Funk , Casimir

Funk , Casimir
(1884–1967) Polish-American biochemist
Funk, born the son of a dermatologist in the Polish capital of Warsaw, obtained his doctorate from the University of Bern in 1904. He worked at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, the University of Berlin, and the Lister Institute in London, before emigrating to America in 1915. Although he became naturalized in 1920, Funk returned to Poland in 1923 as director of the Warsaw Institute of Hygiene, but finding the political conditions unattractive moved to Paris in 1927, where he acted as a consultant to a drug company and founded a private research institute, the Casa Biochemica. In 1939 Funk returned to America, where he served as consultant to the US Vitamin Corporation and as president of the Funk Foundation for medical research.
It was while working at the Lister Institute in 1912 that Funk first clearly formulated his crucial idea that certain diseases are caused by food deficiencies. He was working on the antiberiberi factor, which he succeeded in extracting from rice husks. He went on to postulate that there were comparable ingredients whose absence from a regular diet would produce scurvy, rickets, and pellagra.
Noting that the antiberiberi factor contained an amine (–NH2) group, Funk proposed to call such ingredients ‘vital amines’, or ‘vitamines’. When it became clear that the amine group was not present in all ‘vitamines’ the term vitamin came to be preferred.

Scientists. . 2011.

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  • FUNK, CASIMIR — (1884–1967), U.S. biochemist, originator of the word vitamin. He was born in Warsaw and obtained his doctorate at the University of Berne in 1904. In 1910 he went to the Lister Institute in London where he studied beriberi, a deficiency disease… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Funk,Casimir — Funk (fŭngk, fo͞ongk), Casimir. 1884 1967. Polish born American biochemist whose research of deficiency diseases led to his discovery of vitamins, which he named in 1912. * * * …   Universalium

  • Funk, Casimir — (1884 1967)    American biochemist. Born in Warsaw, he worked at the Pasteur Institute in Paris where he concentrated on protein chemistry and metabolism. From 1906 10 he was in Berlin, and then went to the Lister Institute in London. He later… …   Dictionary of Jewish Biography

  • Funk, Casimir — ► (1884 1967) Médico polaco, nacionalizado estadounidense. Introdujo el nombre de vitaminas en 1911 y aisló la vitamina B …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Funk — Casimir …   Scientists

  • Casimir Funk — Casimir Funk, eigentlich Kazimierz Funk, (* 23. Februar 1884 in Warschau, Polen; † 19. Januar 1967 in Albany, Bundesstaat New York, USA) war ein polnischer Biochemiker und prägte 1912 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Casimir Funk — o Kazimierz Funk: Bioquímico de origen polaco. Biografía Nació en Varsovia el 23 de febrero de 1884. Realizó sus estudio universitarios en Berna Suiza. En 1912 postuló la existencia de una sustancia llamada vitamina (del latín vita : vida y… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Casimir Funk — Infobox Scientist name = Casimir Funk image width = caption = Kazimierz Funk birth date = birth date|mf=yes|1884|2|23|mf=y birth place = Warsaw, Poland death date = death date and age|mf=yes|1967|1|19|1884|2|23|mf=y death place = New York , U.S.… …   Wikipedia

  • Funk — (Voz inglesa.) ► sustantivo masculino MÚSICA Estilo de rock afroamericano, basado en un ritmo duro y agresivo. * * * funk o funky (ingl.; pronunc. gralm. [fanc] o [fánqui]) adj. y n. m. Se aplica a cierto tipo de *música surgida en Estados Unidos …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Funk (Familienname) — Funk ist ein deutscher Familienname. Bekannte Namensträger Inhaltsverzeichnis A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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