Andrzej Viktor "Andrew" Schally (born 30 November 1926) is an American endocrinologistAndrew V. Schally
"Andrew V. Schally"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. of Polish ancestry, who was a corecipient, with

Roger Guillemin Roger Charles Louis Guillemin (born January 11, 1924) is a French-American neuroscientist. He received the National Medal of Science in 1976, and the Nobel prize for medicine in 1977 for his work on neurohormones, sharing the prize that year w ...

and Rosalyn Sussman Yalow, of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. This award recognized his research in the discovery that the hypothalamus controls hormone production and release by the pituitary gland, which controls the regulation of other hormones in the body. Later in life Schally utilized his knowledge of hypothalamic hormones to research possible methods for birth control and cancer treatment.

Life and career

Andrzej Wiktor SchallyAleksandra Ziolkowska-Boehm. ''Love for Family, Friends, and Books.'' Rowman & Littlefield, 2015
p. 246.
was born in Wilno in the Second Polish Republic (now Vilnius, Lithuania), the son of

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed to ...

Kazimierz Schally, who was chief of the cabinet of President Ignacy Mościcki of Poland, and Maria (née Łącka). In September 1939, when Poland was attacked by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, Schally escaped with Poland's President Ignacy Mościcki, the prime minister and the whole cabinet to the neutral Romania, where they were interned.

I was fortunate to survive the holocaust while living among the Jewish-Polish Community in Roumania. I used to speak Polish, Roumanian, Yiddish, Italian and some German and Russian, but I have almost completely forgotten them, and my French in which I used to excel is also now far from fluent.

Immediately after the war, in 1945, he moved via Italy and France to the United Kingdom where he changed his first name to Andrew. Schally received his education in Scotland and England. In 1952, he moved to Canada. He received his doctorate in endocrinology from McGill University in 1957. That same year he left for a research career in the United States where he has worked principally at Tulane University. Schally currently conducts research in endocrinology at the Miami Veteran's Administration Medical Center in Miami, Florida. A Canadian citizen when he left Canada, Schally became a

naturalized citizen Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

of the United States in 1962. He was affiliated with the

Baylor College of Medicine Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) is a medical school and research center in Houston, Texas, within the Texas Medical Center, the world's largest medical center. BCM is composed of four academic components: the School of Medicine, the Graduate Sc ...

for some years in Houston, Texas. He developed a new realm of knowledge concerning the brain's control over the body chemistry. Schally explained in his 1977 Nobel Lecture that he, alongside his researchers, dissected 250,000 pig hypothalami in order to isolate 5 mg of the hormone thyrotropin-releasing hormone (

TRH Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) is a hypophysiotropic hormone produced by neurons in the hypothalamus that stimulates the release of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and prolactin from the anterior pituitary. TRH has been used clinicall ...

) to determine the molecular structure of the hormone. His work also addressed birth control methods and the effects of growth hormones on the body. Together with

he described the neurohormone gonadotropin-releasing hormone (

GnRH Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is a releasing hormone responsible for the release of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) from the anterior pituitary. GnRH is a tropic peptide hormone synthesized and released ...

) that controls follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone ( LH), two hormones that are integral parts of reproduction and growth and development. Schally received an ''honoris causa'' doctors degree from the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. Recognized as a Fellow of the

Kosciuszko Foundation The Kosciuszko Foundation is a charitable foundation based in New York City. It was created by Stephen Mizwa to fund programs that promote Polish-American intellectual and artistic exchange. History The Polish American Scholarship Committee was ...

of Eminent Scientists of Polish Origin and Ancestry. He was married to Margaret Rachel White (divorced), and Ana Maria de Medeiros-Comaru.

Cancer research

In 1981 it was demonstrated that the

gonadotropin-releasing hormone Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is a releasing hormone responsible for the release of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) from the anterior pituitary. GnRH is a tropic peptide hormone synthesized and released ...

(GnRH) agonistic analogs that Schally had developed between the years of 1972-1978 inhibited the growth of prostate cancer in rats. Alongside Dr. George Tolis, Schally conducted the first clinical trial of GnRH for patients with advanced prostate cancer in 1982. This method is now the preferred treatment for advanced prostate carcinoma. About 70% of patients with prostate cancer receive an agonist as their primary method of treatment. According to Schally, his treatment causes fewer side effects than radiation and

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs ( chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemother ...

. The previous method of treatment, orchiectomy or the administration of estrogens, was based on the research of

Charles Brenton Huggins Charles Brenton Huggins (September 22, 1901 – January 12, 1997) was a Canadian-American physician, physiologist and cancer researcher at the University of Chicago specializing in prostate cancer. He was awarded the 1966 Nobel Prize for Physio ...

. In 2004, after the death of his wife due to

thyroid cancer Thyroid cancer is cancer that develops from the tissues of the thyroid gland. It is a disease in which cells grow abnormally and have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms can include swelling or a lump in the neck. Canc ...

, Schally found comfort in continuing his research.

Awards and honors

* Van Meter Award of the

American Thyroid Association The American Thyroid Association (ATA) is a professional organization of over 1700 medical specialists devoted to thyroid biology and to the prevention and treatment of thyroid disease through excellence in research, clinical care, education, and ...

(1969) *

Albert Lasker Award The Lasker Awards have been awarded annually since 1945 to living persons who have made major contributions to medical science or who have performed public service on behalf of medicine. They are administered by the Lasker Foundation, which was f ...

(1975) * Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1977) *Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet o ...

(1978)

References

* Aleksandra Ziółkowska, ''Korzenie są polskie'' (The Roots Are Polish), Warsaw, 1992, . *

Aleksandra Ziolkowska-Boehm Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "prot ...

, ''The Roots Are Polish'', Toronto, 2004, . *

Nicholas Wade Nicholas Michael Landon Wade (born 17 May 1942) is a British author and journalist. He is the author of numerous books, and has served as staff writer and editor for ''Nature'', ''Science'', and the science section of ''The New York Times''. ...

, '' The Nobel Duel'', Garden City, Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1981.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schally, Andrew 1926 births Living people American endocrinologists American Nobel laureates Baylor College of Medicine physicians and researchers McGill University Faculty of Medicine alumni Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine People with acquired American citizenship Polish emigrants to the United States Recipients of the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research Tulane University faculty Scientists from Vilnius Baylor College of Medicine faculty