2 UW professors share 1992 Nobel Prize in medicine

by Columns Staff | December 1, 1992

The discovery of a regulatory mechanism affecting almost all cells led to Nobel honors Oct. 12 for two UW professors—Edwin G. Krebs, professor emeritus of pharmacology and biochemistry, and Edmond Fischer, professor emeritus of biochemistry.

The winners of the 1992 Nobel Prize in medicine discovered a “life switch” that turns on and off a variety of biological functions in the cell, including the breakdown of fats and the generation of chemical energy. This prize-winning discovery is known as “reversible protein phosphorylation.”

Their breakthrough, discovered at the UW and first published in 1956, has led to research into how glycogen in the body breaks down into glucose. It has also fostered techniques that prevent the body from rejecting transplanted organs. The discovery has opened new doors for research into cancer, blood pressure, inflammatory reactions and brain signals. Some believe the process could have a role in diabetes.

In phosphorylation, cell proteins are altered to perform their duties as enzymes, catalysts, energy-transfer agents or other functions. The protein is “switched on” when its shape is altered by the addition of one or more phosphate groups. When the phosphate group is taken away, the protein’s work changes or stops.

At a press conference, both win­ners said they were surprised by the honor. “You never do (expect it) because so much beautiful work is taking place,” said Fischer. “I was completely surprised and shocked. It was difficult to believe,” added Krebs.

Fischer and Krebs will receive the award in Stockholm Dec. 10 from King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden. The two will share a $1.2-million prize.

Fischer, 72, was born in Shanghai, China, and earned two degrees at the University of Geneva in Switzerland. He holds dual Swiss-US. citizenship. He joined the University of Washington in 1953.

Krebs, 74, was born in Lansing, Iowa. He earned his A.B. in chemistry from the University of Illinois and his M.D. from Washington University in St. Louis. After active duty as a medical officer in the U.S. Navy, Krebs returned to St. Louis in 1946 and then joined the UW faculty in 1948 as one of the first professors in the newly established medical school.

Krebs and Fischer began their pioneering work together in 1954, spending 14 years in biochemical research on metabolic events. In 1968 Krebs left the UW to become chair of the Department of Biological Chemistry at UC-Davis. Krebs returned to the UW in 1977 to become chair of the Department of Pharmacology. He is also a senior investigator emeritus of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The two continue to publish research together and both are still active in their departments.

“This is thrilling news,” says President William P. Gerberding. “They are great scientists, wonderful people and model University citizens. I couldn’t be more pleased or proud.”

With the announcement from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, the University of Washington now has six Nobel laureates among its faculty and alumni. Other UW faculty members include Physics Professor Hans Dehmelt, who shared the 1989 prize in physics, and E. Donnall Thomas, director emeritus of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center’s Division of Clinical Research and UW professor emeritus of medicine, who won the 1990 medicine prize.

UW alumni laureates include the late George J. Stigler, ’31, who won the 1982 prize in economics, and George Hitchings, ’27, who shared the 1988 prize in medicine.