Paul Talalay

Former John Jacob Abel Distinguished Service Professor of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Talalay devoted his career to cancer research and in his later years was involved in devising strategies for chemoprotection against the risk of cancer, a field in which he is recognized as a pioneer. His efforts focused on achieving protection by raising the enzymes concerned with the detoxification of carcinogens. Analysis of the chemistry and the molecular biology of boosting enzymes of detoxication led him and his colleagues to devise simple cell culture methods for detecting chemical and especially dietary (Phyto)chemicals that raise these enzymes. This work led to the isolation of sylforaphane as the most potent inducer of protective enzymes in broccoli.