Bengt Samuelsson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Bengt Ingemar Samuelsson (1934-05-21)21 May 1934 Halmstad, Sweden |
| Died | 5 July 2024(2024-07-05) (aged 90) |
| Alma mater | Lund University |
| Known for | Prostaglandins |
| Awards |
|
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Biochemistry |
Bengt Ingemar Samuelsson (21 May 1934 – 5 July 2024) was a Swedishbiochemist. He shared withSune K. Bergström andJohn R. Vane the 1982Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for discoveries concerningprostaglandins and related substances.[3][4]
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(July 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Samuelsson was born inHalmstad in southwest Sweden, studied atLund University, and was a professor in medical and physiological chemistry atKarolinska Institute in Stockholm in 1973. He was president ofKarolinska Institute from 1982 to 1995 and chairman of theNobel Foundation from 1993 to 2005.
| This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(July 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Discussing the role ofprostaglandins in the body, Samuelsson explained, "It's a control system for the cells that participates in many biological functions. There are endless possibilities of manipulating this system in drug development."
His research interests were originally incholesterol metabolism with importance to reaction mechanisms. Following the structural work on prostaglandins along with Sune Bergström he was interested mainly in the transformation products ofarachidonic acid. This has led to the identification ofendoperoxides,thromboxanes and theleukotrienes, and his group has chiefly been involved in studying thechemistry,biochemistry andbiology of these compounds and their function in biological control systems. This research has implications in numerous clinical areas, especially inthrombosis,inflammation, andallergy.
This field has grown enormously since those days. Between 1981 and 1995, about 3,000 papers per year were published that specifically used the expression "prostaglandins," or related terms such as "prostacyclins," "leukotrienes," and "thromboxanes," in their labels and titles.
Samuelsson had served as a director on the boards ofPharmacia AB,NicOx SA, andSchering AG, and was an advisor to the venture capital fundHealthCap.
Samuelsson died on 5 July 2024, at the age of 90.[5][6][7]
In 1975, Samuelsson was awarded theLouisa Gross Horwitz Prize fromColumbia University together withSune K. Bergström. He was elected aForeign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS) in 1990.[1]
including the Nobel LectureFrom Studies of Biochemical Mechanisms to Novel Biological Mediators: Prostaglandin Endoperoxides, Thromboxanes and Leukotrienes| Non-profit organization positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Chairman of the Nobel Foundation 1993–2005 | Succeeded by |
| Chemistry |
|  |
|---|---|---|
| Literature |
| |
| Peace |
| |
| Physics |
| |
| Physiology or Medicine |
| |
| Economic Sciences |
| |
