Council, from 1957 onwards. Houssay worked in many fields of physiology, but his main contribution was experimental investigation of the role of the anterior hypophysis gland in the metabolism of carbohydrates, particularly in diabetes mellitus. Houssay demonstrated in the 1930s the diabetogenic effect of anterior hypophysis extracts and the decrease in diabetes severity with anterior hypophysectomy. These discoveries stimulated the study of hormonal feedback control mechanisms which are central to all aspects of modern endocrinology. This work was recognized by the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1947. Houssay's many disciples along his years of activity became also influential themselves as they spread around the world; such as Eduardo Braun-Menéndez, and Miguel Rolando Covian, who went to become the "father" of Brazilian neurophysiology, as chairman of the Department of Physiology of the Medical Faculty of Ribeirão Preto of the University of São Paulo. Houssay wrote with them the most influential textbook of Human Physiology in Latin America, in Spanish and Portuguese, which, since 1950 has been published in successive editions and used in almost all medical schools of the continent. Houssay published more than 600 scientific papers and several specialized books. Besides the Nobel, Houssay won many distinctions and awards from the Universities of Harvard, Cambridge, Oxford, Paris, and 15 other universities, as well as the Dale Medal of the Society for Endocrinology in 1960. Houssay was also very active as a scientific leader and promoter of the advancement of scientific research and medical education, in Argentina as well as in Latin America. Houssay was elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS) in 1943. Legacy In 1996, the Prefectura Naval Argentina acquired a ketch-rigged research vessel from CONICET, renaming her the Dr. Bernardo Houssay (MOV1). References Further reading Functions of the Pituitary Gland. Boston, 1936. The Hypophysis and Secretion of Insulin. Journal of Experimental Medicine, New York, 1942, 75: 547–566. Escritos y Discursos. Buenos Aires, 1942. The Role of the Hypophysis in Carbohydrate Metabolism and in Diabetes. Nobel Prize lecture, 1947. Fisiologia Humana. Buenos Aires, 1950. Official site of his life and works (In Castilian) Bernardo Alberto Houssay. WhoNamedIt. Bernardo Alberto Houssay Biography. Nobel Foundation. External links including the Nobel Lecture, December 12, 1947 The Role of the Hypophysis in Carbohydrate Metabolism and in Diabetes 1887 births 1971 deaths People from Buenos Aires Argentine Nobel laureates Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine Argentine diabetologists Argentine people of