Leonor Michaelis (January 16, 1875 – October 8, 1949) was a
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
biochemistBiochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. Typical biochemists study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. The prefix of "bio" in "biochemist" can be understood as a fusion of "biological chemist."-Role:...
and
physicianA physician — also known as medical practitioner, doctor of medicine, medical doctor, or simply doctor — practices the ancient profession of medicine, which is concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease or injury...
famous for his work with
Maud MentenMaud Leonora Menten was a Canadian medical scientist who made significant contributions to enzyme kinetics and histochemistry. Her name is associated with the famous Michaelis-Menten equation in biochemistry....
in
enzyme kineticsEnzyme kinetics is the study of the chemical reactions that are catalysed by enzymes. In enzyme kinetics the reaction rate is measured and the effects of varying the conditions of the reaction investigated...
and
Michaelis-Menten kineticsMichaelis–Menten kinetics approximately describes the kinetics of many enzymes. It is named after Leonor Michaelis and Maud Menten. This kinetic model is relevant to situations where very simple kinetics can be assumed, Michaelis–Menten kinetics (occasionally also referred to as...
.
Born in
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
(
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
), he studied
medicineMedicine is the art and science of healing. It encompasses a range of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
in
FreiburgFreiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Located in the extreme south-west of the country, Freiburg straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the...
, where he graduated in 1897. He then moved to
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
, where he received his doctorate the same year. Michaelis worked as assistant to
Paul EhrlichPaul Ehrlich was a German scientist in the fields of hematology, immunology, and chemotherapy, and Nobel laureate. He is noted for curing syphilis and for his research in autoimmunity, calling it "horror autotoxicus"...
(1898–1899),
Moritz LittenMoritz Litten was a German physician who was a native of Berlin. He was a son-in-law to pathologist Ludwig Traube ....
(1899–1902) and
Ernst Viktor von LeydenErnst Viktor von Leyden was a German internist from Danzig. Leyden studied medicine at the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Institut in Berlin, and was a pupil of Johann Lukas Schönlein and Ludwig Traube . He was a medical professor at several locations, including Königsberg, Strassburg and Berlin...
(1902–1906).
Leonor Michaelis (January 16, 1875 – October 8, 1949) was a
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
biochemistBiochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. Typical biochemists study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. The prefix of "bio" in "biochemist" can be understood as a fusion of "biological chemist."-Role:...
and
physicianA physician — also known as medical practitioner, doctor of medicine, medical doctor, or simply doctor — practices the ancient profession of medicine, which is concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease or injury...
famous for his work with
Maud MentenMaud Leonora Menten was a Canadian medical scientist who made significant contributions to enzyme kinetics and histochemistry. Her name is associated with the famous Michaelis-Menten equation in biochemistry....
in
enzyme kineticsEnzyme kinetics is the study of the chemical reactions that are catalysed by enzymes. In enzyme kinetics the reaction rate is measured and the effects of varying the conditions of the reaction investigated...
and
Michaelis-Menten kineticsMichaelis–Menten kinetics approximately describes the kinetics of many enzymes. It is named after Leonor Michaelis and Maud Menten. This kinetic model is relevant to situations where very simple kinetics can be assumed, Michaelis–Menten kinetics (occasionally also referred to as...
.
Born in
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
(
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
), he studied
medicineMedicine is the art and science of healing. It encompasses a range of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
in
FreiburgFreiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Located in the extreme south-west of the country, Freiburg straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the...
, where he graduated in 1897. He then moved to
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
, where he received his doctorate the same year. Michaelis worked as assistant to
Paul EhrlichPaul Ehrlich was a German scientist in the fields of hematology, immunology, and chemotherapy, and Nobel laureate. He is noted for curing syphilis and for his research in autoimmunity, calling it "horror autotoxicus"...
(1898–1899),
Moritz LittenMoritz Litten was a German physician who was a native of Berlin. He was a son-in-law to pathologist Ludwig Traube ....
(1899–1902) and
Ernst Viktor von LeydenErnst Viktor von Leyden was a German internist from Danzig. Leyden studied medicine at the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Institut in Berlin, and was a pupil of Johann Lukas Schönlein and Ludwig Traube . He was a medical professor at several locations, including Königsberg, Strassburg and Berlin...
(1902–1906). In 1906 he started as director of the bacteriology lab in
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
s
CharitéThe Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin is the medical school for both the Humboldt University and the Free University of Berlin. After the merger with their fourth campus in 2003, the Charité is one of the largest university hospitals in Europe....
hospital, becoming Professor extraordinary at Berlin University in 1908.
In 1914 he published a paper suggesting that
Emil AbderhaldenEmil Abderhalden was a Swiss biochemist and physiologist. His main findings, though disputed already in the 1920s, were not finally rejected until the late 1990s. Whether his misleading findings were based on fraud or simply the result of a lack of scientific rigor remains unclear...
's notorious pregnancy tests could not be reproduced, a paper which fatally compromised Michaelis' position as an academic in Germany (L. Michaelis, L von Lagermark, Deutsche Med. Wochenschr. 1914, 7, 316-319). In 1922 he moved to the Medical School of the
University of Nagoya, abbreviated to }}, is a Japanese national university headquartered in Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, and is considered as one of the most prestigious universities in Japan....
(
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
) as Professor of
biochemistryBiochemistry is the study of the chemical processes in living organisms. It deals with the structure and function of cellular components such as proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids and other biomolecules....
, in 1926 to
Johns Hopkins UniversityThe Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Johns Hopkins also maintains full-time campuses elsewhere in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Italy, China, and Singapore...
in
Baltimore, MarylandBaltimore is an independent city and the largest city in the state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore City in order to distinguish it from surrounding...
as resident lecturer in medical
researchResearch can be defined to be search for knowledge or any systematic investigation to establish facts. The primary purpose for applied research is discovering, interpreting, and the development of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge on a wide variety of scientific matters of...
and in 1929 to the Rockefeller Institute of Medical Research in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
, where he retired in 1941.
Besides his role in the formulation of the
Michaelis-MentenMichaelis–Menten kinetics approximately describes the kinetics of many enzymes. It is named after Leonor Michaelis and Maud Menten. This kinetic model is relevant to situations where very simple kinetics can be assumed, Michaelis–Menten kinetics (occasionally also referred to as...
equation (1913) he discovered
Janus greenJanus Green B is a basic dye used in histology and to stain mitochondria supravitally.The indicator Janus Green B changes colour according to the amount of oxygen present.*Oxygen present: Indicator oxidised to blue colour...
as a supravital stain for mitochondria and the Michaelis-Gutmann body in
urinary tract infectionA urinary tract infection is a bacterial infection that affects any part of the urinary tract.The main causitive agent is:Escherichia coli. Although urine contains a variety of fluids, salts, and waste products, it usually does not have bacteria in it. When bacteria get into the bladder or kidney...
s (1902) and found that
thioglycolic acidThioglycolic acid is the organic compound HSCH2CO2H. It contains both a thiol and a carboxylic acid. It is a clear liquid with a strong unpleasant odor...
could dissolve
keratinKeratins are a family of fibrous structural proteins; tough and insoluble, they form the hard but un-mineralized structures found in reptiles, birds, amphibians, and mammals...
, making him the father of the
permanent waveA permanent wave, commonly called a perm, is the chemical and/or thermal treatment of hair to produce waves, curls or straight hair. The use of the word 'permanent' is justified insofar as when the wave is permed, it remains so; however, as the hair grows, the new hair that grows has not been...
.
He died in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
.