Eijkman was awarded the Nobel Prize for his discovery of the role polished rice played in causing polyneuritis in chickens. This work led to the first real understanding of a possible cure for beriberi and was the starting point of the field of vitamin research.

While a student in Amsterdam he served for 2 years as assistant to the professor of physiology, Thomas Place, under whose guidance he wrote his thesis on polarisation of nerves. Immediately after graduation in 1883 he went to the Dutch East Indies and worked in Java and Sumatra as medical officer …