Donald Frederick Steiner (July 15, 1930 – November 11, 2014) was an American biochemist and a professor at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

Birth and education

Donald F. Steiner was born in 1930 in Lima, Ohio. He completed his B.S. in Chemistry and

Zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and ...

from the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...

in 1952. He completed his M.S. in biochemistry and his M.D. from the

in 1956. He then completed his medical and research training – with an internship at King County Hospital and residency/post-doctoral research at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

– before returning to the University of Chicago as a faculty member in 1960.

Career

Steiner was promoted to full professor in 1968, and became chair of the Department of Biochemistry in 1973. From 1985 to 2006, Steiner was a senior investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. In 1972, Steiner was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The following year, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

Research

Donald F. Steiner is known for his work in diabetes research, protein processing, and hormone biology. In 1967, he published his discovery of

proinsulin Proinsulin is the prohormone precursor to insulin made in the beta cells of the islets of Langerhans, specialized regions of the pancreas. In humans, proinsulin is encoded by the ''INS'' gene. The islets of Langerhans only secrete between 1% and ...

, precursor to the active hormone insulin. He and his colleagues discovered some of the enzymes that convert proinsulin into insulin, and also devised methods for measuring insulin and its precursors in human serum.

Awards

* In 1970 he received the Ernst Oppenheimer Award for the Endocrine Society * In 1971 he received the

Canada Gairdner 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 ...

* In 1976 he received the Banting Medal for Scientific Achievement from the American Diabetes Association * In 1984/5, he was awarded the

Wolf Prize in Medicine The Wolf Prize in Medicine is awarded annually by the Wolf Foundation in Israel. It is one of the six Wolf Prizes established by the Foundation and awarded since 1978; the others are in Agriculture, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics and Arts. The ...

for "his discoveries concerning the bio-synthesis and processing of insulin which have had profound implications for basic biology and clinical medicine". * In 1993, he received an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

from the Faculty of Medicine at

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...

, Sweden *In 2004, he was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

* In 2014, he received the University of Chicago Alumni Medal2014 University of Chicago Alumni Medalist Donald F. Steiner
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Steiner, Donald F. 1930 births 2014 deaths American biochemists University of Cincinnati alumni University of Chicago alumni University of Chicago faculty Wolf Prize in Medicine laureates Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Members of the American Philosophical Society Pritzker School of Medicine alumni