Bengt Ingemar Samuelsson

Professor Bengt I. Samuelsson is Rector Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Medical and Physiological Chemistry at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. His research interests were originally in cholesterol metabolism with emphasis on reaction mechanisms. After the structural work on prostaglandins with Sune Bergström in 1959-1962 he has mainly been interested in transformation products of arachidonic acid. This led to the discovery of endoperoxides, thromboxanes and the leukotrienes, and his group has mainly been involved in studying the chemistry, biochemistry and biology of these compounds and their role in biological control systems. This research has implications in several clinical areas, particularly in thrombosis, inflammation and allergy. His awards include the Swedish Medical Association's Jubilee Award, Anders Jahres Award, Louisa Gross Horwitz Award, Intrascience Medalist, Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, Ciba Geigy Drew Award in Biomedical Research, Lewis S. Rosenstiel Award, The Gairdner Foundation Award, Heinrich Wieland Prize, The Bror Holmberg Medal, and American Chemical Society Division of Medical Chemistry Award.