John Jacob Abel

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John Jacob Abel (May 19, 1857 – May 26, 1938) was a significant American biochemist and pharmacologist.

Born near Cleveland, Ohio, he graduated with a Ph.D. 1883 from the University of Michigan. In 1891 he founded and chaired the first department of pharmacology in the United States at the University of Michigan. In 1893, he went on to chair the pharmacology department at Johns Hopkins University. In 1897, he was the second to isolate epinephrine, also known as adrenaline (the first was Napoleon Cybulski in 1895), although the extracts he produced have been shown to be mostly an inactive metabolite and the first pure extracts were produced by the japanese Jokichi Takamine (1854-1922) who patented the formulation under the name adrenalin. He later formulated the idea of the artificial kidney and in 1914 he isolated amino acids from the blood.

He spent years unsuccessfully searching for the pituitary hormone, unaware that he was in fact looking for several hormones. In 1926, he reported the isolation and crystallization of insulin, though this announcement was met with considerable scepticism and not generally accepted for many years.

Abel also co-founded the Journal of Biological Chemistry with Christian Archibald Herter in 1905 and the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics in 1909.

The John Jacob Abel Collection

Creator Abel, John Jacob

Dates 19 May 1857-26 May 1938

Institutional Affiliation(s) Johns Hopkins University School of Arts and Sciences

1884

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine 1893-1938

Date Range of Collection 1880-1940

Volume of Collection 84 linear feet

The John Jacob Abel Collection consists primarily of correspondence (1880-1938). Other series include student notebooks, research notebooks, lab and lecture notes, photographs, addresses and talks, honorary degrees, and awards. The collection also contains press clippings (1883-1940), programs and invitations (1889-1937), and calling cards (1880-1930) that Abel saved throughout his career. Biographical material includes remebrances of Abel by friends and colleagues, information on the life and interests of his wife Mary Abel, and accounts of his early education and pharmacology research. The collection is particularly strong in documenting Abel's research on tetanus, including reprints, articles, experimental notes, editorials, and letters. Additional correspondence with Abel can be found in the personal paper collections of Lewellys Barker, Thomas Cullen, Walter Dandy, William Halsted, Howard Kelly, Adolf Meyer, William Welch, and Lewis Weed.

Biography

John Jacob Abel was born near Cleveland, Ohio, in 1857 and received his Ph.B. in 1883 from the University of Michigan. To prepare for a career in scientific medicine, he spent a year at the Johns Hopkins University studying physiology under Henry Newell Martin and then studied for several years at various European universities. In 1888, he received his M.D. from the University of Strasbourg and then returned to the University of Michigan to accept the professorship in materia medica. In 1893, Abel was recruited to establish the department of pharmacology at the newly founded Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He thus became the first full-time professor of pharmacology in the United States. He changed the course of teaching in the basic sciences by encouraging his students to conduct experiments and become active participants in his laboratory research. One of the early goals of Abel's department was the isolation of pure hormones, and in 1897 he reported the isolation of a derivative of epinephrine. In 1926, he reported the isolation and crystallization of insulin. Abel also investigated the functions of the kidney and devised a vividiffusion apparatus for removing toxins from the blood of living animals, an apparatus that is widely regarded as a forerunner of the artificial kidney. Abel founded the Journal of Biological Chemistry in 1905 and the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics in 1909.

Other References

• Waterston, Charles D; Macmillan Shearer, A (July 2006). Biographical index of former fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 1783-2002: Biographical Index. I. Edinburgh: The Royal Society of Edinburgh. ISBN 978-0-902198-84-5. page 2