Edward A. Doisy was a distinguished American biochemist born on November 13, 1893, in Hume, Illinois. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Illinois and completed his Ph.D. at Harvard University in 1920. Doisy began his academic career at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis from 1919 to 1923 before joining St. Louis University School of Medicine as Professor of Biochemistry in 1923, where he served as Director of the Department of Biochemistry starting in 1924. He remained at St. Louis University for over four decades, transitioning to emeritus status in 1965 while continuing his scholarly activities until his death.
Doisy's most significant scientific contribution was his isolation and synthesis of vitamin K, the antihemorrhagic factor essential for blood clotting, which he accomplished in 1939. Building on Danish biochemist Henrik Dam's initial discovery of a bleeding disease in chickens linked to a dietary deficiency, Doisy successfully isolated two forms of vitamin K and determined their chemical structures. His meticulous biochemical work enabled the medical and surgical application of vitamin K to prevent and treat hemorrhagic disorders, particularly in newborns. In addition to his Nobel Prize-winning work on vitamin K, Doisy made substantial contributions to endocrinology through his collaboration with Edgar Allen, isolating the sex hormones estrone in 1929, estriol in 1930, and estradiol in 1935.
For his groundbreaking work on vitamin K, Doisy shared the 1943 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Henrik Dam, though they received the award in 1944 due to administrative delays. Beyond his Nobel-recognized research, Doisy improved methods for insulin isolation and identification and made important contributions to understanding antibiotics, blood buffer systems, and bile acid metabolism. He held leadership positions including President of the American Society of Biological Chemists, the Endocrine Society, and the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine. Doisy's scientific legacy continues to influence biochemistry and medicine, with his work on vitamin K saving countless lives, particularly in neonatal care, and his hormone research laying foundations for modern endocrinology.
