Osamu Hayaishi
Osamu Hayaishi (早石 修, Hayaishi Osamu, born January 8, 1920) is a Japanese biologist and a professor at Osaka Bioscience Institute.[1]
Birth and education
Osamu Hayaishi was born in Stockton, California, U.S.A, in 1920. He completed his M.D. from Osaka University in 1942.
Academic career
From 1942 to 1952, Osamu Hayaishi was a research associate at the Department of Bacteriology, Osaka University School of Medicine in Osaka, Japan. He became professor at various universities and now, he is a Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Osaka Bioscience Institute, in Osaka, Japan.
Research
Osamu Hayaishi is known for his contributions to biomedical sciences and enzymology by his discovery of oxygenases. These enzymes are widely distributed in nature and represent a unique group of respiratory enzymes that catalyze the direct incorporation of molecular oxygen into various substrates.
In 1986 he was awarded the Wolf Prize in Medicine "for his discovery of the oxygenase enzymes and elucidation of their structure and biological importance".[2]