Severo Ochoa Autograph

Profession:
(1905-1993) Spanish physician and biochemist, and joint winner of the 1959 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Arthur Kornberg.

Year of Birth: 1905

Severo Ochoa de Albornoz was a Spanish-American biochemist and molecular biologist. He was born on September 24, 1905, in Luarca, a small town in the province of Asturias, Spain. Ochoa came from a humble background, but his curiosity and love for science drove him to pursue a career in research.

Ochoa completed his medical degree at the University of Madrid in 1929. However, his true passion lay in biochemistry, and he went on to study this discipline at the Institute for Advanced Medical Studies in Berlin. It was during his time in Germany that Ochoa made significant contributions to the field, including his research on the biosynthesis of ascorbic acid.

In 1940, Ochoa emigrated to the United States due to the Spanish Civil War. He joined the faculty at New York University, where he continued his groundbreaking work. Ochoa's most notable achievement came in 1955 when he became the first scientist to synthesize an active enzyme outside living cells.

Throughout his career, Ochoa received numerous awards and honors for his outstanding contributions to biochemistry. Most notably, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1959, along with Arthur Kornberg, for their discoveries of the mechanisms in the biological synthesis of ribonucleic acid (RNA) and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).

Severo Ochoa was not only a brilliant scientist but also a dedicated teacher and mentor. He inspired many young researchers to pursue a career in biochemistry and molecular biology. Ochoa continued his research until his retirement in 1976 and passed away on November 1, 1993, in Madrid, Spain. His substantial contributions to the field continue to impact scientific research to this day.