Pehr Victor Edman facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Pehr Victor Edman
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Taken in 1968
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| Born | 14 April 1916 |
| Died | 19 March 1977 (aged 60) |
| Nationality | Swedish (1916-65) Australian (1965-77) |
| Alma mater | Karolinska Institutet |
| Known for | Edman degradation, sequenator |
| Awards | Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (1968) Britannica Australia Prize (Science, 1968) Swedish Society of Physicians and Surgeons (Gold Medal, 1971) Fellow of the Royal Society (1974) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Biochemistry |
| Institutions | Rockefeller Institute of Medical Research, Princeton University, University of Lund, St. Vincent's School of Medical Research, Max-Planck-Institut of Biochemistry |
| Doctoral advisor | Eric Jorpes |
Pehr Victor Edman (born April 14, 1916 – died March 19, 1977) was a Swedish biochemist. A biochemist studies the chemistry of living things. Edman is famous for creating a special way to figure out the order of parts in proteins. This method is called the Edman degradation.
Early Life and Studies
Pehr Victor Edman was born in Stockholm, Sweden. In 1935, he began studying medicine at the Karolinska Institutet. He became very interested in basic scientific research there.
He earned his first degree in medicine in 1938. His studies were paused when World War II started. He had to serve in the Swedish army. After the war, he went back to the Karolinska Institutet. He completed his advanced degree, called a doctoral degree, in 1946. His professor, Erik Jorpes, guided his work.
Discovering the Edman Degradation
When Edman started his research, scientists were just beginning to understand proteins. They learned that proteins are unique and have a specific size and shape. This made Edman want to find a way to discover the exact order of amino acids in a protein. Amino acids are like building blocks that make up proteins.
In 1947, he received a special grant to travel. He went to the Rockefeller Institute of Medical Research in the United States. When he returned to Sweden in 1950, he became an Assistant Professor at the University of Lund. There, he published his first scientific paper about his new method. This method later became known as the Edman degradation. He kept working on improving his method throughout his life. He wanted to be able to find the sequence of even longer protein parts using smaller samples.
Later Career and Inventions
In 1957, Pehr Victor Edman moved to Australia. He became the director of the St. Vincent's School of Medical Research. In 1967, he achieved a major breakthrough. He and his assistant, Geoffrey Begg, successfully built an automatic machine. This machine could sequence proteins all by itself. They called it the "sequenator."
In 1972, Edman moved to Germany. He joined the Max-Planck-Institut of Biochemistry near Munich. He worked there with his second wife, Agnes Henschen. She used his method to study a protein called fibrinogen.
Pehr Victor Edman passed away in 1977. He died from a brain tumor.
