David Shemin
Marine Biological Laboratory
March 18, 1911 - November 26, 1991
|
Scientific Discipline: Biochemistry Membership Type:
Member
(elected 1958)
|
David Shemin studied the structure of red blood cells. He observed the synthesis of the cell by using stable nitrogen isotopes to trace the mechanism of construction. By labeling isotopes of nitrogen and carbon he was able to identify and locate where each individual atom originated in the creation of the red blood cell. He found that glycine, a simple amino acid, was incorporated into the hemoglobin on the cell.
Shemin attended the City College of New York, where he earned his undergraduate degree; he earned his master’s degree and PhD at Columbia University. He accepted a faculty position at Columbia, serving there from 1944 to 1968. He moved to Northwestern University in 1968 and taught there until his retirement in 1981.
