Yellapragada Subbarao Biography 
Yellapragada Subbarao was a biochemist who discovered the function of adenosine triphosphate as an energy source in the cell. His other contributions include developing of methotrexate for the treatment of cancer. Though majority of his life he spent at US, he remained without a green card till his death. During World War 2, he conducted many researches. A fungus was named Subbaromyces splendens in his honor by American Cyanamid.
He was born to a Telugu Niyogi Brahmin family in Bhimavaram in Andhra Pradesh on 12th January 1895. He matriculated in his third attempt from the Hindu High School, Chennai. He passed the Intermediate Examination from the Presidency College and joined the Madras Medical College. His education was completed with the help of his friends and he married Kasturi Suryanarayana Murthy, daughter of one of those supporters. He started wearing khadi surgical dress as a part of Gandhi's call to boycott British goods which resulted in displease of his surgery professor and only a LMS certificate instead of MBBS. Subbarao tried to enter the Madras Medical Service though his attempt went futile.
Then he joined as a Lecturer in Anatomy department at Dr. Lakshmipathi's Ayurvedic College, Chennai. He was attracted towards the healing powers of Ayurvedic medicines and started doing researches in them. He went to US in 1922 and took a diploma from the Harvard Medical School. Then he joined Harvard as a junior faculty member. Along with Cyrus Fiske, he developed a method for the estimation of phosphorus in tissues as well as body fluids. He discovered the role of phosphocreatine and adenosine triphosphate in muscular activity and earned a PhD during 1930’s. Subbarao was not at all keen in promoting his interests and it often resulted in late recognitions. It’s also believed that due to jealousy Cyrus Fiske did not let Subbarao's contributions see the light of the day.
Published: N/A
Updated: February 17, 2014
