Alexander Sergeevich Spirin (Russian: Александр Сергеевич Спирин; 4 September 1931 – 30 December 2020) was a Russian

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 ...

, Distinguished Professor at the

Lomonosov Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, and six branches. Al ...

(since 1999), a Director of Institute of Protein Research Russian Academy of Sciences, Puschino (Пущино-на-Оке),

Moscow Region Moscow Oblast (, , informally known as , ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). With a population of 8,524,665 (Russian Census (2021), 2021 Census) living in an area of , it is one of the most densely populate ...

(Московская Область), Academician of Russian Academy of Sciences. His primary scientific interests in

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 ...

included

nucleic acid Nucleic acids are large biomolecules that are crucial in all cells and viruses. They are composed of nucleotides, which are the monomer components: a pentose, 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group and a nitrogenous base. The two main classes of nuclei ...

s and

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 ...

biosynthesis.

Career

In 1957 together with Andrey Nikolayevich Belozersky (Андрей Николаевич Белозерский) he conducted comparative analysis of bacterial

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

and

RNA Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polymeric molecule that is essential for most biological functions, either by performing the function itself (non-coding RNA) or by forming a template for the production of proteins (messenger RNA). RNA and deoxyrib ...

, and predicted existence of messenger RNA. He gave the first qualitative description of the structure of high-polymer RNA (1959–61). In 1963 he discovered structural transitions of

ribosome Ribosomes () are molecular machine, macromolecular machines, found within all cell (biology), cells, that perform Translation (biology), biological protein synthesis (messenger RNA translation). Ribosomes link amino acids together in the order s ...

s and formulated one of the principles of structure of ribosomes. He discovered artificial ribosomal self-assembly (1963–66) and proposed a molecular mechanism of the ribosome role in protein synthesis (1968). He conducted extra-cellular protein synthesis on modified ribosomes — non-

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

translation Translation is the communication of the semantics, meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The English la ...

(together with L.P. Gavrilova) (1970–74). In 1957, he defended his

Candidate A candidate, or nominee, is a prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position. For example, one can be a candidate for membership in a group (sociology), group or election to an offic ...

's Dissertation. In 1962, he defended his doctoral dissertation. In 1964, he received the title of Professor. He was elected a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR in 1966 and full member in 1970.

Awards

Dr. Spirin was awarded the

Sir Hans Krebs Medal The Sir Hans Krebs Lecture and Medal is awarded annually by the Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS) for outstanding achievements in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology or related sciences. It was endowed by the Lord Rank Centre fo ...

in 1969, elected an Honorary Fellow of

University of Granada The University of Granada (, UGR) is a public university located in the city of Granada, Spain, and founded in 1531 by Emperor Charles V. With more than 60,000 students, it is the fourth largest university in Spain. Apart from the city of Granad ...

in 1972 and awarded the prestigious

Demidov Prize The Demidov Prize () is a national scientific prize in Russia awarded annually to the members of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Originally awarded from 1832 to 1866 in the Russian Empire, it was revived by the government of Russia's Sverdlovsk ...

in 2013. In 1974 he was elected a Member of the

German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (), in short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded on 1 January 1652, based on academic models in Italy, it was originally named the ''Academi ...

. He was elected an International member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 1997 and a foreign associate of the US

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

in April 2019.

References

1931 births 2020 deaths Russian biochemists Soviet biochemists Molecular biologists Academic staff of Moscow State University Demidov Prize laureates Members of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina Members of Academia Europaea Russian academics Soviet academics Members of the European Molecular Biology Organization Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Moscow State University alumni 20th-century Russian biologists 21st-century Russian biologists 21st-century biochemists 21st-century Russian chemists International members of the American Philosophical Society 20th-century Russian chemists {{Russia-chemist-stub