Choh Hao Li is credited with isolating and purifying eight of the ten different hormones manufactured in the front portion, or adenohypophysis, of the pituitary gland . The pituitary is the pea-sized governing gland which is located at the base of the brain, and it manufactures hormones responsible for metabolism, reproduction, growth, and maturation. One of these is adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) , an adrenal booster used in the treatment of arthritis. Another is somatotropin, or human growth hormone (HGH) , which has proven particularly effective on children whose growth has slowed or stopped because of hypopituitary problems. Li was director of the Hormone Research Laboratory of the University of California at Berkeley, and he received the Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research in 1962.

Li was born in Canton, China, on April 21, 1913, to Mewching Tsui and Kan-chi Li. His father was an industrialist with a high-school education, but Li's parents made sure their...