John Buchanan (biologist)

John Buchanan
Born
John Machlin Buchanan

(1917-09-29)September 29, 1917
DiedJune 25, 2007(2007-06-25) (aged 89)
EducationDePauw University (BS)
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (MS)
Harvard University (PhD)
Known forStudy of purine biosynthesis
AwardsEli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry
Scientific career
FieldsBiochemistry
InstitutionsMassachusetts Institute of Technology
Doctoral advisorAlbert Baird Hastings
Doctoral studentsChen Lan-bo

John Machlin Buchanan (September 29, 1917 – June 25, 2007) was an American professor of biochemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He arrived at MIT in 1953 and retired in 1988 after a distinguished career in which he was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences. He played a key role in the development of MIT's Department of Biology as a major force in biochemistry research and was himself a prominent researcher of purine biosynthesis. He died in 2007 at age 89.