. He taught at the University of Geneva (1946–48), then became a Swiss Foundation fellow (1948) and privatdocent (1950–53), before coming to the U.S.A. to spend the rest of his career at the University of Washington: Seattle (1953–90). There, working with biochemist Edwin Krebs, he drew on his early experience with plant enzymes to demonstrate that the chemical regulation of all cellular processes, including hormonal mechanisms, growth, and metabolism, is fundamental to all living cells. For this contribution to biology, Fischer and Krebs were awarded the 1992 Nobel Prize in physiology.