Professor
Robert F. Furchgott
(
–
)
1916
2009
State University of New York Downstate Medical Center
;
Brooklyn, NY
Pharmacologist; Educator
Area
Biological Sciences
Specialty
Medical Sciences
Elected
2000
Research is principally concerned with mechanisms of vasodilation of blood vessels. He discovered the endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF) released by acetylcholine and many other endogenous vasodilators and identified it as nitric oxide. He also discovered photorelaxation of vascular smooth muscle during exposure to near ultraviolet light. His present research is directed at elucidating the mechanisms by which nitric oxide and light produce relaxation of vascular smooth muscle.
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