John Vane

Sir John Vane (1927 - 2004) received the 1982 Nobel Prize in Medicine for discoveries that reach into the medicine cabinet of almost every home. For generations, we have known that aspirin relieves pain, but how and why it works remained a baffling mystery until 1971, when Dr. Vane determined that aspirin blocks the syntheses of certain prostaglandins, hormone-like substances that occur throughout the body and affect a wide variety of functions. Vane and his associates also learned that a specific prostaglandin called prostacyclin prevents blood clotting of the kind that often leads to strokes and heart attacks. Vane's research led to the development of medicines such as captotril, tracrium, zovirax and lamictal, as well as flolan, the lifesaving drug for pulmonary hypertension. Sir John led much of this work as Group Research and Development Director for the Wellcome Foundation. Sir John left Wellcome in 1985, and in the following year, founded the William Harvey Research Institute, which conducts fundamental research in the area of cardiovascular, inflammatory and metabolic diseases. Well before his death at age 77, it was estimated that his life's work had already saved thousands of lives. In this podcast, recorded at the 2000 International Achievement Summit in London, England, Sir John Vane shares his discoveries with the Academy's student delegates, explaining the means by which aspirin intersects with the enzymes in the human body to fight disease. He identifies the essential elements of a rewarding career in science: talent, serendipity, and a willingness to embrace the unusual.