Robert F. Furchgott

About Robert F. Furchgott

Who is it?: Biochemist
Birth Day: June 04, 1916
Birth Place: Charleston, South Carolina, United States
Died On: May 19, 2009(2009-05-19) (aged 92)\nSeattle, Washington
Birth Sign: Cancer
Citizenship: American
Spouse(s): Lenore Mandelbaum (1941–1983; her death; 3 children) Margaret Gallagher Roth (?–2006; her death)
Awards: Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1998
Fields: biochemistry
Institutions: SUNY Downstate Medical Center 1956–2009 Washington University in St. Louis 1949–1956 Cornell University 1940–1949

Robert F. Furchgott Net Worth

Robert F. Furchgott was born on June 04, 1916 in Charleston, South Carolina, United States, is Biochemist. Robert F. Furchgott was an American biochemist who discovered that nitric oxide (NO) acts as a signaling molecule in the cardiovascular system of mammals. This discovery earned him a share of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine along with several other prestigious awards and recognitions. The son of a department store owner, he spent many years of his youth in small towns where he developed a love for nature and sciences. As a boy, he loved visiting beaches, marshes and woods, and was an avid bird watcher. From a young age there was no doubt in his mind that he was meant to become a scientist and his parents’ encouragement further fuelled his ambitions. After completing a degree in chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he proceeded to earn his doctorate in biochemistry from Northwestern University. He taught and researched at Cornell and Washington Universities for several years before joining the SUNY-Brooklyn’s department of pharmacology in 1956 from where he retired after more than three decades. Over the course of his research he primarily studied the mechanism of drug interaction with the receptors in blood vessels. Experimenting with rabbits, he also developed a method for determining how blood vessels respond to medications, neurotransmitters and hormones.
Robert F. Furchgott is a member of Scientists

💰 Net worth: Under Review

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Biography/Timeline

1884

Furchgott was born in Charleston, South Carolina, to Arthur Furchgott (December 1884 – January 1971), a department store owner, and Pena (Sorentrue) Furchgott. He graduated with a degree in chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1937), and went on to earn a Ph.D in biochemistry at Northwestern University (1940), immediately joining a medical faculty thereafter.

1940

Furchgott was faculty member of Cornell University Medical College from 1940 to 1949, of Washington University School of Medicine from 1949 to 1956, and State University of New York Downstate Medical Center from 1956 to 2009, as professor of pharmacology.

1978

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. This research is important in explaining a wide variety of neuronal, cardiovascular, and general physiologic processed of central importance in human health and disease.

2006

Furchgott, who was Jewish, lived for most of his married and career life in Woodmere, NY (Long Island). He was married to Lenore Mandelbaum (February 1915 – April 1983) from 1941 until she died aged 68. They had three daughters: Jane, Terry and Susan. His daughter, Susan, was a prolific Artist in the San Francisco counter culture and a co-founder of the Kerista Commune (she was also known as "Even Eve" and "Eve Furchgott"). Robert Furchgott spent his later years with Margaret Gallagher Roth, who died March 14, 2006. He served as a professor emeritus at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center. In 2008 he moved to Seattle's Ravenna neighborhood. Furchgott died on May 19, 2009 in Seattle. He is survived by his three daughters, four grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

2014

In addition to receiving the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of nitric oxide as a new cellular signal—shared in 1998 with Louis Ignarro and Ferid Murad —Furchgott also received a Gairdner Foundation International Award (1991) for his groundbreaking discoveries, and the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research (1996), the latter also with Ferid Murad.