Julius Axelrod Papers

Julius (Julie) Axelrod (1912-2004) was born May 20, 1912, on the lower east side of Manhattan in New York City, the son of Polish immigrants Isadore and Molly Axelrod. Julius' father supported the family as a basketmaker. Axelrod attended Seward Park High School, where he quickly developed an interest in history, literature, and science, and set his sights on medical school. In 1929, Axelrod enrolled in New York City University (NYU). After one year, he transferred to the tuition-free City College of New York (CCNY), which Axelrod later described as a "proletarian Harvard." Axelrod graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology in 1933. He applied to several medical schools, but was not admitted. Reflecting on these rejections, he told a newspaper reporter in 1970 that "It was hard in those days for Jews to get into medical school. I wasn't that good a student, but if my name was Bigelow I probably would have gotten in."

Axelrod also found it difficult to find work in his field, especially in the middle of the Depression. After a brief stint as a laboratory technician at the Harriman Research Laboratory at NYU Medical School, Axelrod found a position in 1935 testing vitamin supplements added to food, particularly milk, for the New York City Department of Health's Laboratory of Industrial Hygiene. Axelrod remained in this position until 1946. During this period, he lost his left eye in a laboratory accident. In 1938, Axelrod married Sally Taub, an elementary school teacher. Over the next decade, the couple had two sons, Paul and Alfred. While working for the Department of Health, Axelrod took night classes at NYU and earned his Master of Science degree in chemistry in 1941 with a thesis on the chemical breakdown of enzymes in cancerous tumor tissues.

In 1946, Axelrod began conducting research on the chemistry of analgesic (pain-relieving) medications with Bernard "Steve" Brodie at Goldwater Memorial Hospital on Welfare (now Roosevelt) Island. He continued to work with Brodie, whom he considered to be his mentor, for the next eight years. Their research together laid the foundation for Axelrod's lifelong enthusiasm for pharmacological science. In 1949, Axelrod accepted a position as a research chemist at the National Heart Institute (NHI), a part of the rapidly expanding National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. From 1949 to 1955, he pursued many new projects at the NHI that built upon his previous work.

Although Axelrod clearly possessed the requisite skill and scientific expertise to carry out his own research, he knew that without a Ph.D. his opportunities for career advancement were limited. In 1954, Axelrod took a leave of absence from the NIH to attend The George Washington University, where his advisor, George Mandel, permitted him to submit some of his recent NIH laboratory work as the basis for his doctoral dissertation. Now in his early 40's, Axelrod graduated from GWU in 1955 with a Ph.D. in pharmacology after completing his thesis, "The Fate of Phenylisopropylamines."

In 1954, Axelrod was invited to establish a Section on Pharmacology in Edward Evarts's Laboratory of Clinic Science at the NIH's National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). In 1957, he began his most famous research project, which focused on the activity of neurotransmitter hormones. Axelrod's work enabled researchers during the 1970s to develop a new class of antidepressant medications, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Some commonly known SSRIs include Prozac, Zoloft, and Celexa. Over the next thirty years until his retirement in 1984, he continued to work on a wide array of research projects in pharmacological science.

In 1970, Axelrod, along with Sir Bernard Katz of University College London and Ulf von Euler of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology for "discoveries concerning the humoral transmitters in the nerve terminals and the mechanism for their storage, release and inactivation." Axelrod remained an active researcher, distinguished lecturer, and public scientist throughout the 1970s, garnering numerous honorary degrees and professional awards. In 1984, at the age of 72, he formally retired from the NIMH. In 1996, he was named Scientist Emeritus of the National Institutes of Health.

Brief Chronology

• 1912 May 30 Born, New York City; son of Isadore Axelrod, a basketmaker, and Molly Leichtling Axelrod
• 1929 Enrolls at New York University
• 1930 Transfers to City College of New York; studies history, philosophy, literature and biology
• 1933 Receives Bachelor of Science degree in biology, CCNY
• 1933-1935 Laboratory assistant in Harriman Laboratory, NYU Medical School
• 1935-1946 Chemist, Laboratory of Industrial Hygiene, NYC Dept. of Health
• 1938 Marries Sally Taub; 2 children
• 1941 Receives Master of Science degree in chemistry, NYU, after taking post-graduate night courses
• 1946-1949 Research associate with Bernard Brodie at Goldwater Memorial Hospital, Welfare Island, NY
• 1949-1955 Continues work with Brodie at National Institutes of Health
• 1949-1950 Associate chemist, Section on Clinical Pharmacology, NIH
• 1950-1953 Chemist, NIH
• 1953-1955 Senior chemist, NIH
• 1955 Completes doctoral thesis in pharmacology, George Washington University, under George Mandel, The Fate of Phenylisopropylamines"
• 1954-1984 Chief, Section on Pharmacology, Laboratory of Clinical Science, NIH
• 1958-1961 Discovers reuptake action in neurotransmitter norepinephrine
• 1960-1965 Studies pineal gland; develops "melatonin hypothesis"
• 1967 Receives Gairdner Foundation International Award
• 1970 Shares Nobel Prize in Physiology of Medicine with Sir Bernard Katz and Ulf von Euler
• 1970 Member, Psychopharmacology Study Section, NIH
• 1984 Retires from NIH; continues as Guest Researcher at NIMH, Laboratory of Cell Biology
• 1987 Julius Axelrod Distinguished Lecturer in Neuroscience established at CCNY by Raymond and Beverly Sackler Foundation
• 1992 Sep. 18 One Day Scientific Symposium and 80th Birthday Celebration in Honor of Julie Axelrod
• 1996 Named Scientist Emeritus of NIH

1912 May 30

Born, New York City; son of Isadore Axelrod, a basketmaker, and Molly Leichtling Axelrod

1929

Enrolls at New York University

1930

Transfers to City College of New York; studies history, philosophy, literature and biology

1933

Receives Bachelor of Science degree in biology, CCNY

1933-1935

Laboratory assistant in Harriman Laboratory, NYU Medical School

1935-1946

Chemist, Laboratory of Industrial Hygiene, NYC Dept. of Health

1938

Marries Sally Taub; 2 children

1941

Receives Master of Science degree in chemistry, NYU, after taking post-graduate night courses

1946-1949

Research associate with Bernard Brodie at Goldwater Memorial Hospital, Welfare Island, NY

1949-1955

Continues work with Brodie at National Institutes of Health

1949-1950

Associate chemist, Section on Clinical Pharmacology, NIH

1950-1953

Chemist, NIH

1953-1955

Senior chemist, NIH

1955

Completes doctoral thesis in pharmacology, George Washington University, under George Mandel, The Fate of Phenylisopropylamines"

1954-1984

Chief, Section on Pharmacology, Laboratory of Clinical Science, NIH

1958-1961

Discovers reuptake action in neurotransmitter norepinephrine

1960-1965

Studies pineal gland; develops "melatonin hypothesis"

1967

Receives Gairdner Foundation International Award

1970

Shares Nobel Prize in Physiology of Medicine with Sir Bernard Katz and Ulf von Euler

1970

Member, Psychopharmacology Study Section, NIH

1984

Retires from NIH; continues as Guest Researcher at NIMH, Laboratory of Cell Biology

1987

Julius Axelrod Distinguished Lecturer in Neuroscience established at CCNY by Raymond and Beverly Sackler Foundation

1992 Sep. 18

One Day Scientific Symposium and 80th Birthday Celebration in Honor of Julie Axelrod

1996

Named Scientist Emeritus of NIH