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Earl Davie papers, 1952-2017

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Davie, Earl
Title
Earl Davie papers
Dates
1952-2017 (inclusive)
Quantity
22.37 cubic feet (19 boxes including 23 3.5" floppy disks, 4 ZIP drives, 6 CDs)
Collection Number
6451 (Accession No. 6451-001)
Summary
Faculty and research materials for a former professor and chairman of the University of Washington Department of Biochemistry
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Access to portions of the collection is restricted. Contact University of Washington Libraries Special Collections for details.

Digital media is closed until evaluated.

Request at UW

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Earl Warren Davie was born in 1927 in Tacoma, Washington. He attended the University of Washington where he took a course in biochemistry taught by Donald Hanahan. Davie got his first taste of laboratory research when Hanahan invited him to work in his laboratory on a senior project. He enjoyed it immensely, and when he received his B.S. in 1950 Davie decided to remain at the University of Washington to do graduate studies. He chose to work with Hans Neurath to learn about protein structure and function. For his thesis research, Neurath suggested that Davie compare trypsinogen and trypsin to gain some insight into the mechanism of zymogen activation. This resulted in Davie and Neurath's isolation of an acidic peptide that was generated by limited proteolysis during the activation of trypsinogen. The appearance of this peptide correlated exactly with the formation of the enzymatic activity of trypsin. Little did Davie and Neurath realize that “limited proteolysis” would be a common mechanism seen over and over again in biological systems, including the blood coagulation to which Davie would eventually devote much of his research.

Davie received his PhD in 1954. Neurath recommended he do postdoctoral work with Fritz Lipmann. After 2 years in Lipmann's laboratory, Davie accepted a faculty position in the Department of Biochemistry at Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Davie's initial studies in Cleveland dealt with the isolation and identification of aminoacyl adenylates that had been proposed as intermediates in the carboxyl activation of amino acids. In 1957, Davie met Oscar Ratnoff, a distinguished Professor of Medicine and expert in blood coagulation at Western Reserve University. The meeting turned Davie's career in an entirely new direction as he began to collaborate with Ratnoff. Davie's first project with Ratnoff involved the isolation of a plasma protein that was missing from a patient named John Hageman whose blood didn't clot when added to a glass test tube. Using column chromatography, Davie was able to isolate the Hageman factor, which is now known as factor XII. He and Ratnoff continued the purification of Hageman factor as well as PTA (plasma thromboplastin antecedent or factor XI) and Christmas factor (factor IX).

In 1962 Davie received a letter from Hans Neurath inviting him to join the faculty in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Source: https://www.jbc.org/article/S0021-9258(20)72075-2/fulltext

see also: https://sites.uw.edu/biochemistry/autumn-2020-newsletter/remembering-earl-davie/

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Content Description

Correspondence, memos, letters of recommendation, mailings, grant applications, fellowship applications, reports, lab notebooks, syllabi, class readings, lecture notes, blank exams, manuscripts, drafts, articles, notes, minutes, travel materials, photographs, computer disks, and other materials from the career of a professor and later department head of Biochemistry at the University of Washington. Includes applications and related materials for which Davie served as a sponsor.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Creator's copyrights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Arranged in 5 series.

  • Series 1, Biographical and Personal Materials, 1995-2017
  • Series 2, Correspondence, 1962-2011
  • Series 3, Research Files and Publications, 1956-2007
  • Series 4, University and Teaching Files, 1962-2012
  • Series 5, Conference, Committee, and Chapter Submission Files, 1973-1993

Preservation Note

Digital media is closed until evaluated.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 

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Subject Terms

  • University Archives/Faculty Papers (University of Washington)

Other Creators

  • Corporate Names

    • University of Washington. University Archives
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