Emanuel Margoliash
Annually, the Major in Biological Sciences considers students for the Emanuel Margoliash Prize for Basic Research.
Emanuel Margoliash was a quintessential biochemist who dedicated his lifelong research to the hemeprotein Cytochrome c, having isolated, crystallized, and sequenced it from numerous prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. Cytochrome c is a highly conserved protein that is responsible for the transfer of electrons leading to oxidative phosphorylation and ATP synthesis. It is also involved in triggering programmed cell death through apoptosis. Margoliash’s pioneering research led to pivotal insight into protein structure and function, mechanism of action, and evolution of the metabolic pathways relating to Cytochrome c.
A native of Cairo, Egypt, Margoliash earned a B.A. in 1940, an M.A. in 1942, and an M.D. in 1945, all from the American University of Beirut. After service as a medical officer in the Israeli Army in 1948, he began work at the Cancer Research Laboratories, Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, in Jerusalem. Focusing on Cytochrome c, he did research in Sweden, Utah, and Canada before becoming a research fellow at Abbott Laboratories. He left Abbott to take a senior faculty position at Northwestern University in 1971, staying until his retirement in 1990. He then joined the University of Illinois- Chicago, where he continued his research until his last days.
Biographical excerpt from the National Academy of Sciences, Biographical Memoir, written by Indrani Mukharji.
Photo from the National Academy of Sciences.