John Jacob Abel - Definition and Overview

John Jacob Abel (1857 - 1938) was a significant U.S. biochemist and pharmacologist. In 1893 he became the first chair of pharmacology at Johns Hopkins University (one of the many schools at which he was educated), and, in fact, the first full-time professor of pharmacology in the U.S. In 1897 he was the first to isolate epinephrine, also known as adrenaline. He later formulated the idea of the artificial kidney, and, in 1914, 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 crystalization of insulin, though this announcement was met with considerable scepticism, and not generally accepted for many years.

Abel also founded the Journal of Biological Chemistry (1905), and the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (1909).