John William Daly (June 8, 1933 – March 5, 2008) was an American biochemist who performed research for nearly 50 years at the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

. A primary focus of his research included the discovery, structure elucidation, synthesis, and pharmacology of

alkaloid Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of similar ...

s and other biologically active natural products. He was the world's leading authority in amphibian alkaloids and an expert in many areas of natural products. Daly was a prolific writer, producing around 700 papers, including books and chapters. In 1997 he was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.

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1933 births 2008 deaths Scientists from Portland, Oregon Deaths from pancreatic cancer American biochemists Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences National Institutes of Health faculty {{US-scientist-stub