Albert Lester Lehninger (February 17, 1917 – March 4, 1986)[2] was an American chemist in the field of bioenergetics.
In 1948, he discovered, with Eugene P. Kennedy, that mitochondria are the site of oxidative phosphorylation in eukaryotes, which ushered in the modern study of energy transduction.
This last is a widely used text for introductory biochemistry courses at the college and university levels.
His doctoral research involved the metabolism of acetoacetate and fatty acid oxidation by liver cells.
In 1952, he went to the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, assuming the title of DeLamar Professor of the Department of Biological Chemistry.