Wylie Vale

Wylie Walker Vale (born July 3, 1941 in Houston , Texas , † January 3, 2012 in Hāna , Hawaii ) was an American biochemist , neurophysiologist and neuroendocrinologist at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies . He was able to contribute significantly to the elucidation of central endocrine regulatory mechanisms, in particular to the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal cortex axis ("stress axis") and to various other neuropeptides .

Live and act

Vale earned a bachelor's degree in biology from Rice University in 1963 and a Ph.D. from Roger Guillemin at Baylor College of Medicine in 1969 in physiology and biochemistry . He followed Guillemin to the Salk Institute for Biological Studies , where Vale spent the rest of his career and was a professor from 1980. Guillemin received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1977 for work that he did in part with Vale . Vale was an adjunct professor at the University of California, San Diego . Robert Sapolsky is one of his students.

Vale is best known for his work on corticotropin-releasing hormones (CRF) and its various influences (related to anxiety, depression, anorexia, diabetes mellitus or drug addiction). Other important work Vales dealt with somatoliberin , with calcitonin and calcitonin gene-related peptides , with melanin-concentrating hormone and its precursors , with inhibin and activin and their receptors , with the CRF receptor and with urocortins that bind to it.

Vale has written more than 600 scientific publications . He was president of the American Endocrine Society and the International Society of Endocrinology . He founded the biotechnology companies Neurocrine Biosciences and Acceleron Pharma .

Vale died unexpectedly in his sleep. He was married and had two children.

Awards (selection)

• 1992 member of the National Academy of Sciences
• 1997 Fred Conrad Koch Award from the Endocrine Society
• 1997 member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• 2002 Endocrine Regulation Prize from the Fondation Ipsen
• 2007 Rolf Luft Award from the Karolinska Institutet ; Prize lecture: The CRF / urocortin network of neuropeptides and receptors: bridging stress and metabolism
• Member of the Institute of Medicine

Web links

• Wylie Vale, Salk scientist, pioneer and leader, dies at 70. In: salk.edu. Salk Institute for Biological Studies , January 6, 2012, accessed February 22, 2019 . 
• Wylie Walker Vale at tributes.com
• Wylie Vale at neurotree.org

literature

• Nicholas Wade: Wylie Vale Jr., Groundbreaking Endocrinologist, Dies at 70th The New York Times , January 15, 2012.
• Dennis McLellan: Wylie W. Vale Jr., who made critical discoveries in brain chemistry, dies. The Washington Post , January 20, 2012.
• Kara Rogers: VALE Wylie (1941-2012). Enzyklopaedia Universalis.
• Kara Rogers: Wylie Walker Vale, Jr. Encyclopædia Britannica .
• Louise M. Bilezikjian: Wylie Vale, Jr., Ph.D. (1941-2012). In: Molecular Endocrinology. 26, 2012, p. 901, doi: 10.1210 / mend.26.6.zmg901 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Wylie Vale. In: nasonline.org. National Academy of Sciences , accessed February 22, 2019 . 
2. ^ Fred Conrad Koch Lifetime Achievement Award. In: endocrine.org. Endocrine Society, accessed February 22, 2019 . 
3. ↑ Book of Members 1780 – present, Chapter V. (PDF; 234 kB) In: American Academy of Arts and Sciences (amacad.org). Retrieved February 22, 2019 . 
4. ↑ Endocrine Regulations Prize ( Memento from September 28, 2017 in the Internet Archive )
5. ↑ Rolf Luft Award 2007. In: ki.se. Karolinska Institutet , accessed on February 22, 2019 .