Who is who in cardiovascular research? What a review of Nobel Prize nominations reveals about scientific trends

Clin Res Cardiol. 2021 Dec;110(12):1861-1870. doi: 10.1007/s00392-021-01813-2. Epub 2021 Mar 6.

Abstract

Background: Since 1901, at least 15 scholars who contributed to cardiovascular research have received a Nobel prize in physiology or medicine.

Methods: Using the Nobel nomination database (nobelprize.org), which contains 5950 nominations in the accessible period from 1901 to 1953 in physiology or medicine, we listed all international nominees who contributed to cardiovascular research. We subsequently collected nomination letters and jury reports of the prime candidates from the archive of the Nobel Committee in Sweden to identify shortlisted candidates.

Results: The five most frequently nominated researchers with cardiovascular connections from 1901 to 1953 were, in descending order, the surgeon René Leriche (1879-1955) (FR) with a total of 79 nominations, the physiologist and 1924 Nobel laureate Willem Einthoven (1860-1927) (NL) (31 nominations), the surgeon Alfred Blalock (1899-1964) (US) (29 nominations), the pharmacologist and 1936 Nobel laureate Otto Loewi (1873-1961) (DE, AT, US) (27 nominations) and the paediatric cardiologist Helen Taussig (1898-1986) (US) (24 nominations). The research of these scholars merely hints at the width of topics brought up by nominators ranging from the physiological and pathological basics to the diagnosis and (surgical) interventions of diseases such as heart malformation or hypertension.

Conclusion: We argue that an analysis of Nobel Prize nominations can reconstruct important scientific trends within cardiovascular research during the first half of the twentieth century.

Keywords: Cardiac surgery; Cardiology; Excellence in cardiovascular research; Helen B. Taussig; Nobel Prize.

Publication types

  • Historical Article
  • Portrait

MeSH terms

  • Biomedical Research / history*
  • Cardiology / history*
  • Cardiovascular Diseases / history*
  • History, 19th Century
  • History, 20th Century
  • Humans
  • Nobel Prize*
  • Sweden