Henri-Géry Hers (23 July 1923 – 14 December 2008) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

physiologist and biochemist, and a professor at the Universite Catholique de Louvain. He was notable for his work on carbohydrate metabolism and genetic disorders associated with it. An example is Hers' disease -

Glycogen storage disease type VI Glycogen is a multibranched polysaccharide of glucose that serves as a form of energy storage in animals, fungi, and bacteria. The polysaccharide structure represents the main storage form of glucose in the body. Glycogen functions as one o ...

- caused by deficiency of hepatic

phosphorylase In biochemistry, phosphorylases are enzymes that catalyze the addition of a phosphate group from an inorganic phosphate (phosphate+hydrogen) to an acceptor. :A-B + P A + P-B They include allosteric enzymes that catalyze the production of gluco ...

associated with an enlarged liver and mild hypoglycaemia.Lederer B, Van Hoof F, Van den Berghe G, Hers H., Glycogen phosphorylase and its converter enzymes in haemolysates of normal human subjects and of patients with type VI glycogen-storage disease. A study of phosphorylase kinase deficiency, Biochem J. 1975 Apr;147(1):23–35 In 1966, he was awarded the

Francqui Prize The Francqui Prize is a prestigious Belgian scholarly and scientific prize named after Émile Francqui. Normally annually since 1933, the Francqui Foundation awards it in recognition of the achievements of a scholar or scientist, who at the start ...

on Biological and Medical Sciences, and in 1975 was awarded the

Gairdner Foundation International Award The Canada Gairdner International Award is given annually by the Gairdner Foundation at a special dinner to five individuals for outstanding discoveries or contributions to medical science. Receipt of the Gairdner is traditionally considered a p ...

of the

Gairdner Foundation The Gairdner Foundation is a non-profit organization devoted to the recognition of outstanding achievements in biomedical research worldwide. It was created in 1957 by James Arthur Gairdner to recognize and reward the achievements of medical resea ...

References

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Henri G. Hers
(picture) Belgian biochemists Belgian physiologists Academic staff of the Université catholique de Louvain 1923 births Wolf Prize in Medicine laureates 2008 deaths {{Belgium-scientist-stub