Axelrod, Julius (1912–2004)
Credits: Unidentified photographer, Courtesy of the Office of NIH History and Stetten Museum, 0516
Julius Axelrod, Ph.D., was best known for work on brain chemistry in the early 1960s that led to modern-day treatments for depression and anxiety disorders. For that research, he shared one-third of the 1970 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. He also developed the use of acetaminophen (Tylenol) for pain management, working with Bernard Brodie at Goldwater Memorial Hospital.
Dr. Axelrod's NIH career began in 1949 when he arrived at what was then known as the National Heart Institute (now the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute). However, he did not pursue a Ph.D. until many years afterwards, when he was in his 40s. In addition to the Nobel, Dr. Axelrod's research was recognized by the 1967 Canada Gairdner Award as well as election to the National Academy of Sciences in 1971 and the National Academy of Medicine in 1980.