Robert F. Furchgott
Robert F. Furchgott (born June 4, 1916).
Furchgott was born in Charleston, South Carolina. He studied chemistry and biochemistry. He graduated in chemistry in 1937 at the University of North Carolina, and became doctor of biochemistry at the Northwestern University in 1940. From 1956 to 1988, he was professor of pharmacology at the State University of New York.
In 1978, Furchgott discovered a substance in endothelial cells that relaxes blood vessels, calling it endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF). By 1986, he had worked out EDRF's nature and mechanism of action, and determined that EDRF was in fact nitric oxide (NO), an important compound in many aspects of cardiovascular physiology. For his groundbreaking discoveries, he was awarded in 1991 the International Awards for achievement in medical research, the in 1996, and then in 1998 the Nobel Prize in Medicine.
Furchgott has three children. Currently (2004), he lives in Brooklyn.
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