Philip Anderson Shaffer

Philip Anderson Shaffer (September 20, 1881 – December 4, 1960) was an American biological chemist and medical researcher best known for establishing the protein nature of insulin, for studies of metabolism in typhoid fever patients, and for his long stewardship at Washington University in St. Louis as a department head and dean.

Shaffer was born in Martinsburg, West Virginia. His father was a storekeeper, his mother a music teacher. Attending Martinsburg High School, he attracted the attention of a teacher who was a recent Harvard graduate. The man, A. B. Carmen, facilitated young Philip's transfer at age 15 to the West Virginia University, where he enrolled as a military cadet. As much as he would have liked to volunteer for the Spanish American War, however, his parents refused to give the necessary permission. After receiving a B.A. in chemistry, he enrolled for graduate study at Harvard, receiving a Ph.D. in biological chemistry in 1904, having also worked as a research chemist at McLean Hospital in Waverley, Massachusetts. At McLean, he attempted to find in urine biomarkers for certain mental disorders. ) Shaffer's early work on the determination of sugar levels in blood led to his continuing interest in diabetes. In 1923-1924 with Edward Adelbert Doisy and Michael Somogyi he established the protein nature of insulin and suggested improvements to the original method of Banting and Best for its extraction, that were soon adopted by the Eli Lilly and Company. and a fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was president of the American Society of Biological Chemists 1923-1924). He became an emeritus professor in 1952 and died in 1960.