William Joseph Whelan

William Joseph Whelan FRS (14 November 1924 – 5 June 2021) was a British-born American biochemist. He was professor and chair of biochemistry and molecular biology at the Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine of the University of Miami.[2] He founded the annual Miami Winter Symposium in 1967 and was chief editor of the journal IUBMB Life.[3]

William Joseph Whelan
Born(1924-12-14)14 December 1924
Salford, England
Died5 June 2021(2021-06-05) (aged 96)
Miami, Florida[1]
NationalityBritish, American
EducationUniversity of Birmingham (B.Sc., Ph.D.)
Known forDiscovery of glycogenin
AwardsFellow of the Royal Society
Scientific career
FieldsStarch and glycogen chemistry
InstitutionsUniversity College of North Wales, Bangor; University of London; Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, University of Miami Medical School
Thesis (1948)

Biography

Whelan was born in Salford, Greater Manchester in 1924. He studied organic chemistry at the University of Birmingham starting in 1942, earning a B.Sc. in 1944 and Ph.D. in 1948. He taught at University College of North Wales and the University of London, and became Head of the Department of Biochemistry of the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, University of London in 1964. In 1967, he moved to the United States and served as Professor and Chairman of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of the University of Miami Medical School. He became Professor and Chairman Emeritus in 1991.[2]

Whelan was known for his pioneering research on the structure of starch and glycogen. He discovered the D enzyme in plants and proved that glycogen contained the protein glycogenin. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1992.[4] He died on 5 June 2021 at the age of 96.[1]

References
  1. "William 'Bill' Whelan, a renowned biochemist with a long history of influential service to the IUBMB, died June 5, 2021". IUBMB.ORG. 5 June 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  2. "William Joseph Whelan" (PDF). University of Miami. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  3. "William J Whelan, DSc, FRS". University of Miami. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  4. "William Whelan". Royal Society. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.