Jerzy Vetulani

Jerzy Adam Gracjan Vetulani (Polish pronunciation: [ˈjɛ.ʐɨ ˈa.dam ˈɡrat͡s.jan ˌvɛ.tu.ˈla.ɲi]; 21 January 1936 – 6 April 2017) was a Polish neuroscientist, psychopharmacologist and biochemist, professor of natural sciences, member of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Polish Academy of Learning, between 1956–2017 employee at the Institute of Pharmacology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Kraków, where he was head of the Department of Biochemistry (1976–2006), deputy director for Science Affairs (1994–2002) and vice chairman of the Scientific Council (2003–2017). He published more than 240 original research papers in peer-review journals. While a Research Associate Professor at the Vanderbilt University, together with Fridolin Sulser in 1975 he formulated an early hypothesis of the mechanism of action of antidepressant drugs, suggesting that downregulation of beta-adrenergic receptors is responsible for their effects. In 1983, he received Anna-Monika Prize for research on the mechanisms of the electroconvulsive therapy. Beside depression, his research interests included memory, addiction and neurodegeneration. According to Andrzej Pilc, he was one of the most frequently cited Polish scientists in the field of biomedicine between 1965 and 2001.

He was a popularizer and communicator of science, between 1981–2002 the editor-in-chief of the Wszechświat magazine. He ran popular lectures and authored several popular science books. Since 2010 he ran a blog Piękno neurobiologii (The Beauty of Neuroscience) and social media channels.

In the Polish People's Republic, he was an activist of the Union of Polish Youth, announcer at Piwnica pod Baranami cabaret (1954–1961) and a member of the Association of Atheists and Freethinkers. In 1978 he was registered as an unofficial collaborator of the Security Service. From 1980, he was a member of the Solidarity. For about half a century he maintained an acquaintance with Karol Wojtyła, who was chosen a pope in 1978.

He argued against the war on drugs, in favor of the legalization of marijuana and wide depenalization of drugs for adult users, criticizing Poland and other countries for their drug policies, that he considered repressive. A candidate in the Kraków presidential elections in 2002, he did not succeed. Between 2010–2015 he performed in the Gadający Pies (The Talking Dog) live magazine.

An honorary doctor of the Medical University of Silesia and the Medical University of Łódź, honorary fellow of Indian Academy of Neurosciences and Oxford Neurological Society, he received several dozen awards, including state distinctions, among them the Knight's Cross of Polonia Restituta.