Eugene Goldwasser (October 14, 1922 – December 17, 2010) was an American biochemist at the University of Chicago who identified erythropoietin, a hormone that plays a vital role in the synthesis of red blood cells.
[1] He received a scholarship to attend the University of Chicago and worked at the school's defense-oriented toxicity laboratory during World War II before earning his undergraduate degree in biochemistry in 1943.
[1] Hypotheses had been made in the early 20th century that there was a substance that triggered the body to produce more red blood cells, but no one had been able to identify a material that matched the description.
His initial approach involved the step-by-step removal of different organs from laboratory rats, leading to the conclusion that anemia resulted from a substance produced in the kidneys.
[5] A resident of Hyde Park, Chicago, Goldwasser died at his home there at the age of 88 on December 17, 2010, due to renal failure that occurred as a complication of prostate cancer.