Julius Axelrod

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Julius Axelrod
Born(1912-05-30)May 30, 1912
DiedDecember 29, 2004(2004-12-29) (aged 92)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materCity College of New York (BS)
New York University (MS)
George Washington University (PhD)
Known forCatecholamine metabolism
Spouse
Sally Taub
(m. 1938; died 1992)
ChildrenTwo sons - Paul and Alfred
Awards
Scientific career
Fields
Bernard Brodie[citation needed
]

Julius Axelrod (May 30, 1912 – December 29, 2004)

epinephrine, norepinephrine, and, as was later discovered, dopamine. Axelrod also made major contributions to the understanding of the pineal gland and how it is regulated during the sleep-wake cycle.[6][7][8]

Education and early life

Axelrod was born in New York City, the son of

vitamin supplements added to food. While working at the Department of Health, he attended night school and received his master's in sciences degree from New York University
in 1941.

Research

Analgesic research

In 1946, Axelrod took a position working under

acetaminophen
(paracetamol, Tylenol), be used instead.

Catecholamine research

Julius Axelrod working at the blackboard on the structure of catecholamines
Julius Axelrod working at the blackboard on the structure of catecholamines

In 1949, Axelrod began work at the National Heart Institute, forerunner of the

George Washington University Medical School
. Allowed to submit some of his previous research toward his degree, he graduated one year later, in 1955. Axelrod then returned to the NIH and began some of the key research of his career.

Axelrod received his Nobel Prize for his work on the release, reuptake, and storage of the neurotransmitters

Prozac
, which block the reuptake of another neurotransmitter, serotonin.

In 1958, Axelrod also discovered and characterized the enzyme

catechol-O-methyl transferase, which is involved in the breakdown of catecholamines.[10]

Pineal gland research

Some of Axelrod's later research focused on the pineal gland. He and his colleagues showed that the hormone melatonin is generated from tryptophan, as is the neurotransmitter serotonin. The rates of synthesis and release follows the body's circadian rhythm driven by the suprachiasmatic nucleus within the hypothalamus. Axelrod and colleagues went on to show that melatonin had wide-ranging effects throughout the central nervous system, allowing the pineal gland to function as a biological clock. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1971.[11] He continued to work at the National Institute of Mental Health at the NIH until his death in 2004.

Many of his papers and awards are held at the

National Library of Medicine.[12]

Awards and honors

Axelrod was awarded the

Research trainees

Solomon Snyder
,
Irwin Kopin, Ronald W. Holz, Rudi Schmid, Bruce R. Conklin, Ron M. Burch, Juan M. Saavedra, Marty Zatz, Michael Brownstein, Chris Felder, Lewis Landsberg, Robert Kanterman, Richard J. Wurtman.[citation needed]

Personal life

Axelrod injured his left eye when an

anti-Semitism.[14]
His wife of 53 years, Sally Taub Axelrod, died in 1992. At his death, on December 29, 2004, he was survived by two sons, Paul and Alfred, and three grandchildren.

Political views

After receiving the Nobel Prize in 1970, Axelrod used his visibility to advocate several science policy issues. In 1973 U.S. President

Christian Anfinsen, organized a petition by scientists opposed to the new agency, arguing that by focusing solely on cancer, public funding would not be available for research into other, more solvable, medical problems. Axelrod also lent his name to several protests against the imprisonment of scientists in the Soviet Union
. Axelrod was a member of the Board of Sponsors of the Federation of American Scientists and the International Academy of Science, Munich.

See also

References

  1. ^
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  9. ^ "American Jewish Recipients of the Nobel Prize". Fau.edu. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  10. .
  11. ^ "Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter A" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
  12. ^ "Julius Axelrod Papers 1910-2004 (bulk 1946-1999)". National Library of Medicine.
  13. ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  14. ^ Craver, Carl F. (2008). "Axelrod, Julius". Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Vol. 19. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 122.

Further reading

External links