Donald Bruce McCormick (born 1932) is an American biochemist who researched

nutrition Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient n ...

. His research focused on

vitamins A vitamin is an organic molecule (or a set of molecules closely related chemically, i.e. vitamers) that is an essential micronutrient that an organism needs in small quantities for the proper functioning of its metabolism. Essential nutrien ...

that were soluble in water and the processes of

metabolism Metabolism (, from el, μεταβολή ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cell ...

. He was recognized with a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

and fellowship in the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences in 1966; he was

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

of the '' Annual Review of Nutrition'' for ten years.

Early life and education

Donald Bruce McCormick was born in 1932 in Front Royal, Virginia to parents Elizabeth and Jesse A. McCormick. His older siblings were James, Mary, and Edward, with younger sibling William. His father was a high school teacher who taught chemistry and biology and was also involved in the production of explosives like TNT. His family later moved to Tennessee and he attended high school in

Oak Ridge, Tennessee Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson and Roane counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of downtown Knoxville. Oak Ridge's population was 31,402 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Knoxville Metropolitan Area. Oak ...

. In 1950 he won second place in the

Westinghouse Science Talent Search Westinghouse may refer to: Businesses Current companies *Westinghouse Electric Corporation, the company that manages the Westinghouse brand, with licensees: **Westinghouse Electric Company, providing nuclear power-related services **Westinghou ...

for high school seniors. He attended

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

, graduating with a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1953 and a PhD under the advisorship of

Oscar Touster Oscar Touster (July 3, 1921 – February 27, 2015) was an American molecular biologist. He was the founder and first chair of the molecular biology department of Vanderbilt University. He served as the president of the Oak Ridge Associated Universit ...

in 1958. His doctoral thesis was about the metabolism of

glucuronic acid Glucuronic acid (from Greek γλεῦκος "''wine, must''" and οὖρον "''urine''") is a uronic acid that was first isolated from urine (hence the name). It is found in many gums such as gum arabic (c. 18%), xanthan, and kombucha tea and ...

ribitol Ribitol, or adonitol, is a crystalline pentose alcohol (C5H12O5) formed by the reduction of ribose. It occurs naturally in the plant ''Adonis vernalis'' as well as in the cell walls of some Gram-positive bacteria, in the form of ribitol phosphat ...

, and

xylulose Xylulose is a ketopentose, a monosaccharide containing five carbon atoms, and including a ketone functional group. It has the chemical formula . In nature, it occurs in both the L- and D-enantiomers. 1-Deoxyxylulose is a precursor to terpenes vi ...

. He then completed a postdoctoral appointment with Esmond Emerson Snell at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

where he researched the metabolism of vitamin B₆ and pyridoxal kinases.

Career

McCormick's research mostly focused on water-soluble vitamins and

. In 1960 he became an assistant professor at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

; he was promoted in 1963 to associate professor and 1969 to professor. From 1979 to 1994 he was the chair of the department of biochemistry at

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

. He retired from Emory in 1997, at which point he became a professor

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

. He succeeded Robert E. Olson as the

of the '' Annual Review of Nutrition'' in 1995, holding the position through 2004.

Awards and honors

He was awarded a

in 1966 in the molecular and cellular biology division. Also in 1966 he was elected a fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

. He is additionally a fellow of the American Institute of Chemists and served as president of the

American Institute of Nutrition The American Society for Nutrition (ASN) is an American society for professional researchers and practitioners in the field of nutrition. ASN publishes four journals in the field of nutrition. It has been criticized for its financial ties to the ...

in 1991.

Personal life

In 1955 he married Norma Jean . They have three children.

References

External links

A Conversation with Donald B. McCormick
40 minute interview with McCormick about his career for the ''Annual Review of Nutrition'' (2012) {{DEFAULTSORT:McCormick, Donald B Living people 1932 births People from Front Royal, Virginia People from Oak Ridge, Tennessee Vanderbilt University alumni Cornell University faculty Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Emory University faculty American biochemists American nutritionists Annual Reviews (publisher) editors