Norair Sisakian
From plant biochemistry to space biology
Norair Sisakian was a Soviet Armenian biochemist born in Ashtarak in 1907. He graduated from Moscow’s Timiryazev Agricultural Academy and joined the Bach Institute of Biochemistry in 1935. His research connected the life of plants with chemical processes inside their cells.
He investigated enzymes, the functions of cellular structures and processes within chloroplasts. Sisakian also helped develop space biology, examining questions about the effects of radiation and spaceflight conditions on living systems.
He combined scientific research with international cooperation and presided over UNESCO’s General Conference in 1964. Sisakian died in 1966. His house museum in Ashtarak preserves the story of a career that reached from an Armenian town into biochemistry, space research and international scientific exchange.