Loewi, Otto (1873-1961)

Otto Loewi was born in 1873 in Frankfort, Germany. A pharmacologist, he investigated how vital organs respond to chemical and electrical stimulation, and established their dependence on certain proteins for proper function. As a result, he learned how nerve impulses are transmitted by chemical messengers. His findings helped advance medical therapy and earned him the 1936 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.