John Hughes (neuroscientist)

Biography

John Hughes (born 6 January 1942) [ 2 ] is a British neuroscientist who shared the 1978 Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research for the discovery of met-enkephalin and leu-enkephalin . [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] This discovery demonstrated that opiate drugs exert their effects on the human brain by mimicking endogenous neurotransmitters , the opioid peptides . [ 6 ] [ 7 ] [ 8 ] [ 9 ] Hughes was born and grew up in South London . [ 6 ] He received BSc and PhD degrees from King's College London . After his PhD, Hughes did postdoctoral research at Yale Medical School , where he studied the effects of angiotensin on the heart . [ 3 ] [ 6 ] He took a position as lecturer in Pharmacology at Aberdeen University , where he had a laboratory in Marischal College , and also collaborated in research with Hans Kosterlitz . [ 3 ] [ 6 ] [ 9 ] He went on to become Reader in Pharmacological Biochemistry, and subsequently Professor, at Imperial College London . [ 3 ] Later, he became Director of the Parke-Davis Neuroscience Centre at the University of Cambridge , where he is now an Emeritus Fellow of Wolfson College . [ 3 ] He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society . [ 4 ] Fields: Neuroscience, Pharmacology Education: King's College London

About the Lasker Award

The Lasker Awards have been awarded annually since 1946 to living persons who have made major contributions to medical science or who have performed public service on behalf of medicine. They are administered by the Lasker Foundation, founded by advertising pioneer Albert Lasker and his wife Mary Woodard Lasker (a medical research activist). The awards are sometimes referred to as "America's Nobels."

Quick Facts

• Award: Lasker Award - Basic Medical Research
• Added: 2026-02-07
• Source: Wikipedia
• Established: 1946
• Presented by: Lasker Foundation

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