Henry Lardy
University of Wisconsin-Madison
August 19, 1917 - August 4, 2010
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Scientific Discipline: Biochemistry Membership Type:
Member
(elected 1958)
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Henry Lardy’s research enhanced our understanding of metabolism. Focusing on cellular respiration, he observed that the enzymes that catalyze the production of ATP, a cell energy molecule, require potassium ions to react, which demonstrated the mechanism of metabolism to be thermodynamically stable. He also uncovered the metabolic pathways of many biological processes and the chemical mechanisms of the enzymes involved in each.
Lardy earned his undergraduate degree at South Dakota University and went on to receive his master’s degree and PhD from the University of Wisconsin. The University of Wisconsin then offered him a position as a professor of biochemistry and a job as a researcher for the university’s Enzyme Institute. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society.
