Black, Sir James (1924-2010), was a Scottish pharmacologist (drug researcher) who discovered two important groups of drugs, one used to treat heart disease and the other to relieve digestive ulcers. For his discoveries, Black shared the 1988 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine with American researchers Gertrude B. Elion and George H. Hitchings.
Both groups of drugs that Black discovered work by blocking special areas called receptor sites on the surfaces of cells. One group, called beta-blockers, is used to treat heart disease, high blood pressure, and angina pectoris (chest pain that occurs because the heart does not receive enough oxygen). The drugs block the stimulating effects of the hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine, thus reducing the heart rate and easing the heart’s workload. The other group of medications, used to treat ulcers, is called histamine H2-receptor antagonists. The medications block the stomach’s response to a body chemical called histamine that triggers secretion of acid.
James Whyte Black was born on June 14, 1924, in Uddingston, Scotland, and graduated from the University of St. Andrews in 1946. He taught physiology at the University of Malaya (now part of the National University of Singapore) from 1947 to 1950 and at the University of Glasgow from 1950 to 1958.
For the rest of his career, Black worked for a series of drug companies and universities. He did research for ICI Pharmaceuticals Limited from 1958 to 1964 and for Smith, Kline & French Laboratories from 1964 to 1973. He returned to teaching in the mid-1970’s, serving as professor and head of the Department of Pharmacology at University College London (part of the University of London) from 1973 to 1977. From 1978 to 1984, he directed the Division of Therapeutic Research at Wellcome Research Laboratories. He was knighted in 1981. From 1984 to 1993, Black served as professor of pharmacology at King’s College Hospital Medical School of the University of London. He served as chancellor of the University of Dundee from 1992 to 2006. Black died on March 22, 2010.
See also Beta-blocker .
