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The Robert F. Furchgott Society

About the Robert F. Furchgott Society

furchgott During the 1950s, Dr. Robert Furchgott developed a method for determining how blood vessels respond to medications, neurotransmitters, and hormones, using a piece of rabbit aorta cut in the form of a helix. This allowed him to study the effects of drugs on vascular smooth muscle. Another early contribution was his discovery that vascular smooth muscles relax when exposed to ultraviolet light, a phenomenon known as photo-relaxation.

Dr. Furchgott's major research advance came in 1980, when he discovered a substance produced by endothelial cells (the thin layer of flattened cells lining the inner surface of blood vessels) that caused relaxation of the vascular smooth muscle. He called this substance endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF). This substance was later identified as nitric oxide (NO).

On October 12, 1998, Dr. Furchgott was named co-recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.  Although he was Distinguished Professor Emeritus at SUNY Downstate at the time he received the Nobel Prize, he was actively conducting research in his laboratory at Downstate and speaking at national and international conferences.

In 2001, in honor of Dr. Furchgott’s work, Dr. Robert Wong, Distinguished Professor and Chairman of the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, established The Robert Furchgott Conference Library located on the 6th floor of the Basic Science Building at SUNY Downstate Medical Center. Displayed in the Library are the the Nobel Prizes:  the Nobel Gold Medal and the Nobel Prize  Diploma given by the King of Sweden in Council in 1998.  Also on display are collector’s items from the Stockholm award ceremony as well as Dr. Furchgott’s scientific instruments, selected publications, a photo gallery, and other awards received by Dr. Furchgott during his academic career. The conference room has a state of the art audio-visual system, gallery seating, and conference meeting space.

In 2003, under the guidance of Dr. JoAnn Bradley, Senior Vice President for Institutional Advancement, we successfully raised over $150,000 toward the establishment of the Robert F. Furchgott Society.  Dr. Bradley organized a display wall in the Health Science Education Building which features a plaque honoring Dr. Furchgott as well as a plaque listing the names of the Society members.

The Robert F. Furchgott Society was established in 2005, and Dr. Alfred Stracher, Distinguished Professor in Biochemistry, was named as Director.  The Robert F. Furchgott Society supports graduate students and fellows conducting basic science studies in a broad array of subjects. Each year, one exceptionally talented graduating Ph.D. student is honored with The Robert F. Furchgott Award for Excellence in Research. The Society will also provide annual travel awards to deserving clinical and/or basic science, and research fellows, to underwrite the cost of presenting their research at national or international conferences. The society has also established an annual Visiting Professorship and Lecture Series that will bring outstanding scientists to the Downstate campus to participate in seminars and roundtable discussions.

In 2007, Dr. Richard J. Macchia, Distinguished Teaching Professor and Chairman of the Department of Urology was named the Society’s first President.