In brilliant collaboration, Carl and Gerty Cori studied how the body metabolizes glucose and advanced the understanding of how the body produces and stores energy. Their findings were particularly useful in the development of treatments for diabetes. In 1947 the Coris shared a Nobel Prize for their discoveries.
The plaque commemorating the event reads:
Beginning in the 1920s, Carl and Gerty Cori conducted a series of pioneering studies that led to our current understanding of the metabolism of sugars. They elucidated the "Cori cycle," the process by which the body reversibly converts glucose and glycogen, the polymeric storage form of this sugar. They isolated and purified many of the enzymes involved in glucose metabolism. The work of the Coris advanced understanding of glycogen breakdown in cells and of metabolic regulation. Building on their work, others developed improved techniques to control diabetes. The Coris were awarded a Nobel Prize in 1947.
