Dr. Bernardo Alberto Houssay (1887-1971) won the 1947 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his work on the role hormones from the pituitary gland in the brain have in metabolizing sugars. This discovery helped scientists to understand the mechanisms that cause diabetes. At the age of 14, Houssay entered the School of Pharmacy at the University of Buenos Aires. He became a Professor of Physiology in the University's School of Veterinary Medicine after he graduated, and was Chief Physician at the Alvear Hospital as well. Later, he established and directed the Institute of Physiology at the University's Medical school, until 1943, when the government in power ousted him for his pro-democratic views. He remained in Argentina at the private Instituto de Biologia y Medicina Experimental which he set up. His research problems included hormones and their actions, circulation and respiration, and the nervous system. His work combined his insight into physiology (the study of the structures of the body) and pharmacology (the study of chemicals' interactions with the body).
