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Wylie Walker Vale Jr. (July 3, 1941 – January 3, 2012) was an American endocrinologist who helped identify hormones controlling basic bodily functions.

Early life and education

Vale was born in Houston, Texas, on July 3, 1941. He completed a B.A. degree in biology at Rice University and obtained a Ph.D. in physiology and biochemistry from Baylor College of Medicine. He commenced employment at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego, California, in 1970.

Career

In collaboration with his advisor and mentor Roger Guillemin, Vale contributed to the discovery, isolation and identification of thyrotropin releasing hormone and gonadotropin-releasing hormone in the 1970s; work that led to the Nobel Prize for Guillemin.

At the Salk Institute, Vale led efforts in identifying the group of hormones involved in human growth, reproduction and temperature. His group discovered, isolated and identified corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRF/CRH) in 1981 and growth hormone releasing factor (GHRF) in 1982.

Vale also founded two biotechnology companies, Neurocrine Biosciences and Acceleron Pharma.

Vale was head of both the Clayton Foundation Laboratories for Peptide Biology and the Helen McLoraine Chair in Molecular Neurobiology at the Salk Institute. He died in 2012.

References

1. Crowley Jr, W. F. (1997). "Citation for the 1997 Fred Conrad Koch Award of the Endocrine Society to Wylie Vale". Endocrine Reviews. 18 (4): 612–613. PMID 9267765.
2. "Wylie W. Vale. Recipient of the 1994 Hans Selye Award". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 771: xii–xiv. 1995. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1995.tb44664.x. PMID 8597388. S2CID 86641613.
3. Montminy, M.; Lee, K. -F.; Rivier, J. E.; Rivier, C.; Reichlin, S. (2012). "Wylie Vale: Neuroendocrine master". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 109 (10): 3604–3605. Bibcode:2012PNAS..109.3604M. doi:10.1073/pnas.1201696109. PMC 3309770. PMID 22355104.
4. Evans, R. (2012). "Wylie Walker Vale Jr (1941–2012)". Nature. 483 (7391): 542. Bibcode:2012Natur.483..542E. doi:10.1038/483542a. PMID 22460892.
5. Stenvers, K. L.; Findlay, J. K. (2012). "Inhibins and activins: Towards the future. A tribute to the late Professor Wylie W. Vale". Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology. 359 (1–2): 1. doi:10.1016/j.mce.2012.03.001. PMID 22406753. S2CID 37455861.
6. ^ "Wylie Vale, Salk scientist, pioneer and leader, dies at 70" (Press release). Salk Institute. January 6, 2012. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
7. Lemke, Greg (8 March 2024). "Roger Guillemin (1924–2024), neuroscientist who showed how the brain controls hormones". Nature. 627 (8003): 266–266. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
8. Wade, Nicholas (23 February 2024). "Roger Guillemin, 100, Nobel-Winning Scientist Stirred by Rivalries, Dies". The New York Times.
9. ^ McLellan, Dennis (January 20, 2012), "Wylie W. Vale Jr., who made critical discoveries in brain chemistry, dies" (reprint (Los Angeles Times original)), The Washington Post, washingtonpost.com, retrieved 2012-01-21
10. Wade, Nicholas (January 15, 2012). "Wylie Vale Jr., Groundbreaking Endocrinologist, Dies at 70". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-01-16.

• American biologists
• Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
• Rice University alumni
• 1941 births
• 2012 deaths
• Members of the National Academy of Medicine