Famous American Physiologists

Vote for Your Favourite American Physiologists

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 1 
Jared Diamond
(American Historian, Geographer, Author, and Ornithologist)
Jared Diamond
10
Birthdate: September 10, 1937
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Jared Diamond is an American historian, geographer, author, and ornithologist. He is best known for his books, The Third Chimpanzee, Collapse, Upheaval, and The World Until Yesterday. His 1997 book Guns, Germs, and Steel earned him the prestigious Pulitzer Prize. In 1999, he was awarded the National Medal of Science. Jared Diamond is currently working as a professor at UCLA.

 2 
Jessica Meir
(American-Swedish Physiologist, Marine Biologist, and NASA Astronaut)
Jessica Meir
6
Birthdate: July 15, 1977
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Caribou, Maine, United States

Jessica Meir is an American-Swedish physiologist, marine biologist, and NASA astronaut. She is best known for her studies of the physiology of bar-headed geese and the behavior and diving physiology of emperor penguins. In 2020, Jessica Meir was named in Time magazine's Most Influential People list.

 3 
Albert Szent-Györgyi
(Physiologist)
Albert Szent-Györgyi
4
Birthdate: September 16, 1893
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Budapest, Austria-Hungary
Died: October 22, 1986

Born in Budapest, Nobel Prize-winning biochemist Albert Szent-Györgyi shot himself in the arm while serving in World War II, so that he could be sent back home, and then studied medicine. While he is remembered for first isolating vitamin C, unknown to many, he was also a skilled pianist.

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 4 
David Julius
(American Physiologist Who Discovered the Receptors for Touch and Temperature)
David Julius
3
Birthdate: November 4, 1955
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, United States

David Julius is an American physiologist best known for winning the prestigious Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2021. He won the award alongside Ardem Patapoutian for discovering the receptors for touch and temperature. David Julius is also the recipient of several other awards, such as the Shaw Prize,  Gairdner Foundation International Award, and Prince of Asturias Prize.

 5 
Charles Best
(Co-discoverer of Insulin)
Charles Best
3
Birthdate: February 27, 1899
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: West Pembroke, Pembroke, Maine, United States
Died: March 31, 1978

Charles Best made history with his discovery of insulin, along with Sir Frederick Banting, thus paving the path for its use as a treatment for diabetes. He, however, failed to get the 1923 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, like Banting, as he didn’t receive his medical degree till 1925.

 6 
Walter Bradford Cannon
(American Physiologist Who Developed the Theory of Homeostasis)
Walter Bradford Cannon
3
Birthdate: October 19, 1871
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, United States
Died: October 1, 1945

Walter Bradford Cannon was an American physiologist best remembered for his association with Harvard Medical School, where he served as chairman and professor of the Department of Physiology. Walter Bradford Cannon is credited with developing the theory of homeostasis and coining the term fight-or-flight response. 

 7 
Brian Kobilka
(American Physiologist Whose Discoveries Revealed the Workings of 'G Protein-Coupled Receptors')
Brian Kobilka
3
Birthdate: May 30, 1955
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Little Falls, Minnesota, United States

Brian Kobilka is an American physiologist best known for winning the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2012. He is also credited with co-founding a biotechnology company named ConfometRx. Brian Kobilka is currently working as a professor at Stanford University School of Medicine.

 8 
Arthur Guyton
(American Physiologist Who Authored the Best-Selling Medical Physiology Textbook in the World)
Arthur Guyton
3
Birthdate: September 8, 1919
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Oxford, Mississippi, United States
Died: April 3, 2003

Arthur Guyton was an American physiologist best remembered for writing Textbook of Medical Physiology, which is still being used in medical schools as the standard textbook on the subject. Arthur Guyton's well known work is the best-selling medical physiology textbook in the world. It has also been translated into many languages.

 9 
E. Morton Jellinek
(American Biostatistician, Alcoholism Researcher, and Physiologist)
E. Morton Jellinek
3
Birthdate: August 15, 1890
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States
Died: October 22, 1963

E. Morton Jellinek was an American biostatistician, alcoholism researcher, and physiologist. He is best remembered for his association with the World Health Organization, where he worked as a consultant on alcoholism. E. Morton Jellinek was also associated with several prestigious institutions, such as Stanford University and Yale University.

 10 
Nathaniel Kleitman
(American Physiologist Who is Regarded as the 'Father of Modern Sleep Research')
Nathaniel Kleitman
4
Birthdate: April 26, 1895
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Chișinău, Moldova
Died: August 13, 1999

Nathaniel Kleitman was an American sleep researcher and physiologist. Referred to as the father of modern sleep research, Kleitman is best remembered for writing his 1939 book Sleep and Wakefulness. Nathaniel Kleitman is also remembered for his association with the University of Chicago, where he served as Professor Emeritus in Physiology.

 11 
Charles Brenton Huggins
(Canadian-American Physician Who Discovered that Hormones Could be Used to Control the Spread of Some Cancers)
Charles Brenton Huggins
2
Birthdate: September 22, 1901
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Halifax Regional Municipality, Canada
Died: January 12, 1997

Canadian-American surgeon and urologist Charles Brenton Huggins is remembered for his pathbreaking research on how some hormones are related to cancer, which eventually won him the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. His studies paved the way for the cure of cancer, specifically prostate cancer and breast cancer.

 12 
Lawrence Joseph Henderson
(American Physiologist Who Discovered the Chemical Means by Which Acid–Base Equilibria Are Maintained in Nature)
Lawrence Joseph Henderson
1
Birthdate: June 3, 1878
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Lynn, Massachusetts, United States
Died: February 10, 1942

A Harvard alumnus, Lawrence Joseph Henderson was associated with the Harvard Medical School for almost four decades. His chief contribution as a biochemist was his proposal of the Henderson–Hasselbalch equation, which calculates the acid–base equilibria of substances. He also penned the iconic work The Fitness of the Environment.

 13 
George H. Hitchings
(American Medical Doctor Who Won the 1988 Nobel Prize in Medicine)
George H. Hitchings
2
Birthdate: April 18, 1905
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Hoquiam, Washington, United States
Died: February 27, 1998

George H. Hitchings was an American medical doctor best remembered for winning the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1988 along with Gertrude Elion and Sir James Black. While the group won the award for their discoveries of prominent principles for drug treatment, George H. Hitchings won it explicitly for his work on chemotherapy.

 14 
Arthur Galston
(His Research Led to Development of ‘Agent Orange’ and its Ethical Objections to Use it)
Arthur Galston
1
Birthdate: April 21, 1920
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States
Died: June 15, 2008

Arthur Galston discovered use of TIBA in speeding-up flowering of soybeans and its defoliant-effect if used in higher-concentration. This led to development of the toxic-defoliant Agent Orange and its use by the UK and the US as part of herbicidal-warfare-program during Vietnam War. Galston’s ethical objections to use of Agent Orange eventually led American President Nixon to end its use.

 15 
Jacques Loeb
(American Physiologist and Biologist)
Jacques Loeb
1
Birthdate: April 7, 1859
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Mayen, Germany
Died: February 11, 1924

German-born American biologist Jacques Loeb is remembered for his pathbreaking research on artificial parthenogenesis. He headed his own department at Rockefeller University and also taught at the University of Chicago and the University of California, Berkeley. Though nominated for the Nobel Prize multiple times, he never won the prize.

 16 
Haldan Keffer Hartline
(American Physiologist Who Won the Nobel Prize for His Work in Examining the Neurophysiological Mechanisms of Vision)
Haldan Keffer Hartline
1
Birthdate: December 22, 1903
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, US
Died: March 17, 1983

Haldan Keffer Hartline was an American physiologist best remembered for winning the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1967 for his work in examining the neurophysiological mechanisms of vision. Haldan Keffer Hartline won the award alongside Ragnar Arthur Granit and George Wald.

 17 
André Frédéric Cournand
(French-American Physician Who Won Nobel Prize in Medicine for Developing Cardiac Catheterization)
André Frédéric Cournand
1
Birthdate: September 24, 1895
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: February 19, 1988

André Frédéric Cournand was a French-American physiologist and physician. He is best remembered for winning the prestigious Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for developing cardiac catheterization. André Frédéric Cournand received the prize along with Dickinson W. Richards and Werner Forssmann in 1956.

 18 
Dickinson W. Richards
(American Physiologist and Physician Who Invented Cardiac Catheterization)
Dickinson W. Richards
1
Birthdate: October 30, 1895
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: City of Orange, New Jersey, United States
Died: February 23, 1973

Dickinson W. Richards was an American physiologist and physician. He is best remembered for winning the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the invention of cardiac catheterization. Over the course of his illustrious career, Dickinson W. Richards was also honored with several other prestigious awards, such as the John Phillips Memorial Award and the Trudeau Medal. 

 19 
Manfred Sakel
(American Neurophysiologist and Psychiatrist Known for Developing Insulin Shock Therapy)
Manfred Sakel
1
Birthdate: June 6, 1900
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Nadvirna, Ukraine
Died: December 2, 1957

Austrian-American neurophysiologist and psychiatrist Manfred Sakel is remembered for his pioneering use of the insulin shock therapy to treat patients of schizophrenia. Initially a researcher in Vienna, he fled to the US in the wake of the Nazi invasion. His brand of therapy was later replaced by electroconvulsive therapy.

 20 
Dennis Robert Hoagland
(American Plant Scientist and Chemist)
Dennis Robert Hoagland
2
Birthdate: April 2, 1884
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Golden, Colorado, United States
Died: September 5, 1949

Dennis Robert Hoagland was an American plant scientist and chemist. He is best remembered for his work in the fields of agricultural chemistry, plant nutrition, and physiology. From 1927 until his demise in 1949, Hoagland worked at the University of California, Berkeley as a Professor of Plant Nutrition. He is also known for developing Hoagland solution, an artificial nutrient solution.

 21 
Kenneth V. Thimann
(American Plant Physiologist and Microbiologist Known for His Studies of Plant Hormones)
Kenneth V. Thimann
0
Birthdate: August 5, 1904
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Ashford, Kent, England
Died: January 15, 1997

British-American plant physiologist Kenneth V. Thimann is best remembered for isolating and identifying the plant hormone auxin. Associated with Harvard University for most of his initial career, he later joined the University of California. His best-known works include Phytohormones on plant hormones and The Life of Bacteria on microbiology.