Andrew V. Schally conducted pioneering research concerning hormones, identifying three brain hormones and greatly advancing scientists' understanding of the function and interaction of the brain with the rest of the body. His findings have proved useful in the treatment of diabetes and peptic ulcers, and in the diagnosis and treatment of hormone-deficiency diseases. Schally shared the 1977 Nobel Prize with French-born American endocrinologist Roger Guillemin and Rosalyn Yalow (an American scientist whose work in the discovery and development of radioimmunoassay--the use of radioactive substances to find and measure minute substances, especially hormones in blood and tissue--helped Schally and Guillemin isolate and analyze peptide hormones).

Schally was born on November 30, 1926, in Wilno, Poland, to Casimir Peter Schally and Maria Lacka Schally. His father served in the military on the side of the Allies during World War II, and Schally grew up during Nazi occupation of his homeland. The family later...