Bovet, Daniele

Bovet, Daniele (bōvā`), 1907–92, Italian pharmacologist, b. Switzerland, D.Sc. Univ. of Geneva, 1929. From 1929 to 1947 he was a researcher and then head of the laboratory of therapeutic chemistry at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. From 1947, Bovet was associated with the Instituto Superiore de Sanità in Rome. He won the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work in developing antihistamines, sulfa drugs, and curare derivatives and other muscle relaxants for use in surgery. He also became known for studies of the effects of mental illness on the chemistry of the brain. His writings include numerous works on microbiology, toxicology, and endocrinology.