Jean E. Sealey D.Sc.

Jean Sealey is a basic scientist who developed the plasma renin (PRA) test, and uses it to study clinical problems that relate to blood pressure control and hypertension. She worked with John Laragh and his group and through them, evolved her understanding of blood pressure control. Over the years she has analyzed PRA data from studies of normal subjects and pregnant women, and from patients with malignant hypertension, primary aldosteronism, renovascular hypertension, toxemia of pregnancy, congestive heart failure and renal disease. In mid career she analyzed prorenin data from these patient groups and came to the view that its function is independent of the endocrine renin-angiotensin system. Returning to hypertension and the PRA test, she defined how to use the PRA test to determine which patient has excess body sodium and which has excess renin system activity. That led to the Laragh Method as described on this web site.

Jean Sealey was born in Glasgow, Scotland. She received her B.Sc. and D.Sc. degrees from Glasgow University. She trained at and joined the faculty at Columbia P&S and then moved to Weill Cornell Medical College where she is currently Research Professor Emerita of Physiology and Biophysics in Medicine. She was married to John Laragh.