Fridolin Sulser (2 December 1926 – 3 January 2016) was a Swiss-American

pharmacologist Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between ...

who specialized in the treatment of

mental disorder A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

Life and work

He was born in Grabs,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and grew up in the town of

Maienfeld Maienfeld () is a municipality in the Landquart Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. It is a tourist destination in the Alps, both because of the local wine and because it was the setting of the story '' Heidi''. History Maienfeld li ...

. He graduated from the Humanistische Gymnasium in

Chur '' Chur (locally) or ; ; ; ; ; ; or ; , and . is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, town of the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of the Grisons and lies in the Alpine Rhine, Grisonian Rhine Valley, where ...

in 1947 and left to attend respectively school at the

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis''; German: ''Universität Basel'') is a public research university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest univ ...

(pre-clinical) and the

University of Zurich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...

(clinical), graduating from the latter with an M.D. in 1955. During his college years he was highly influenced by the works of

Karl Jaspers Karl Theodor Jaspers (; ; 23 February 1883 – 26 February 1969) was a German-Swiss psychiatrist and philosopher who had a strong influence on modern theology, psychiatry, and philosophy. His 1913 work ''General Psychopathology'' influenced many ...

. This influence has pushed him towards experimental biology, culminating in a decision to move from

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious mind, unconscious processes and their influence on conscious mind, conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on The Inte ...

pharmacology Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur betwee ...

. Before having been appointed assistant professor at the

University of Bern The University of Bern (, , ) is a public university, public research university in the Switzerland, Swiss capital of Bern. It was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the canton of Bern. It is a comprehensive university offering a br ...

, he served a mandatory 2-year term officer in the

Swiss Army The Swiss Armed Forces (; ; ; ; ) are the military and security force of Switzerland, consisting of land and air service branches. Under the country's militia system, regular soldiers constitute a small part of the military and the rest are ...

. He moved with his family to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in the fall of 1958, having obtained a post-doctoral fellowship in neuropsychopharmacology at the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

in Bethesda, M.D, funded by Swiss Academy. At the time he established his long-standing interest in brain research. At the NIH, he started working in the laboratory of Bernard Brodie, focusing on the mechanism of action of

imipramine Imipramine, sold under the brand name Tofranil, among others, is a tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) mainly used in the treatment of depression. It is also effective in treating anxiety and panic disorder. Imipramine is taken by mouth. Common s ...

. His collaboration with Jim Dingell at NIH led to the discovery of desmethylimipramine. In 1962 he went to Burroughs Wellcome Research Labs in New York as Head of Pharmacology. In 1965 he joined the

Vanderbilt University Medical School Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) is the graduate medical school of Vanderbilt University, a Private university, private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee. The School of Medicine is primarily housed within the Eski ...

Faculty as professor and Director of the Pharmacology Research Center. He gained recognition for an early hypothesis of the mechanism of action of antidepressant drugs, suggesting in 1975, together with Jerzy Vetulani, that

downregulation In biochemistry, in the biology, biological context of organisms' regulation of gene expression and production of gene products, downregulation is the process by which a cell (biology), cell decreases the production and quantities of its cellular ...

of beta-

adrenergic receptor The adrenergic receptors or adrenoceptors are a class of G protein-coupled receptors that are targets of many catecholamines like norepinephrine (noradrenaline) and epinephrine (adrenaline) produced by the body, but also many medications like b ...

s is responsible for their effects.Sulser F., Vetulani J.: ''Action of various antidepressant treatments reduces reactivity of noradrenergic cyclic AMP generating system in limbic forebrain'', ''

Nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...

'', 257, 1975. He was made Professor Emeritus of the University in 2000. Sulser received several honors during his research career, including the Anna-Monika Prize. He was a Fellow and President of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology as well as a Fellow of the Collegium International Neuro-Psychopharmacologium. He died on January 3, 2016, and was survived by his brother Emil Sulser, wife, Johanna Mooser Sulser, and children Anna (Sulser) Newton, Adrian Sulser, Daniel Sulser, and Bettina (Sulser) Bryant and eight grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sulser, Fridolin 1926 births 2016 deaths Swiss pharmacologists American pharmacologists University of Zurich alumni Vanderbilt University faculty Swiss emigrants to the United States