JOHN JACOB ABEL was Hopkins’ first professor of pharmacology, serving on the faculty from 1893 to 1932 and continuing his research until his death in 1938. Dr. Abel is widely regarded as the father of American pharmacology, and was dedicated to the view that chemistry held the clue to solving problems in medical science. The early focus of his work was on isolating and characterizing the hormones of the endocrine system, especially adrenaline and insulin. He also developed a method for the dialysis of blood that was the forerunner of the artificial kidney.
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John Jacob Abel Distinguished Service Professorship in Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics
School of Medicine
Established in 1962 in memory of John Jacob Abel with funds from the estate of Anne E.D. Hamilton and other donors
Held by Paul Talalay
PAUL TALALAY, the John Jacob Abel Distinguished Service Professor of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, joined the Hopkins faculty in 1963 as director of the department. His recent studies on prevention of cancer by raising protective and antioxidative enzymes have attracted much attention. In 1993, he organized the first laboratory dedicated solely to the identification and development of cancer-discouraging substances from edible plants, demonstrating with his colleagues that broccoli, which contains sulforaphane, enhances cancer-fighting enzymes. Dr. Talalay is a member of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States and the American Philosophical Society, and is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.