Native name 早石 修 Died December 17, 2015 Nationality Japanese | Name Osamu Hayaishi Role Biochemist | |
 | ||
Born January 8, 1920Stockton, California, U.S. ( 1920-01-08 ) Institutions Osaka Bioscience InstituteOsaka Medical CollegeKyoto UniversityVanderbilt UniversityUniversity of TokyoOsaka UniversityWashington University in St. LouisNational Institutes of Health Known for OxygenasesProstaglandin Notable awards Wolf Prize in MedicineJapan Academy PrizeOrder of CultureAsahi Prize (1964) Doctoral students | ||
Osamu Hayaishi (早石 修, Hayaishi Osamu, January 8, 1920 – December 17, 2015) was a prominent Japanese biochemist. He discovered Oxygenases at the National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases, National Institutes of Health in 1955.
Contents
Biography
Hayaishi was born in Stockton, California, United States, in 1920. He completed his medical degree in 1942 from Osaka University. After serving as a medical officer in the Japanese Navy for 3 years, he joined the Institute of Microbial Diseases, Osaka University and was awarded his Ph.D. in 1949.
After working with Arthur Kornberg at the National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases, National Institutes of Health and Washington University in St. Louis, Hayaishi served as a research group leader or a professor at various institutions in the US and Japan including Kyoto University, and led approximately 600 graduate students in his life including Yasutomi Nishizuka, Kunihiro Ueda, Tasuku Honjo, Shigetada Nakanishi, Akira Shimizu, and Takao Shimizu. More than 100 his pupils became professors at various universities in Japan.
Hayaishi was President of International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from 1973 to 1976.
Research
Hayaishi is known for his great contributions to biomedical sciences and enzymology, especially the memorial discovery of Oxygenases. These enzymes are widely distributed in nature and represent a unique group of respiratory enzymes that catalyze the direct incorporation of molecular oxygen into various substrates.
Citing his "outstanding and pioneering contributions to biomedical sciences and enzymology," the Wolf Foundation awarded Hayaishi the 1986 Wolf Prize in Medicine "for his discovery of the oxygenase enzymes and elucidation of their structure and biological importance".
Hayaishi is also known for his discovery of the sleep-inducing action of Prostaglandin.
Recognition
Hayaishi was awarded several honors including, the Japan Academy Award (1967), the Order of Culture (1972), the Louis and Bert Freedman Foundation Award from the New York Academy of Sciences (1976), the Wolf Prize in Medicine (1986), and the Distinguished Scientist Award of the World Federation of Sleep Research Societies (1999).