Peter Hochachka

Who was Peter Hochachka?

Peter William Hochachka, OC FRSC was a Canadian professor and zoologist.

Born in Bordenave, Alberta, the son of the very Rev. William and Pearl Hochachka, he obtained his B.Sc. from the University of Alberta in 1959. He received his M.Sc. from Dalhousie University and a Ph.D. from Duke University in 1964.

From 1966 until his retirement in 2002, he taught at the University of British Columbia in the Department of Zoology. Along with George N. Somero, he pioneered the study of biochemical adaptation to the environment and remained a world leader in this field until his death. His work included studies of enzyme adaptation to temperature and pressure, the mechanisms underlying tolerance to low oxygen levels in animals, the bioenergetics of exercise, metabolism during diving in seals, allometric scaling, and human adaptations to high-altitude hypoxia.

He authored articles for nearly 400 publications and wrote or co-wrote seven books. He is the co-author, with George Somero, of Biochemical Adaptation: Mechanism and Process in Physiological Evolution.