Jerzy Vetulani

Jerzy Adam Vetulani
Born (1936-01-21) January 21, 1936
Kraków
Citizenship Polish
Occupation neuroscientist
pharmacologist
biochemist
Children Tomasz Vetulani
Parent(s) Adam Vetulani
Irena Latinik

Jerzy Adam Gracjan Vetulani (born 21 January 1936 in Kraków, Poland) is a Polish neuroscientist, pharmacologist and biochemist, professor of natural sciences. He is a member of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Polish Academy of Learning, honorary doctor of the Medical University of Silesia and the Medical University of Łódź, professor at the Institute of Pharmacology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Kraków and vice-chairman of its scientific council. He is one of the most frequently cited Polish scientists in the field of biomedicine.[1]

Biography

He was born as the son of Adam Vetulani and Irena Latinik, grandson of Roman Vetulani, high school professor, and Franciszek Latinik, Polish Army general.[2]

He graduated in biology (1957) and chemistry (1962) from the Jagiellonian University, and received his PhD from Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy of the Polish Academy of Sciences (1966).[3] He first gained recognition for an early hypothesis of the mechanism of action of antidepressant drugs, suggesting, together with Fridolin Sulser, that downregulation of beta-adrenergic receptors is responsible for their effects.[4][5] Beside depression, his scientific interests include memory, addiction and neurodegeneration.

He is also known as the author of popular articles and lectures on the topic of neuroscience, as well as for his criticism of the repressive drug policy in Poland (he favors decriminalization of all drugs). He is a member of the European Dana Alliance for the Brain (EDAB); and from 1981 to 2002 was the Editor-in-Chief of Wszechswiat, the oldest Polish popular science magazine.[6]

He was one of creators of the Piwnica pod Baranami cabaret. For some time, when Piotr Skrzynecki was in Paris, Vetulani replaced him as an announcer. From 1980 he was an activist in the Solidarity movement.[6] Vetulani often appears on the stage of the talking magazine Gadający Pies (The Talking Dog).

Since June 2010 he has run a blog called Piękno neurobiologii (The Beauty of Neuroscience) on WordPress. On his blog Vetulani comments on the curiosities of the human brain.[7]

On July 8, 1963 he married Maria Pająk. They have two sons: Marek (born 1964) and Tomasz (born 1965).

Family tree

Honors and awards (selection)

Jerzy Vetulani's Gazeta Krakowska Man of the Year statue.

References

  1. ↑ Najczęściej cytowani naukowcy oraz prace naukowe w Polsce, raport za lata 1965 - 2001 na podstawie bazy “Science Citation Index” dotyczącej wszystkich światowych publikacji (in Polish)
  2. ↑ Institute of Pharmacology PAS Scientific Council
  3. ↑ Database of Polish Information Processing Centre
  4. ↑ Healy, David (1997). The Antidepressant Era. Harvard University Press. p. 162. ISBN 0-674-03958-0.
  5. ↑ Sulser F., Vetulani J.: Action of various antidepressant treatments reduces reactivity of noradrenergic cyclic AMP generating system in limbic forebrain, „Nature”, 257, 1975.
  6. 1 2 "Jerzy Vetulani Profile" (in Polish). Polish Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
  7. ↑ Pezda, Aleksandra (2011). Koniec epoki kredy. Warszawa: Agora SA. pp. 81–82. ISBN 978-83-268-0517-2.
  8. ↑ "Oto nasi Ludzie Roku: dobrzy, mądrzy, dzielni [ZDJĘCIA]" (in Polish). Gazeta Krakowska. 27 February 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2014.

Further reading

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