Candace Pert
A brilliant, rebellious neuroscientist who mapped the brain's chemistry of emotion, revolutionizing our understanding of the mind-body connection.
1946–2013 (age 67)·American neuroscientist·Birthday: June 26·Baby Boomers
Biography
Candace Pert was a scientific force of nature who shattered barriers and paradigms. As a 26-year-old graduate student at Johns Hopkins, she made a discovery that would redefine neuroscience: identifying the opioid receptor, the brain's docking station for endorphins. This work, which her advisor famously called "the single most important piece of graduate work ever done," proved that emotions have a precise biochemical basis in the brain. Despite being controversially overlooked for the Nobel Prize awarded for the discovery, Pert forged an independent path. She became a leading voice in psychoneuroimmunology, arguing passionately that peptides and receptors form a network linking the mind, emotions, and the immune system. Her bestselling book 'Molecules of Emotion' brought these ideas to the public, cementing her role as a visionary who challenged medicine to see the body as an integrated, conscious system.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Candace was born in 1946, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Candace Was Born
The biggest hits of 1946
#1 Movie
The Best Years of Our Lives
Best Picture
The Best Years of Our Lives
Candace's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1946Born
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1951Started school
First color TV broadcast in the US
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Too Young" — Nat King ColeBest Picture: An American in Paris
1959Became a teenager
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1962Could drive
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1964Could vote
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1967Turned 21
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1976Turned 30
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1986Turned 40
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1996Turned 50
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2006Turned 60
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
2013Died at 67
Edward Snowden reveals NSA surveillance programs
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $152,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Thrift Shop" — Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Picture: 12 Years a Slave
Key Achievements
- Led the groundbreaking discovery of the opioid receptor in the brain while a graduate student.
- Authored the influential book 'Molecules of Emotion', which popularized the science of psychoneuroimmunology.
- Served as Chief of the Section on Brain Biochemistry at the National Institute of Mental Health.
- Her research provided the foundational evidence that neuropeptides and their receptors are the biochemical substrates of emotion.
Did You Know?
She was depicted by actress Kate Burton in the 2020 TV miniseries 'The Good Lord Bird'.
She appeared in the 2004 documentary 'What the Bleep Do We Know!?' discussing her theories.
She held a patent for a peptide treatment for Alzheimer's disease, AIDS, and stroke.
She earned her Ph.D. in pharmacology from Johns Hopkins University in 1974.
“Your body is your subconscious mind.”
