José Moura Gonçalves (January 5, 1914 – October 18, 1996) was a Brazilian

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

biomedical scientist A biomedical scientist is a scientist trained in biology, particularly in the context of medical laboratory sciences or laboratory medicine. These scientists work to gain knowledge on the main principles of how the human body works and to find new ...

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

and

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

who was one of the pioneers 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, a ...

in Brazil. Moura Gonçalves studied

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...

. While a student, he began to work as an assistant in the laboratory of physiological chemistry of Professor José Baeta Vianna (May 30, 1894 – October 1, 1967). After graduation, he accepted an invitation to work on the chemistry of

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

s and

enzyme An enzyme () is a protein that acts as a biological catalyst by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different mol ...

s at the Instituto de Biofísica da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, under noted scientist

Carlos Chagas Filho Carlos Chagas Filho (September 10, 1910 – February 16, 2000) was a Brazilian physician, biologist and scientist active in the field of neuroscience. He was internationally renowned for his investigations on the neural mechanisms underlying ...

. His post-doctoral work was carried out at

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, where he produced what was his most important work, the isolation of a new

toxic Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subst ...

protein from the

venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

rattlesnake Rattlesnakes are venomous snakes that form the genus, genera ''Crotalus'' and ''Sistrurus'' of the subfamily Crotalinae (the pit vipers). All rattlesnakes are vipers. Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting sm ...

s, which he named

crotamine Crotamine is a toxin present in the venom of the South American rattlesnake ('' Crotalus durissus terrificus''). It is a 42-residue-long protein containing 11 basic residues (nine lysines, two arginines) and six cysteines. It has also been isolated ...

. Returning to Brazil in the first years of the 1950s, he was invited by Dr.

Zeferino Vaz Zeferino Vaz (May 27, 1908 – February 19, 1981) was a Brazilian doctor who led the construction, establishment and development of the Unicamp university, in the interior of the State of São Paulo, Brazil in the 1960s and 1970s. The main ...

to join the new and ambitious project of a research medical school at the hinterland city of

Ribeirão Preto Ribeirão Preto (Portuguese pronunciation: Help:IPA/Portuguese, �ibejˈɾɐ̃w ˈpɾetu is a city and a metropolitan area located in the northeastern region of São Paulo (state), São Paulo state, Brazil. Ribeirão Preto is the eighth-la ...

, the Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto of the

Universidade de São Paulo The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a portmanteau of the words "Universi ...

, where he became the chairman of the department of biochemistry, and, after Vaz's departure, the new dean of the medical school, in 1964.

References

External links

Interview with José Moura Gonçalves
Canal Ciência, IBICT (in Portuguese) * Leite, FV

Revista USP Ribeirão Preto, 2002. * Nóbrega, FG
José Moura Gonçalves
Revista ADUSP, 1998. Brazilian biochemists 1914 births 1995 deaths Recipients of the National Order of Scientific Merit (Brazil) Members of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences Academic staff of the University of São Paulo People associated with Federal University of Rio de Janeiro {{Brazil-scientist-stub