Gunnar Blix and his discovery of sialic acids. Fascinating molecules in glycobiology

Abstract

Gunnar Blix (Figure 1) was born in Lund in 1894. He was the son of a famous physiologist, Magnus Blix. After medical school, he started in research and defended his thesis entitled Studies on Diabetic Lipaemia in 1925 at the University of Lund. Previously he had been employed by the university as a research fellow in anatomy and medical chemistry, and for shorter periods of time he also practised as a physician. Directly after his dissertation he moved to Uppsala, where he obtained a position in 1926 as associate professor (laborator) and four years later succeeded Carl Thore Mörner as professor in Medical and Physiological Chemistry. This professorship had been created in 1853. Gunnar Blix held the professorship for 31 years (1930–1961). During the years 1956–1961 he also served as Deputy Vice Chancellor in the university administration. He was Editor-in-Chief for Acta Societatis Medicorum Upsaliensis (from 1972 Upsala Journal of Medical Sciences) between 1943 and 1969. After his retirement he continued to work until 1970 as executive member of the Swedish Foundation for Nutritional Research (Stiftelsen Svensk Näringsforskning). Gunnar Blix died on 10 June 1981 at the age of 87 years.