William P. Murphy

William Parry Murphy (1892–1987) was an American physician who shared the 1934 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for research on liver therapy for pernicious anemia.

George R. Minot: George Richards Minot (1885–1950) was an American physician who shared the 1934 Nobel Prize for work on liver therapy for pernicious anemia. Minot recruited Murphy to investigate whether liver-rich diets could treat pernicious anemia.
Pernicious anemia: Pernicious anemia is a vitamin B12 deficiency caused by failure to absorb the vitamin, usually because intrinsic factor is lacking. This was the disease Murphy investigated and the condition his liver-based treatment could alleviate.
George Minot and William Murphy's liver diet experiment: A 1926 clinical study found that a liver-rich diet improved blood counts and symptoms in patients with pernicious anemia. Murphy and Minot tested the therapeutic idea that led to their shared Nobel Prize.
Vitamin B12 therapy: Vitamin B12 therapy treats deficiency with oral or injectable forms of the vitamin. It replaced bulky liver diets and extracts once B12 was identified as the effective factor.
George H. Whipple: George Hoyt Whipple (1878–1976) was an American physician and pathologist who shared the 1934 Nobel Prize for research on liver therapy for anemia. Whipple’s animal experiments on anemia supplied the rationale for Minot and Murphy’s clinical trial.
Vitamin B12: Vitamin B12 is an essential nutrient needed for DNA synthesis, red blood cell formation, and normal nervous-system function. Later research identified B12 as the active nutritional factor behind the benefit Murphy observed.
George Whipple's anemia experiments: George Whipple’s animal studies showed that liver and other foods rich in blood-forming material helped dogs recover from anemia after blood loss. Whipple’s findings inspired the clinical liver treatment Murphy and Minot evaluated.
Vitamin B12 discovery: Vitamin B12 was isolated in 1948 by researchers investigating the active factor in liver-based treatment for pernicious anemia. Murphy’s treatment studies helped establish the clinical problem that drove the vitamin’s isolation.
Edwin Cohn: Edwin Joseph Cohn (1892–1953) was an American chemist who developed methods to separate blood plasma proteins. Cohn’s group helped turn liver extracts into a concentrated treatment after Murphy’s clinical work.
Intrinsic factor: Intrinsic factor is a stomach-produced protein required for vitamin B12 absorption in the terminal ileum. Its absence explains why ordinary dietary B12 cannot correct most cases of pernicious anemia.

Linked from 1 page

George MinotRelated: Murphy worked with Minot to conduct and report the dietary treatment study.