Furchgott, Robert Francis | South Carolina Public Radio

“F” is for Furchgott, Robert Francis [1916-2009]. Pharmacologist. Nobel Prize Laureate. When he was a young boy growing up in Orangeburg, Furchgott’s first interest was natural history. After graduating from the University of North Carolina, he obtained a PhD in biochemistry from Northwestern University. He served on the medical faculties of Cornell, Washington University in St. Louis, State University of New York in Brooklyn, Miami University, and the Medical University of South Carolina. Furchgott became known for his research in cardiac pharmacology, the theory of drug-receptor mechanisms, and vascular pharmacology and physiology. His research has had profound implications for the treatment of cardiovascular conditions and other diseases. In 1998, Robert Francis Furchgott and two others were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries concerning nitric oxide as a signaling molecule in the cardiovascular system.