Osamu Hayaishi, Japanese biochemist, Died at 95

  Dead Famous

Osamu Hayaishi was born on January 8, 1920, and died on December 17, 2015.

He was a Japanese biochemist and a professor at Osaka Bioscience Institute.

Osamu was born in Stockton, California, United States, in 1920.

He completed his M.D. from Osaka University in 1942.

Osamu became professor at various universities in Japan and the US, and led about 600 graduate students in his life.

More than 100 his pupils became professors at various universities in Japan.

Osamu was President of International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from 1973 to 1976.

Osamu 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 catalyse the direct incorporation of molecular oxygen into various substrates.

Citing his “outstanding and pioneering contributions to biomedical sciences and enzymology,” the Wolf Foundation awarded Hayaishi the 1986 Wolf Prize in Medicine “for his discovery of the oxygenase enzymes and elucidation of their structure and biological importance”.

Osamu Hayaishi passed away at age 95 in December 2015.