A biochemist and a forerunner in the field of nutritional science, Funk discovered that many human diseases are caused by a lack of certain nutrients that are readily available in some foods. He found cures for such devastating illnesses as beriberi, pellagra, ricketts, and scurvy based on this finding. Funk later did extensive research on hormones.

Funk was born in Warsaw, Poland, the son of a renowned dermatologist. As a young man, he studied organic chemistry at Switzerland's University of Berne, from which he received his Ph.D. in 1904. Afterward, Funk worked at the Pasteur Institute in Paris until 1906, then sporadically at the University of Berlin as an assistant. It was not until 1910, when he accepted an offer to work at London's Lister Institute of Preventative Medicine, that Funk's career as a scientist truly began. In this position, he was assigned to research beriberi, a common illness in...