Miodrag Radulovacki facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Miodrag Radulovacki
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| Born | 28 April 1933 Parage, Kingdom of Yugoslavia
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| Died | (aged 81) |
| Nationality | Serbian |
| Education | Karlovci High School, Serbia |
| Alma mater | Medical Faculty, University of Belgrade, Serbia, (MD), (Ph.D.) |
| Known for | Adenosine Sleep Theory, 1984 Pharmacological Approaches in the Treatment of Sleep Apnea Yugoslav Student Summer Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Champaign-Urbana, 1990-2000 The Miodrag Radulovacki Family Prize for Excellence in Basic Sciences at the UIC College of Medicine, 2005 |
| Awards | Inventor of the Year Award, 2010, College of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago Foreign Member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, 2003, Belgrade, Serbia |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Neuropharmacology, Sleep and sleep disorders, Sleep-related breathing disorders |
| Institutions | University of Belgrade, Serbia UCLA – Brain Research Institute, 1964-1965 University of Khartoum, Sudan, 1967-1970 College of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), 1970 - 2014 |
Miodrag (Misha) Radulovacki was a brilliant Serbian American scientist and inventor. He was a professor of Pharmacology at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). His amazing work helped us understand sleep better.
Dr. Radulovacki is famous for two main things. First, he came up with the Adenosine Sleep Theory. This idea explains how a chemical in our bodies helps us fall asleep. Second, he did important research on how to treat sleep apnea with medicines. Sleep apnea is a condition where people stop breathing for short times while they sleep.
Working with David W. Carley, Dr. Radulovacki invented several new drug treatments for sleep apnea. The University of Illinois even gave them an "Inventors of the Year" award in 2010. He wrote over 170 scientific papers. He was also a special member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts.
Contents
Early Life and School Days
Miodrag Radulovacki was born on April 28, 1933. His hometown was Parage, a small village in northwestern Serbia. Both of his parents were elementary school teachers.
When World War II began, his father joined the Yugoslav Army. Sadly, he was later captured by the German forces. In 1943, Miodrag moved to Sremski Karlovci. His mother got a teaching job there.
Sremski Karlovci is a beautiful old Serbian town. It sits by the Danube River. Miodrag's family had lived there for more than 200 years. He went to Karlovci High School, which is the oldest high school in Serbia. He called it the "Serbian Cambridge and Oxford" because it was so good. Miodrag graduated as the top student in 1951. After that, he got into the University of Belgrade School of Medicine.
Education and Scientific Journey
Miodrag Radulovacki finished medical school at the University of Belgrade in 1959. He then earned his PhD in Neurophysiology. This field studies how the nervous system works. His PhD research looked at "Sleep in Split-Brain Cats." He did some of this work at the Brain Research Institute at UCLA.
He spent about 18 months at UCLA. His mentor there was Ross Adey. One of his findings was that sleep patterns in cats with a "split brain" were still connected. This showed how important the brainstem is for controlling sleep.
In 1966, Dr. Radulovacki became a teacher at the University of Khartoum in Sudan. There, he found a new way to collect cerebrospinal fluid from cats' brains. This fluid surrounds the brain and spinal cord. His new method helped scientists study brain chemicals during sleep and wakefulness. This was important because scientists at the time believed certain chemicals, like serotonin, helped us sleep.
In 1970, Dr. Radulovacki joined the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). He became an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology. During his time at UIC, he wrote over 170 scientific papers.
Amazing Discoveries About Sleep
The Adenosine Sleep Theory
In 1984, Dr. Radulovacki shared his big idea: the Adenosine Sleep Theory. He thought of this theory after reading about how a chemical called adenosine affects our bodies. Scientists had found that blocking adenosine receptors (special spots on cells) made people feel more awake.
Dr. Radulovacki wondered: if blocking adenosine makes you awake, what if we stimulate those receptors? Could it make you sleep? He knew that other experiments had shown adenosine could make brain cells less active. Also, some early studies suggested that adenosine could make animals sleepy. Before Dr. Radulovacki's theory, people thought adenosine worked with serotonin to cause sleep. But no one knew how. His theory helped explain this link.
Working with David W. Carley on Sleep Apnea
In 1993, Dr. Radulovacki teamed up with David W. Carley. Dr. Carley was a professor of Medicine and Bioengineering at UIC. They decided to focus on finding new ways to treat sleep apnea. At that time, there were no medicines for this condition.
They started by testing different compounds on rats with a sleep apnea-like condition. They found good results using serotonin and other substances. Their discoveries were so important that the UIC got many patents for their new drug treatments. These patents protect their inventions.
Here are some of the patents they received for their work:
- "Hypnotic Composition and Method of Inducing Sleep" (1985)
- "Pharmacological Treatment for Sleep Apnea" (2001)
- "Neuropharmacological Treatments of Sleep-Related Breathing Disorders" (2003)
- "Pharmacological Treatment for Sleep Apnea" (2004)
- "Neuropharmacological Treatment of Sleep-Related Breathing Disorders" (2005)
- "Pharmacological Treatment for Sleep Apnea" (2007)
- "Method for Treating Sleep Apnea" (2010)
- "Methods for treating sleep disorders by cholecystokinin (CCK) receptor B antagonists" (2011)
- "Pharmacological treatments for sleep disorders (apnoe) with prostanoid receptor antagonists" (2011)
Awards and Recognition
Inventor of the Year 2010
In 2010, Dr. Radulovacki and Dr. Carley were named "Inventors of the Year" by the University of Illinois. They were honored for creating many possible treatments for sleep apnea. Many of these treatments are now being developed for use by patients. Their work even led to a new company called Pier Pharmaceuticals, which focuses on treating obstructive sleep apnea.
Membership in the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
In October 2003, Dr. Radulovacki became a Foreign Member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Belgrade. This was a great honor. He was recognized for his important scientific work in Neuropharmacology, sleep disorders, and sleep-related breathing problems.
Helping Students and His Hometown
Student Summer Program
In 1990, Dr. Radulovacki started the Yugoslav Student Summer Program. This program allowed students from the Universities of Belgrade and Novi Sad in Yugoslavia to study at the University of Illinois in Chicago and Champaign-Urbana. The program ran for 12 years and helped 304 students.
Giving Back to His Community
Dr. Radulovacki was also very generous. In 2005, he created the Miodrag Radulovacki Family Prize. This award is given every year to a medical student at the University of Illinois College of Medicine. It honors students who show great honesty in their thinking and have strong academic achievements. The prize includes a plaque and $1,000.
He also gave a lot to his hometown of Sremski Karlovci.
- In 2007, he helped restore the famous "Four Lions Fountain" in the city's main square.
- In 2009, he helped fix up the old buildings of the Ecological Center in Karlovci.
- In 2010, he restored a monument to the Serbian poet, Branko Radičević, near Karlovci.
- In 2011, he paid for a new eco-friendly building at the Karlovci Ecological Center. This building uses solar panels and geothermal heat pumps. Because of his generosity, the center was renamed the Ecological Center Radulovački.
Personal Life
Dr. Radulovacki lived in Chicago. He enjoyed cross-country skiing. He even took part in several long ski marathons in Wisconsin. Dr. Radulovacki passed away on May 27, 2014, in Belgrade, Serbia. He was on a trip to promote his charity projects. He is survived by his two sons and four grandchildren.
