Donald Frederick Steiner (July 15, 1930 – November 11, 2014)Chicago Tribune obituary
/ref> was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

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 a professor at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

Birth and education

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

Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

and

Zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

from the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

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 and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

– 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 The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is an American non-profit medical research organization headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland with additional facilities in Ashburn, Virginia. It was founded in 1953 by Howard Hughes, an American busin ...

. 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 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 ...

. He died in Chicago on November 11, 2014.

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 Pancreatic Islets, specialized regions of the pancreas. In humans, proinsulin is encoded by the ''INS'' gene. The pancreatic islets only secrete between 1% and 3% ...

, 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 ...

* 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 (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

*In 2004, he was elected to 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 2014, he received the University of Chicago Alumni Medal2014 University of Chicago Alumni Medalist Donald F. Steiner
/ref>

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