Edmond H. Fischer (1920–2021) was a Swiss-American biochemist renowned for his pioneering research in the field of protein phosphorylation and cellular signaling. Born in Shanghai, China, Fischer earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Geneva before moving to the United States to pursue his research career. Fischer’s most notable achievement came in collaboration with Edwin Krebs, with whom he discovered the role of reversible protein phosphorylation in the regulation of cellular processes. Their groundbreaking work, conducted in the 1950s and 1960s, elucidated the mechanism by which protein kinases and phosphatases regulate enzyme activity and signal transduction pathways.

For their discoveries, Fischer and Krebs were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1992. Fischer’s subsequent research continued to explore the role of protein phosphorylation in various cellular processes, contributing to our understanding of cell biology and disease mechanisms. Throughout his career, Fischer’s work had a profound impact on the field of biochemistry and cellular signaling.

Edmond H. Fischer Quotes

1. “It is commonly said that a teacher fails if he has not been surpassed by his students.”
— Edmond H. Fischer

2. “We owe our success to them, and also to the fact that, as the saying goes, two “Eds” are better than one.”
— Edmond H. Fischer

3. “There is no escaping the fact that, even in a great career, sometimes the best advances happen through luck, chance and accident.”
— Edmond H. Fischer