Franz Maximilian Matschinsky (July 17, 1931 – March 31, 2022) was a German-American medical doctor,

pharmacologist Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between ...

, and

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 ...

. He conducted research in the field of

insulin Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the insulin (''INS)'' gene. It is the main Anabolism, anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabol ...

secretion and

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

therapy.

Life

Franz M. Matschinsky was born on July 17, 1931, in Breslau, then

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. He initially grew up in the village of Rothbrünnig Kreis Goldberg (today Brennik, Złotoryja County) in

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

, where his parents managed a farm. He attended the municipal high school Herzog-Heinrich-Schule in

Liegnitz Legnica (; , ; ; ) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River and the Czarna Woda. As well as being the seat of the county, since 1992 the city has been the seat of the Diocese of Legnica. L ...

until 1945. In 1946, as a result of the expulsion after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the family ended up in the village of Westönnen near

Werl The pilgrimage town Werl (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Wiärl'') is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia and belongs to the Soest, Germany, Soest district in the Arnsberg administrative district. The official name of pilgrimage town has been ...

( Soest district) in the British Zone of what was later

West-Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. Matschinsky continued his schooling at the Marien-Gymnasium Werl, where he graduated in 1953. Matschinsky received a BS in Basic Medical Science from the Albert Ludwig University (1953-1955) and then moved to

Ludwig Maximilian University The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke Ludwig IX of Bav ...

(1955-1959). He received his M.D. in 1959 under

Heinrich Otto Wieland Heinrich Otto Wieland (; 4 June 1877 – 5 August 1957) was a German chemist. He won the 1927 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his research into the bile acids. Career In 1901 Wieland received his doctorate at the University of Munich while studying ...

on the topic of "On the mechanism of the

Amanita phalloides ''Amanita phalloides'' ( ), commonly known as the death cap, is a deadly poisonous basidiomycete fungus and mushroom, one of many in the genus ''Amanita''. Originating in Europe but later introduced to other parts of the world since the late ...

toxin

phalloidin Phalloidin belongs to a class of toxins called phallotoxins, which are found in the death cap mushroom ''( Amanita phalloides)''. It is a rigid bicyclic heptapeptide that is lethal after a few days when injected into the bloodstream. The major s ...

". During his studies, he spent about one year under

Feodor Lynen Feodor Felix Konrad Lynen (; 6 April 1911 – 6 August 1979) was a German biochemist. In 1964 he won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine together with Konrad Bloch for their discoveries concerning the mechanism and regulation of cholestero ...

's personal supervision at the

Max Planck Institute The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (; abbreviated MPG) is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes. Founded in 1911 as the Kaiser Wilhelm Society, it was renamed to the M ...

of Cell Chemistry in Munich (1955/1956) as a scholarship holder of the German

Studienstiftung The German Academic Scholarship Foundation (German: , or ''Studienstiftung'' for short) is Germany's largest and most prestigious scholarship foundation. According to its statutes, it supports "the university education of young people who, on ac ...

. Two years as a

postdoctoral fellow A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary academ ...

in Wieland's laboratory were followed by a period as a

medical intern A medical (or surgical) intern is a physician in training who has completed medical school and has a medical degree, but does not yet have a license to practice medicine unsupervised. Medical education generally ends with a period of practical tr ...

at the Marienhospital in

Hagen Hagen () is a city in the States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, on the southeastern edge of the Ruhr area, 15 km south of Dortmund, where the rivers Lenne and Volme meet the Ruhr (river), Ruhr. In 2023, the ...

(1961-1963). During this time he married Elke Fritz to whom he was married until her death in 2019. The couple had a daughter and two sons. Shortly after the birth of their first child, he continued his scientific training with Oliver H. Lowry in the department of pharmacology at

Washington University School of Medicine Washington University School of Medicine (WashU Medicine) is the medical school of Washington University in St. Louis, located in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1891, the School of Medicine shares a ca ...

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, United States (1963-1965). At this university, he was then Assistant (1965-1968), Associate (1968-1972), and Full Professor of

Pharmacology Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur betwee ...

(1972-1978). In 1978, he moved to

Perelman School of Medicine The Perelman School of Medicine (commonly known as Penn Med) is the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private, Ivy League research university located in Philadelphia. Founded in 1765, the Perelman School of Medicine is the olde ...

at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, where he became director of the diabetes center (until 1998) and professor 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 ...

and

biophysics Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations ...

. During this time, he was also full professor of these subjects at the school of medicine (1984-1993). He was active in research and teaching until his retirement in 2021. He died on March 31, 2022, at his home in Wallingford near Philadelphia.

Research

After moving to the US he studied the

metabolism Metabolism (, from ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cellular processes; the co ...

of the

-producing

pancreatic islets The pancreatic islets or islets of Langerhans are the regions of the pancreas that contain its endocrine (hormone-producing) cells, discovered in 1869 by German pathological anatomist Paul Langerhans. The pancreatic islets constitute 1–2% o ...

and ultimately discovered the essential role of

glucokinase Glucokinase () is an enzyme that facilitates phosphorylation of glucose to glucose-6-phosphate. Glucokinase is expressed in cells of the liver and pancreas of humans and most other vertebrates. In each of these organs it plays an important ro ...

(liver and pancreas hexokinase) in the regulation of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. In subsequent studies, Matschinsky illuminated a role for manipulation of glucokinase in correcting metabolic defects in human pancreatic islet cells and other tissues involved in type 2 diabetes. Current knowledge on the role of glucokinase in the β cell and its misfunction causing diabetes is to a large extent based on work conducted by Matschinsky over the years. He published over 300 papers over his career. He was editor-in-chief of ''

Diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

'' (2002 - 2006).

Awards

He has received several awards for his research in the field of insulin secretion and diabetes therapy: * 1988 IDF Medal of the

International Diabetes Federation The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) is an umbrella organisation of over 240 national diabetes associations in more than 161 countries and territories. It is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. Organization IDF is divided into seven reg ...

* 1992 Elliott Proctor Joslin Medal * 1994

Banting Medal The Banting Medal, officially the Banting Medal for Scientific Achievement, is an annual award conferred by the American Diabetes Association (ADA), which is the highest award of ADA. Inaugurated in 1941, the prize is given in memory of Sir Frederic ...

* 1996 Paul Langerhans Medal * 2011 Paul Lacy Medal * 2020 Rolf Luft AwardProfessor Franz Matschinsky receives the Rolf Luft Award 2020

Karolinska Institute The Karolinska Institute (KI; ; sometimes known as the (Royal) Caroline Institute in English) is a research-led medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area of Sweden and one of the foremost medical research institutes globally ...

Stockholm

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matschinsky, Franz 1931 births 2022 deaths People from Newtown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania American pharmacologists German pharmacologists 20th-century American physicians 21st-century American physicians 20th-century German physicians 21st-century German physicians 20th-century American biochemists 21st-century American biochemists German biochemists American diabetologists German diabetologists Scientists from Wrocław People from Złotoryja County University of Freiburg alumni Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni Washington University School of Medicine faculty Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania faculty Emigrants from West Germany to the United States Physicians from Wrocław