Edward Slater | |
|---|---|
 photo by Piet Borst | |
| Born | (1917-01-16)16 January 1917[1] |
| Died | 26 March 2016(2016-03-26) (aged 99)[1] Painswick, UK |
| Alma mater |
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| Awards |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | |
| Institutions | |
| Doctoral advisor | David Keilin |
| Notable students | Piet Borst |
Edward Charles SlaterFRS FAA (16 January 1917 – 26 March 2016), also known asBill Slater, was an Australianbiochemist who spent most of his career at theUniversity of Amsterdam.
Slater was raised in Australia. He received a training in biochemistry at theOrmond College of theUniversity of Melbourne.[1][2][3] In 1946, he moved toCambridge, where he earned his PhD under the supervision ofDavid Keilin.[2][3]
In 1955, Slater joined the medical faculty of theUniversity of Amsterdam, where he remained until retiring in 1985.[1][2][3] He is recognised for his contributions to the development of Dutch biochemistry.[3][4]
Slater managed the journalBiochimica et Biophysica Acta, turning it into one of the most influential publications in the field.[3][4] He wrote a history of the journal,Biochimica et biophysica acta: the story of a biochemical journal, which was published in 1986.[1]
He served as the president of theInternational Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from 1988 until 1991.[5]
Slater made contributions to the identification and understanding of the physiological role of the components of therespiratory chain, especially of the variouscytochrome bcomplexes,iron–sulfur proteins and other iron-containing substances. He showed that the binding of certain inhibitors ofoxidative phosphorylation acting at different sites (antimycin on electron transport,oligomycin on the coupling between electron transport and oxidative phosphorylation, andaurovertin in theATP-synthesising enzyme) can be positivelycooperative, and that the degree of cooperativity depends on the state of themitochondrial membrane. He also demonstrated negativecooperative binding of aligand to anenzyme (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide toglyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase), which has implications for the mechanisms of cooperative binding generally.[6]
In 1964, Slater became a member of theRoyal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.[1] He was elected aFellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1975.[6][7]
In 1984, he was appointed a Knight in theOrder of the Netherlands Lion, and in 1985 he was elected a CorrespondingFellow of the Australian Academy of Science.[5]
He was awardedhonorary degrees by theUniversity of Southampton (1993) and theUniversity of Bari (1998).[1]
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