Nobel Prize Laureate Dr. Edmond H. Fischer, a longtime faculty member in biochemistry at the University of Washington School of Medicine, died peacefully in Seattle on Aug. 27, 2021. He was 101.
Fischer shared the 1992 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with UW medical school faculty colleague Edwin G. Krebs, who died in 2006 at 91. They were honored for describing how reversible phosphorylation of proteins acts as a switch to regulate a variety of biochemical processes in cells.
Edwin Krebs (left) and Edmond Fischer in October 1992 after learning they would receive a Nobel Prize. Photo Courtesy of Davis Freeman.
Fischer joined the UW School of Medicine in the early 1950s and remained at the UW for the rest of his career. Throughout his decades as a UW professor, Fischer mentored scores of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars.
He was also recognized with numerous awards, honorary degrees and memberships to renowned research academies from around the world. He was elected a fellow in the National Academy of Arts and Sciences, a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a Foreign Member of the Royal Society. He was the honorary president of the World Cultural Council from 2007 until 2014.
Fischer was a talented pianist who had considered a career as a classical musician before choosing science. He also enjoyed flying and for a while held a private pilot’s license.
To learn more about Fischer’s life and work, read the entire memorial on UW Medicine Newsroom.
- Watch the Lindau Nobel Laureate Video Portrait of Fischer.
- Read the Lindau Nobel Laureat Meetings’ tribute to Fischer’s life.
- Read the Washington Post’s tribute to Fischer.
Photo Caption: Edmond Fischer converses with aspiring scientists at the 2014 Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting. Photo courtesy of Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting.
Leila Gray contributed to this article. A version of this story originally appeared on the UW Medicine Newsroom.
