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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 that relaxes muscle cells, calling it endothelium derived relaxing factor (EDRF), which later turned out to be nitrogen monoxide (NO), and is today known to be a second messenger. After the publication of his discoveries in 1986, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine, together with Louis J. Ignarro and Ferid Murad. He was also awarded the Albert Lasker Prize.
Furchgott has three children. Currently (2004), he lives in Brooklyn.
