Douglas L. Coleman (6 October 1931 – 16 April 2014) was a scientist and professor at
The Jackson Laboratory
The Jackson Laboratory (often abbreviated as JAX) is an independent, non-profit biomedical research institution which was founded by a eugenicist. It employs more than 3,000 employees in Bar Harbor, Maine; Sacramento, California; Farmington, Con ...
, in
Bar Harbor
Bar Harbor is a resort town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population is 5,089. During the summer and fall seasons, it is a popular tourist destination and, until a catastrophic fire ...
, Maine. His work predicted that the ob gene encoded the
hormone
A hormone (from the Greek participle , "setting in motion") is a class of signaling molecules in multicellular organisms that are sent to distant organs by complex biological processes to regulate physiology and behavior. Hormones are require ...
leptin, later co-discovered in 1994 by
Jeffrey Friedman,
Rudolph Leibel
Rudolph Leibel (born 1942) is the Christopher J. Murphy Professor of Diabetes Research, Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, and Director of the Division of Molecular Genetics in the Department of Pediatrics ...
and their research teams at
Rockefeller University.
This work has had a major role in our understanding of the mechanisms regulating body weight and that cause of
human
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, cultu ...
obesity
Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's ...
.
Coleman was born in
Stratford, Ontario. He obtained his BS degree from
McMaster University
McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...
in 1954 and his
PhD in Biochemistry from the
University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...
in 1958. He was elected a member of the
US National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Natio ...
in 1998. He won the
Shaw Prize in 2009, the
Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research in 2010, the 2012
BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award
The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards () are an international award programme recognizing significant contributions in the areas of scientific research and cultural creation. The categories that make up the Frontiers of Knowledge Awards ...
in the Biomedicine category and the 2013
King Faisal International Prize
The King Faisal Prize ( ar, جائزة الملك فيصل, formerly King Faisal International Prize), is an annual award sponsored by King Faisal Foundation presented to "dedicated men and women whose contributions make a positive difference". T ...
for Medicine
King Faisal Prize 2013 for Medicine
/ref> jointly with Jeffrey M. Friedman for the discovery of leptin.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Douglas L.
Canadian biochemists
University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences alumni
1931 births
2014 deaths
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
Recipients of the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research
McMaster University alumni
Scientists from Ontario
20th-century Canadian scientists
21st-century Canadian scientists