Luis Federico Leloir
As his work in the laboratory was coming to an end, Leloir continued his teaching position in the Department of Natural Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires, taking a hiatus only to complete his studies at Cambridge and at the Enzyme Research Laboratory in the United States.
In 1983, Leloir became one of the founding members of the Third World Academy of Sciences.
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Nobel Prize
On December 2nd, 1970, Leloir received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry from the King of Sweden for his discovery of the metabolic pathways in lactose, becoming only the third Argentine to receive the prestigious honor in any field. In his acceptance speech at Stockholm, he borrowed Winston Churchill's famous 1940 speech to the House of Commons and remarked, "never have I received so much for so little".[13] Leloir and his team reportedly celebrated by drinking champagne from test tubes, a rare departure from the humbleness and frugality that characterized the atmosphere of Fundación Instituto Campomar under Leloir's direction. The $80,000 prize money was spent directly on research,[14] and when asked about the significance of his achievement, Leloir humbly responded:[15]
"This is only one step in a much larger project. I discovered(no, not me: my team) the function of sugar nucleotides in cell metabolism. I want others to understood this, but it is not easy to explain: this is not a very noteworthy deed, and we hardly know even a little."
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Legacy
Leloir published a short autobiography, entitled "Long Ago and Far Away" in the 1983 Annual Review of Biochemistry. The title, Leloir claims, is derived from one of William Henry Hudson's novels that depicted the country wildlife and scenery of Leloir's childhood[1].
He died in Buenos Aires December 2, 1987 of a heart attack soon after returning to his home from the laboratory, and is buried in La Recoleta Cemetery. Mario Bunge, a friend and colleague of Leloir, claims that his lasting legacy was proving that "scientific research on an international level, although precarious, was possible in an underdeveloped country in the middle of political strife" and credits Leloir's vigilance and will for his ultimate success.[16] With his research in dire financial straits, Leloir often resorted to homemade gadgets and contraptions to continue his work in the laboratory. In one instance, Leloir reportedly used waterproof cardboard to create makeshift gutters in order to protect his laboratory's library from the rain.[17]
Leloir was known for his humbleness, focus and consistency, described by many as a "true monk in science".[18] Every morning his wife Amelia would drive him in their Fiat 600 and drop him off at 1719 Julián Alvarez Street, location of Fundación Instituto Campomar, with Leloir wearing the same worn out, gray overalls. He worked sitting on the same straw seat for decades and encouraged colleagues to eat lunch in the laboratory to save time, bringing enough meat stew to share with everyone.[19] Indeed, despite Leloir's frugality and extreme dedication to his research, he was a sociable man, claiming not to like working alone.[20]
The Fundación Instituto Campomar has since been renamed Fundación Instituto Leloir, and has grown to become a 21,000 sq. foot building with 20 senior researchers, 42 technicians and administrative personnel, 8 post doctorate fellows, and 20 Ph.D. candidates. The Institute conducts research in a variety of fields, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis.[21]
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Awards and distinctions
| Year | Distinction |
|---|---|
| 1943 | Third National Science Award |
| 1958 | T. Ducett Jones Memorial Award |
| 1965 | Bunge and Born Foundation Award |
| 1966 | Gairdner Foundation Award |
| 1967 | Columbia University's Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize |
| 1968 | Benito Juárez Award |
| 1968 | Honorary Doctorate from Universidad Nacional de Córdoba |
| 1968 | Argentina Chemistry Association's José Jolly Kyle Award |
| 1969 | Honorary member of the English Biochemical Society |
| 1970 | Nobel Prize for Chemistry |
| 1971 | Legion de Honor “Orden de Andrés Bello” |
| 1976 | Bernardo O'Higgins en el Grado de Gran Cruz |
| 1982 | French Legion of Honor |
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Published works
- "Suprarrenales y Metabolismo de los hidratos de carbono", (1934)
- "Farmacología de la hipertensina", (1940)
- "Hipertensión arterial nefrógena, (1943)
- "Perspectives in Biology", (1963)
- "Renal Hipertensión", (1964)
- "In Vitro Synthesis of Particulate Glycogen", (1965)
- "Properties of Synthetic and Native liver Glycogen", (1967)
- "Faraway and Long ago", (1983)
- "Lipid-bond Saccharides containing glucose and galactose in agrobacterium tumefaciens", (1984)
- "An Intermediail in Cyclic 1-2 Glucan Biosynthesis", (1985)
- "Structural correspondence between an oligosaccharide bound to a lipid with the repeating unit of the Rhizobium meliloti" (M. E. Tolmasky, R. J. Staneloni, and L. F. Leloir), Anales de la Asociación Química Argentina (1982) no.70 pg.833-842.
- "N-glycosilation of the proteins" (M. E. Tolmasky, H. K. Takahashi, R. J. Staneloni, and L. F. Leloir), Anales de la Asociación Química Argentina (1982) no.70 pg.405-411.
- "Transfer of oligosaccharide to protein from a lipid intermediate in plants" (R. J. Staneloni, M. E. Tolmasky, C. Petriella, and L. F. Leloir), Plant Physiology (1981) no.68 pg.1175-1179.
- "Presence in a plant of a compund similar to the dolichyl diphosphate oligosaccharide of animal tissue" (R. J. Staneloni, M. E. Tolmasky, C. Petriella, R. A. Ugalde, and L. F. Leloir), Biochemical Journal (1980) no.191 pg.257-260.
- "Lipid bound sugars in Rhizobium meliloti" (M. E. Tolmasky, R. J. Staneloni , R. A. Ugalde, and L. F. Leloir), Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics (1980) no.203 pg.358-364.
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References
- ^ a b c d e Luis Federico Leloir, "Long Ago and Far Away"
- ^ welcomeargentina.com, "San Clemente del Tuyú: Historia de la ciudad y leyendas de la zona" web:http://www.welcomeargentina.com/sanclementedeltuyu/historia.html
- ^ "Cientificos Argentinos Distinguidos Con El Premio Nobel En Ciencia" web:http://www.oni.escuelas.edu.ar/olimpi98/ConociendoNuestraCiencia/nobel%20leloir.html
- ^ Pedro Tesone (2006). Luis Federico Leloir. Sociedad Argentina de Diabetes. Retrieved on 2007-03-19.
- ^ Valeria Roman, "A cien años del nacimiento de Luis Federico Leloir" web:http://www.clarin.com/diario/2006/08/27/sociedad/s-01259864.htm
- ^ Luis Leloir, "Two decades of research on the biosynthesis of saccharides" web:http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1970/leloir-lecture.html
- ^ Ariel Barrios Medina, "Luis Federico Leloir (1906-1987): un esbozo biográfico" web: http://www.houssay.org.ar/hh/bio/leloir.htm
- ^ Nicole Kresge, Robert D. Simoni, and Robert L. Hill, "Luis F. Leloir and Biosynthesis of Saccharides" web:http://www.jbc.org/cgi/content/full/280/19/e16
- ^ Ariel Barrios Medina, "Luis Federico Leloir (1906-1987): un esbozo biográfico" web: http://www.houssay.org.ar/hh/bio/leloir.htm
- ^ "The Substance Causing Renal Hypertension"(E. Braun-Menedez, J.C. Fasciolo, L.F. Leloir, J.M. Muñoz)The Journal of Physiology(1940) no.98 pg.283-298
- ^ Holton JB, Walter JH, and Tyfield LA. “Galactosemia” in The Metabolic and Molecular Bases of Inherited Disease, 8th edition, 2001. Scriver, Beaudet, et al., McGraw-Hill, vol I, chapter 72 , p.1553-1587.
- ^ World of Scientific Discovery, Thomas Gale, Thomson Corporation, 2005-2006
- ^ Nobelprize.org: "Luis Leloir- Banquet Speech" web:http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1970/leloir-speech.html
- ^ Valeria Roman, "A cien años del nacimiento de Luis Federico Leloir" web:http://www.clarin.com/diario/2006/08/27/sociedad/s-01259864.htm
- ^ Comodoro Rivadavia. Luis Federico Leloir. Chubut Argentina. Retrieved on 2007-03-19.
- ^ Mario Bunge, "Luis F. Leloir" web:http://www.clubdelprogreso.com/index.php?sec=04_05&sid=43&id=2513
- ^ World of Scientific Discovery, Thomas Gale, Thomson Corporation, 2005-2006
- ^ Valeria Roman, "A cien años del nacimiento de Luis Federico Leloir" web:http://www.clarin.com/diario/2006/08/27/sociedad/s-01259864.htm
- ^ Valeria Roman, "A cien años del nacimiento de Luis Federico Leloir" web:http://www.clarin.com/diario/2006/08/27/sociedad/s-01259864.htm
- ^ Ariel Barrios Medina, "Luis Federico Leloir (1906-1987): un esbozo biográfico" web: http://www.houssay.org.ar/hh/bio/leloir.htm
- ^ Instituto Leloir, web:http://www.leloir.org.ar/Paginas/Institute.htm
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Bibliography
- Lorenzano (?), Julio Cesar. Por los caminos de Leloir. Editorial Biblos; 1a edition, July 1994. ISBN 9-5078-6063-0
- Zuberbuhler de Leloir (?), Amelia. Retrato personal de Leloir. Vol. 8, No. 25, pp. 45-46, 1983.
- Nachón (?), Carlos Alberto. Luis Federico Leloir: ensayo de una biografía. Bank Foundation of Boston, 1994.
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See also
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External links
- Fundación Instituto Leloir
- Luis Leloir Biography from Nobelprize.org
- The Official Site of Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Derek Harold Richard Barton and Odd Hassel |
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1970 |
Succeeded by Gerhard Herzberg |
|
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Leloir, Luis Federico |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Argentine biochemist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1906-9-6 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Paris, France |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1987-12-2 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Buenos Aires, Argentina |
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