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Harry Steenbock (August 16, 1886, Charlestown, Wisconsin – December 25, 1967,
Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-larg ...
) was a Professor of
Biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...
at the
University of Wisconsin–Madison 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, the ...
. Steenbock graduated from Wisconsin in 1916, where he was a member of
Phi Sigma Kappa Phi Sigma Kappa (), colloquially known as Phi Sig or PSK, is a men's social and academic fraternity with approximately 74 active chapters and provisional chapters in North America. Most of its first two dozen chapters were granted to schools in ...
fraternity.


Vitamin D

Steenbock was born in Charlestown, Wisconsin, and grew up on a model farm outside
New Holstein, Wisconsin New Holstein is a city in Calumet County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 3,236 at the 2010 census. The city is located within the Town of New Holstein. History New Holstein is named after the Schleswig-Holstein region in ...
. His graduate advisor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, was Edwin B. Hart. His first publication reported the results of the
single-grain experiment The single-grain experiment was an experiment carried out at the University of Wisconsin–Madison from May 1907 to 1911. The experiment tested if cows could survive on a single type of grain. The experiment would lead to the development of modern ...
on which he assisted with Hart and
Stephen Moulton Babcock Stephen Moulton Babcock (22 October 1843 – 2 July 1931) was an American agricultural chemist. He is best known for developing the Babcock test, used to determine butterfat content in milk and cheese processing, and for the single-grain experime ...
. During his graduate career, Steenbock also served as an assistant in the lab of
Elmer McCollum Elmer Verner McCollum (March 3, 1879 – November 15, 1967) was an American biochemist known for his work on the influence of diet on health.Kruse, 1961. McCollum is also remembered for starting the first rat colony in the United States to be us ...
. When McCollum and another assistant
Marguerite Davis Marguerite Davis (September 16, 1887 – September 19, 1967) was an American biochemist, co-discoverer of vitamins A and B with Elmer Verner McCollum in 1913. Their research greatly influenced later research on nutrition. Personal life Davi ...
published their discovery of what came to be called
vitamin A Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin and an essential nutrient for humans. It is a group of organic compounds that includes retinol, retinal (also known as retinaldehyde), retinoic acid, and several provitamin A carotenoids (most notably beta- ...
, Steenbock thought he deserved more credit than he received. Steenbock carried on the vitamin A work in Madison, after McCollum accepted an offer from
Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consiste ...
. In 1923, Steenbock demonstrated that
irradiation Irradiation is the process by which an object is exposed to radiation. The exposure can originate from various sources, including natural sources. Most frequently the term refers to ionizing radiation, and to a level of radiation that will serv ...
by ultraviolet light increased the
vitamin D Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble secosteroids responsible for increasing intestinal absorption of calcium, magnesium, and phosphate, and many other biological effects. In humans, the most important compounds in this group are vitamin D3 ( ...
content of foods and other organic materials. After irradiating rodent food, Steenbock discovered that the rodents were cured of
rickets Rickets is a condition that results in weak or soft bones in children, and is caused by either dietary deficiency or genetic causes. Symptoms include bowed legs, stunted growth, bone pain, large forehead, and trouble sleeping. Complications ma ...
. It is now known that vitamin D deficiency is a cause of
rickets Rickets is a condition that results in weak or soft bones in children, and is caused by either dietary deficiency or genetic causes. Symptoms include bowed legs, stunted growth, bone pain, large forehead, and trouble sleeping. Complications ma ...
. Using $300 of his own money, Steenbock
patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...
ed his
invention An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an i ...
. Steenbock's irradiation technique was used for food stuffs, but most memorably for
milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulatin ...
. By the expiration of the patent in 1945, rickets had all but been eliminated.


WARF

After receiving his patent, the
Quaker Oats The Quaker Oats Company, known as Quaker, is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago. It has been owned by PepsiCo since 2001. History Precursor miller companies In the 1850s, Ferdinand Schumacher and Robert Stuart founded oat mills. ...
company offered $1 million (approximately $10 million today) for Steenbock's vitamin D technology. Steenbock thought twice about the offer. Instead of quickly selling his rights to a commercial company, Steenbock believed the money should be returned to the university. After soliciting interest from nine other University of Wisconsin–Madison
alumni Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...
, Steenbock was influential in starting the first university
technology transfer Technology transfer (TT), also called transfer of technology (TOT), is the process of transferring (disseminating) technology from the person or organization that owns or holds it to another person or organization, in an attempt to transform inven ...
office, the
Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation is the independent nonprofit technology transfer organization serving the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Morgridge Institute for Research. It provides significant research support, granting tens ...
(WARF). WARF's initial operating budget was $900, one hundred dollars from each of the nine alumni. On February 19, 1927, WARF completed its first licensing agreement with the Quaker Oats company. The license permitted Quaker Oats to fortify its
breakfast cereal Cereal, formally termed breakfast cereal (and further categorized as cold cereal or warm cereal), is a traditional breakfast food made from processed cereal grains. It is traditionally eaten as part of breakfast, or a snack food, primarily in ...
s with vitamin D. WARF went on to license the technology to
pharmaceutical A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and ...
companies for a medical application, which was known as Viosterol. The University of Wisconsin-Madison's Steenbock Memorial Library is named in his honor.


See also

*
Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation is the independent nonprofit technology transfer organization serving the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Morgridge Institute for Research. It provides significant research support, granting tens ...
*
Vitamin D Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble secosteroids responsible for increasing intestinal absorption of calcium, magnesium, and phosphate, and many other biological effects. In humans, the most important compounds in this group are vitamin D3 ( ...
*
Rickets Rickets is a condition that results in weak or soft bones in children, and is caused by either dietary deficiency or genetic causes. Symptoms include bowed legs, stunted growth, bone pain, large forehead, and trouble sleeping. Complications ma ...


References


External links


Biography in the Journal of Nutrition
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Steenbock, Harry American biochemists University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni 1886 births 1967 deaths People from Charlestown, Wisconsin People from New Holstein, Wisconsin Vitamin researchers