Wylie Walker Vale Jr. (July 3, 1941 – January 3, 2012) was an American endocrinologist who helped identify hormones controlling basic bodily functions. ^{[4] [5]}

Early life and education

Vale was born in Houston, Texas, on July 3, 1941. He completed a B.A. degree in biology at Rice University and obtained a Ph.D. in physiology and biochemistry from Baylor College of Medicine. He commenced employment at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego, California, in 1970. ^[6]

Career

In collaboration with his advisor and mentor Roger Guillemin, Vale contributed to the discovery, isolation and identification of thyrotropin releasing hormone and gonadotropin-releasing hormone in the 1970s; ^{[7] [8]} work that led to the Nobel Prize for Guillemin. ^[9]

At the Salk Institute, Vale led efforts in identifying the group of hormones involved in human growth, reproduction and temperature. ^[10] His group discovered, isolated and identified corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRF/CRH) in 1981 and growth hormone releasing factor (GHRF) in 1982. ^[9]

Vale also founded two biotechnology companies, Neurocrine Biosciences and Acceleron Pharma. ^[9]

Vale was head of both the Clayton Foundation Laboratories for Peptide Biology and the Helen McLoraine Chair in Molecular Neurobiology at the Salk Institute. ^[6] He died in 2012. ^[6]

References