Peter Hochachka

Peter William Hochachka, OC FRSC (March 9, 1937 – September 16, 2002) was a Canadian professor and zoologist at the University of British Columbia (UBC).[1] He is known for his foundational work in creating the new field of adaptational biochemistry,[2][3] connecting metabolic biochemistry with comparative physiology.[4]

Peter William Hochachka
Born(1937-03-09)March 9, 1937
Bordenave, Alberta
DiedSeptember 16, 2002(2002-09-16) (aged 65)
Vancouver
NationalityCanadian
Occupation(s)Zoologist, biochemist
EmployerUniversity of British Columbia
Known forAdaptational biochemistry
AwardsFlavelle Medal, Killam Memorial Prize, NSERC Gold Medal

Hochachka did extensive field and laboratory work studying the biochemical basis for mechanisms of adaptation in multiple species and environments, including water (trout, tuna fish, squid, oysters), air (locusts, hummingbirds) and land (turtles, seals, and humans).[1] His book Biochemical Adaptation: Mechanism and Process in Physiological Evolution (1973) became "the bible for many comparative physiologists grasping for mechanisms to explain the diversity of adaptations".[5] Subsequent volumes in 1985 and 2002 continued to push the boundaries of the field.[5]

Early life and education

Peter William Hochachka was born in Bordenave, Alberta, the son of the very Rev. William and Pearl Hochachka. He obtained his B.Sc. from the University of Alberta in 1959. He received his M.Sc. from Dalhousie University and a Ph.D. from Duke University in 1964.[6]

Career

Hochachka joined the University of British Columbia in 1966, remaining there until his retirement in 2002. He taught at in the Department of Zoology. Along with George N. Somero, he pioneered the study of biochemical adaptation to the environment, and is considered to have "created the discipline of adaptational biochemistry".[2]

Hochachka was considered a world leader in the field of defense mechanisms against low oxygen levels.[7] His work included studies of enzyme adaptation to temperature and pressure, the mechanisms underlying tolerance to hypoxia in animals, the bioenergetics of exercise, metabolism during diving in seals, allometric scaling, and human adaptations to high-altitude hypoxia.[1][4]

Hochachka did extensive work in both the field and the laboratory. He was involved in research expeditions to the Amazon Basin, the Galapagos Islands, the Arctic. the Antarctic, the high Andes and the Himalayas. These included at least nine expeditions, some of which Hochachka organized, on the National Science Foundation's vessel RV Alpha Helix.[8][9]

Hochachka authored articles for nearly 400 publications and wrote or co-wrote seven books. He is the co-author, with George Somero, of Biochemical Adaptation: Mechanism and Process in Physiological Evolution, first published in 1973 and described ten years later as an "overwhelming success".[10] They published an updated and expanded edition in 1984[10] and a third volume in 2002, which was praised for its outstanding scope,[11][12] "the sheer variety of material covered and the obvious excitement the authors bring to these topics".[5]

Peter W. Hochachka died of prostate cancer and lymphoma on September 16, 2002. One of his last publications was a "groundbreaking paper"[7] co-authored with his surgeons on the connections between hypoxia and prostate cancer.[13][14][15]

Peter Hochachka was married to Brenda Hochachka (née Clayton). They had three children: Claire, Gail and Gareth.[7][3]

Honours

Highly honoured,[16] Hochachka was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1983.[17] He was awarded the Royal Society of Canada's Flavelle Medal in 1990.[18]

Hochachka was awarded the Canada Council Killam Memorial Prize in Science in 1993 and the NSERC Gold Medal for Science and Engineering in 1995 (now the Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering).[19] In 1999, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.[2]

See also

References
  1. Somero, George N.; Suarez, Raul K. (17 March 2005). "Peter Hochachka: Adventures in Biochemical Adaptation". Annual Review of Physiology. 67 (1): 25–37. doi:10.1146/annurev.physiol.67.041904.120836. ISSN 0066-4278. PMID 15709951.
  2. Office of the Secretary to the Governor General. "Mr. Peter William Hochachka". The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  3. Jones, David R. (10 October 2002). "In Memoriam: Peter Hochachka". UBC News. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  4. Buck, L.T.; Burness, G.; Campbell, K.L.; Darveau, C.-A.; Driedzic, W.; Guderley, H.; McClelland, G.B.; Moon, T.W.; Moyes, C.D.; Schulte, P.M. (October 2018). "50 years of comparative biochemistry: The legacy of Peter Hochachka" (PDF). Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. 224: 1–11. doi:10.1016/j.cbpb.2018.02.002. PMID 29501788. S2CID 3678894. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  5. Moon, Thomas W. (15 January 2003). "Blueprint for an adventure". Journal of Experimental Biology. 206 (2): 212–213. doi:10.1242/jeb.00099. S2CID 84074700. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  6. "Peter W. Hochachka Memorial Lecture". Department of Zoology. University of British Columbia. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  7. "In Memoriam" (PDF). Trek. 57 (1): 51. 2003. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  8. Suarez, Raul K.; Jones, David R. (November 2002). "Peter W. Hochachka (1937–2002)". Nature. 420 (6912): 140. doi:10.1038/420140a. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 12432377. S2CID 4407680.
  9. Macdonald, A. G. (2021). "Molecular Adaptation to High Pressure: Proteins in Deep-Sea Animals". Life at high pressure : in the deep sea and other environments. Cham: Springer. pp. 151–172. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-67587-5_6. ISBN 978-3-030-67586-8. S2CID 238035627. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  10. Powers, Dennis (16 November 1984). "Environmental Physiology: Biochemical Adaptation. Peter W. Hochachka and George N. Somero. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J., 1984. xx, 538 pp., illus. $60; paper, $19.50". Science. 226 (4676): 826–827. doi:10.1126/science.226.4676.826.b. S2CID 239868149. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  11. Stock, Jay T. (1 May 2004). "Book Review of Biochemical Adaptation: Mechanism and Process in Physiological Evolution. P. W. Hochachka and G. N. Somero. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002). [Pp. 466]. ISBN: 0-19-511702-6 62.50 hdbk; 0-19-511703-4, 25.00 pbk". Annals of Human Biology. 31 (3): 370–371. doi:10.1080/03014460410001670102. ISSN 0301-4460. S2CID 72814934. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  12. Hochachka, Peter W.; Somero, George N. (2002). Biochemical adaptation : mechanism and process in physiological evolution. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-511702-6.
  13. Baron, Antonella; Migita, Toshiro; Tang, Dan; Loda, Massimo (2003). "Fatty acid synthase: A metabolic oncogene in prostate cancer?". Journal of Cellular Biochemistry. 91 (1): 47–53. doi:10.1002/jcb.10708. ISSN 0730-2312. PMID 14689581. S2CID 26175683. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  14. Lane, Nick (November 2018). Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life. Oxford University Press. pp. 262–263. ISBN 978-0-19-883190-7. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  15. Hochachka, P.W.; Rupert, J.L.; Goldenberg, L.; Gleave, M.; Kozlowski, P. (August 2002). "Going malignant: the hypoxia-cancer connection in the prostate". BioEssays. 24 (8): 749–757. doi:10.1002/bies.10131. PMID 12210536.
  16. Somero, G.N. (2002). "A tribute to Peter William Hochachka, OC, PhD, LLD, FRSC: Killam Professor of Zoology at the University of British Columbia 9 March 1937 to 16 September 2002" (PDF). Journal of Experimental Biology. 205: 3767–3768. doi:10.1242/jeb.205.24.3767. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  17. "Member Directory". The Royal Society of Canada. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  18. "Past Award Winners". The Royal Society of Canada. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  19. Government of Canada, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (23 July 2020). "NSERC - Gerhard Herzberg". Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). Retrieved 1 March 2022.
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