Juda Hirsch Quastel

Juda Hirsch Quastel, CC, professor of neurochemistry (born 2 October 1899 in Sheffield, England; died 15 October 1987 in Vancouver, BC). Quastel was a founder of modern neurochemistry. During 1927-28, he put forward the active-centre hypothesis of enzyme action, leading to his discovery of the principle of competitive inhibition of an enzyme by a substrate analogue. He pioneered the use of suspensions of E. coli for systematic biochemical studies of the living cell and coined the term "phenylketonuria" in studies of mental defect. His contributions to the study of membrane transport processes include the original demonstration of the necessity of sodium ion in the active, energy-assisted process. A professor at UBC from 1966 to 1983 and then professor emeritus, he received the RSC Flavelle Medal and the Gairdner Foundation International Award (1974) and was a Companion of the Order of Canada (1970). He published more than 370 scientific papers and several books.