Andrew Schally facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Andrew Schally
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| Born |
Andrzej Viktor Schally
30 November 1926 |
| Died | October 2024 (aged 97) |
| Nationality | Polish Canadian American |
| Education | McGill University |
| Medical career | |
| Profession | Medicine |
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| Sub-specialties | Endocrinology |
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Andrzej Viktor "Andrew" Schally (born November 30, 1926 – died October 2024) was a famous Polish-American scientist. He was an endocrinologist, which means he studied hormones and the glands that make them.
Schally won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1977. He shared this big award with two other scientists, Roger Guillemin and Rosalyn Sussman Yalow. They were recognized for their amazing discoveries about how the brain controls hormones. Schally's research showed that a part of the brain called the hypothalamus tells the pituitary gland what to do. The pituitary gland then controls many other hormones in the body. Later in his life, Schally used his knowledge of these brain hormones to look for new ways to treat cancer.
Life and Career
Andrzej Wiktor Schally was born in Wilno, which was part of Poland at the time (now it's Vilnius, Lithuania). His father, Kazimierz Schally, was a general and worked for the President of Poland.
In 1939, when World War II started, Schally and his family had to leave Poland. They went to Romania. After the war, in 1945, he moved to the United Kingdom, where he changed his first name to Andrew. He studied in Scotland and England.
In 1952, Andrew Schally moved to Canada. He earned his PhD in endocrinology from McGill University in 1957. That same year, he moved to the United States to start his research career. He worked mainly at Tulane University. Later, he became a citizen of the United States in 1962. He also did research at the Baylor College of Medicine and the Miami Veteran's Administration Medical Center.
Schally's work helped us understand a lot more about how the brain controls our body's chemistry. In his Nobel speech, he explained how he and his team worked very hard. They studied 250,000 pig brains to get just a tiny amount (5 milligrams) of a hormone called thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH). This helped them figure out what the hormone was made of.
He also studied how growth hormones affect the body. With Roger Guillemin, he found a special brain hormone called gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). This hormone controls two other important hormones, FSH and LH. These hormones are very important for growth, development, and reproduction.
Schally received an honorary doctor's degree from the Jagiellonian University in Poland. He was also recognized as a Fellow of the Kosciuszko Foundation, which honors scientists of Polish background.
Andrew Schally was married to Margaret Rachel White (they later divorced) and Ana Maria de Medeiros-Comaru. He passed away in October 2024, at 97 years old.
Cancer Research
In 1981, scientists found that special versions of the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) that Schally had developed could stop the growth of prostate cancer in rats.
In 1982, Schally and Dr. George Tolis did the first human study using GnRH to treat advanced prostate cancer. Today, this method is often the main treatment for this type of cancer. About 70% of prostate cancer patients use a GnRH-based treatment. Schally said his treatment had fewer side effects than other methods like radiation or chemotherapy. Before this, treatments often involved surgery or giving patients other hormones, based on the work of Charles Brenton Huggins.
Awards and Honors
- American Thyroid Association's Van Meter Award (1969)
- Albert Lasker Award (1975)
- Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1977)
- American Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award (1978)
See also
In Spanish: Andrew Victor Schally para niños
