By Dr. Ross MacGillivray and Dr. Ed Conway
Group photo of Dr. Earl W. Davie, Dr. Ross MacGillivray and Dr. Eddy Fischer (from left to right) seated at a table during the Earl W. Davie Symposium in 2017.
With the passing of Dr. Edmond (Eddy) Fischer on August 27, 2021, the UBC Centre for Blood Research (CBR) lost a dear friend, and the world lost a brilliant scientist and a wonderful human being.
Edmond Henri Fischer was born in Shanghai on April 6th 1920 of European parents. At the age 7, he went to boarding school in Geneva, where he excelled in the sciences and in music. Indeed, as a high school student, he was accepted into the Geneva Conservatory of Music where he showed considerable promise as a talented pianist. And while music continued to be an integral part of his life, marked by his final performance at the age of 101 at his grandson’s wedding, he fell more in love with science which became his chosen profession.
From his early teens, Eddy was intrigued by the work of Louis Pasteur, the field of microbiology and particularly the mysteries of tuberculosis, which caused the death of his father. However, he soon shifted disciplines and after completing two “licences ès sciences” – undergraduate degrees – in biology and chemistry, he pursued a Ph.D. in organic chemistry in Geneva. Many medical students today might not agree, but Eddy described organic chemistry as … a breath of fresh air. He entered what was then the new field of enzymology with remarkable fervour and insight, making ground-breaking advances by purifying and characterizing the structure-function of alpha-amylase from various species and sites, including human pancreas and saliva. It was in that environment that he created and established long-lasting collaborations, and where his own thirst to learn would cement his future fame.
In 1950, Eddy moved to the United States, expecting to follow a unique opportunity to train at Caltech in California. However, during a lecture tour to Seattle, Eddy and his wife fell in love with the mountains, forests and lakes that reminded them of Switzerland. Eddy was offered an Assistant Professor position by Prof Hans Neurath in the newly-formed Department of Biochemistry at the University of Washington (U of W). (In 1950, Earl Davie was just starting his PhD studies in Hans Neurath’s lab.) And so the Pacific Northwest became his home for the rest of his life. It is also where a long-term and famous collaboration with Edwin Krebs (also a biochemist at the U of W) was formed.
Having painstakingly purified many kinases and phosphatases, Fischer and Krebs were able to describe cascades of metabolic enzymes, the activities of which were reversibly controlled by phosphorylation and dephosphorylation (catalyzed by kinases and phosphatases, respectively). Their work on reversible phosphorylation-dephosphorylation led to their being awarded the 1992 Nobel Prize in Medicine/Physiology. Eddy received many other national and international awards including being elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences in the US in 1973 and as a foreign member of the Royal Society (London) in 2010.
Speakers and organizers of the 2017 Earl W. Davie Symposium. Seated at the table are Dr. Earl Davie (left) and Dr. Eddy Fischer (right); the keynote speakers were Dr. Katherine A. High (standing 4th from left) and Dr. James H. Morrissey (standing at far right). Tribute authors Ross MacGillivray (standing 3rd from left) and Ed Conway (standing 2nd from left) are present for the photo as well.
Eddy’s close relationship with the CBR began in November 2013 when he first accompanied his long-time friend, Earl Davie, to the seventh Earl W. Davie Symposium in Vancouver. Eddy gave an engaging and inspiring presentation on the steps leading to his Nobel discovery, and colorfully described the challenges of purifying phosphorylase from rabbit skeletal muscle in the days before high quality chromatography media were available. For several years following this extremely well-received debut performance, Eddy became a regular attendee and active participant at the Earl W. Davie Symposia, always engaged with intriguing questions and comments, eager to speak, and anxious to interact with trainees at poster sessions and during coffee breaks. Eddy was very generous in offering his gentle, well thought-out advice to help trainees with their career aspirations. Most striking, however, was the bond of friendship between Eddy and Earl that shone out from their interactions together. They shared so many smiles and laughs – it spoke volumes.
Eddy left a lasting legacy in his science, his love of science, and his love of life. We at the CBR will remember him with great fondness, respect and admiration.