prostaglandins that earned him the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1982. Wellcome Foundation In 1973, Vane left his academic post at the Royal College of Surgeons and took up the position as Director of Research at the Wellcome Foundation, taking a number of his colleagues with him who went on to form the Prostaglandin Research department. Under the leadership of Salvador Moncada, this group continued important research that eventually led to the discovery of prostacyclin. Return to academia In 1985, Vane returned to academic life and founded the William Harvey Research Institute at the Medical College of St Bartholomew's Hospital (now Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry . At the William Harvey Research Institute, Vane's work focused on selective inhibitors of COX-2, and the interplay between nitric oxide and endothelin in the regulation of vascular function. Awards and honours Vane was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1974. He was also awarded honorary doctorate degrees from Jagiellonian University Medical College (formerly Copernicus Academy of Medicine) in 1977, Paris Descartes University in 1978, Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 1980 and the University of Aberdeen in 1983. He was awarded the Lasker Award in 1977 for the discovery of prostacyclin and was knighted in 1984 for his contributions to science. In 2000, Vane received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement. Personal life John Vane married, in 1948, (Elizabeth) Daphne Page and had 2 daughters. He died on 19 November 2004 in Princess Royal University Hospital, Kent, from long-term complications arising from leg and hip fractures he sustained in May of that year. Lady Vane died in 2021. References External links 1927 births 2004 deaths Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine British Nobel laureates English Nobel laureates People from Bromsgrove District People educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham Alumni of the University of Birmingham Alumni of St Catherine's College, Oxford English pharmacologists Vane, John Robert Vane, John Robert Academics of the University of London Academics of Queen Mary University of London Academics of Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry English people of Russian-Jewish descent Knights Bachelor Fellows of the Royal Society Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Royal Medal winners Members of the National Academy of Medicine Scientists from Worcestershire