The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Ulf von Euler in 1970 for his fundamental contributions to understanding neurotransmitters. Born in Stockholm in 1905, he spent his career as a physician, researcher, and pharmacologist at the Karolinska Institutet, leaving behind a profound legacy in the study of chemical signaling within the human nervous system.
Academic Foundations and Early Research
Ulf Svante von Euler-Chelpin commenced his medical studies at the Karolinska Institutet in 1922. Under the mentorship of Robin Fåhraeus, he investigated blood rheology and the pathophysiology of vasoconstriction. Following his doctoral thesis in 1930, he held an assistant professorship in pharmacology supported by G. Liljestrand. His early career featured significant international collaboration; he secured a Rochester Fellowship to study in England with Sir Henry Dale and I. de Burgh Daly, and later worked with figures including Corneille Heymans in Belgium and Gustav Embden in Germany. These formative experiences in biophysics and neuromuscular transmission preceded his appointment as a full professor of physiology at the Karolinska Institutet in 1939, a position he maintained for over three decades.
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During a postdoctoral period in the laboratory of Sir Henry Dale, von Euler identified substance P in 1931 alongside John H. Gaddum. Upon returning to Sweden, his laboratory work resulted in the identification of several endogenous active substances. These included prostaglandin and vesiglandin, which he characterized in 1935, followed by the isolation of piperidine in 1942. His collaboration with Liljestrand also yielded the Euler–Liljestrand mechanism, describing the physiological arterial shunt responding to local oxygen decrease within the lungs.
Noradrenaline and Nobel Recognition
The discovery of noradrenaline in 1946 marked the primary focus of von Euler's subsequent research. His team investigated its distribution, fate within biological tissues, and its storage mechanism in nerve synaptic terminals within intracellular vesicles. This insight into neurotransmitter storage transformed the understanding of nerve function. His scientific contributions were acknowledged globally, culminating in the 1970 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, shared with Sir Bernard Katz and Julius Axelrod. Beyond his research, he served the scientific community as chairman of the board for the Nobel Foundation and as vice-president of the International Union of Physiological Sciences.
Fast facts
- Born: 1905, Stockholm
- Died: 1983, Stockholm
- Education: Karolinska Institutet
- Nobel Prize: Physiology or Medicine, 1970
- Notable Discovery: Noradrenaline, 1946
- Foreign Member of the Royal Society: 1973
- Burial site: Solna cemetery
Questions readers ask
What were the primary scientific discoveries of Ulf von Euler?
His major discoveries include substance P, prostaglandin, vesiglandin, piperidine, and noradrenaline, in addition to the Euler–Liljestrand mechanism.
Where did Ulf von Euler conduct his professional research?
He performed the majority of his research as a professor of physiology at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm.
Achievements
- Foreign Member of the Royal Society — 1973
- Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine — 1970
- Held posts at Karolinska Institutet
- Educated at Karolinska Institutet
- Fields of research: physiology
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