Robert F.

Robert F. Furchgott - biography. American biochemist Birth June 4, 1916 Place of Charleston, South Carolina Birth Known for Discovering that the human body uses the gas nitric oxide as a chemical signal to regulate cell activity. For this discovery, he shared the 1998 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine with colleagues Louis Ignarro and Ferid Murad. Career 1937 Completed his B.S. in chemistry at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 1940 Received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from Northwestern University, Chicago 1956-1988 Professor, Dept. of Pharmacology, State University of New York, Brooklyn 1986 Proposed that nitric oxide acts as a messenger chemical in the body 1988- Distinguished Professor, State University of New York Health Science Center, Brooklyn 1988- Adjunct Professor, Dept. of Pharmacology, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami Did You Furchgott and his colleagues' Nobel-winning discovery was initially rejected by most scientists. Know One of nitric oxide's functions in the body is to signal muscle tissue surrounding blood vessels to relax, allowing more blood to flow. Nitric oxide is most commonly known as an air pollutant capable of damaging the lungs and causing chemical burns. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.