Earl Sutherland was a biochemist who extended research and knowledge into the mechanisms by which hormones regulate body functions. His early work showed how the hormone adrenaline regulates the breakdown of sugar in the liver to release a surge of energy when the body is under stress. Later, Sutherland discovered a chemical within cells called cyclic adenosine 3'5'-monophosphate, or cyclic AMP. This chemical provided a universal link between hormones and the regulation of metabolism within cells. For this work, Sutherland was awarded the Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine in 1971.

Earl Wilbur Sutherland, Jr., the fifth of six children in his family, was born on November 19, 1915, in Burlingame, Kansas, a small farming community. His father, Earl Wilbur Sutherland, a Wisconsin native, had attended Grinnell College for two years and his mother attended college and received some nursing training. In 1933, Sutherland entered Washburn College in Topeka, Kansas. Supporting...