Georg Popják

George Joseph Popják (György Popják; born 5 May 1914, Kiskundorozsma, Szeged – 30 December 1998, Westwood, Los Angeles) was a Hungarian-British biochemist, medical researcher, and medical school professor.

Biography George Joseph Popják, whose father was a civil engineer, studied medicine at Franz Joseph University. There he received in 1938 his medical doctorate Sub Auspices Gubernatoris in a special ceremony presided over by a representative of the head of state. The special ceremony, attended by many prominent citizens, began by the university choir singing the national anthem of Hungary, then Popják gave a scientific presentation and was given a special diploma and a gold ring. After graduating with his medical degree, he worked as an anatomy assistant at Franz Joseph University before beginning further training as a pathologist. Upon his death he was survived by his widow, who died in 2004 at age 93.

Research George Joseph Popják, who published around 230 scientific publications during his career, began his biochemical research into lipid metabolism in the 1940s, particularly the biosynthesis of sterols and other lipids. From the early 1950s onwards he concentrated on the investigation of cholesterol biosynthesis. In doing so he used substrates that were radioactively labelled at defined molecular positions. 1966 — (jointly with Conforth) CIBA Medal and Prize of the Biochemical Society 1967 — (jointly with Cornforth) Stouffer Prize 1976 — Award in Lipid Chemistry of the American Oil Chemists' Society 1977 — elected a Fellow of the New York Academy of Sciences

catalog entry at Wellcome Collection