Professor Louis IGNARRO
BS, PhD
Professor Emeritus
UCLA School of Medicine, Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, Beverly Hills, California, USA
A native of Brooklyn, NY, Dr. Ignarro received a BS in pharmacy/chemistry at Columbia University (1958-1962) before earning his PhD in Pharmacology at the University of Minnesota (1966) and completing a postdoctoral fellowship in chemical pharmacology at the NIH (1968). Dr. Ignarro was recruited by Ciba-Geigy Pharma, where his work led to the development of diclofenac. In 1973, he pursued an academic career, first at Tulane University School of Medicine, and then UCLA School of Medicine in 1985. In 1993, Dr. Ignarro became Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology at UCLA, where he currently serves as Professor Emeritus. He excelled as both research scientist and professor, winning many Golden Apple teaching awards from his medical students.
Dr. Ignarro was awarded the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, along with Robert Furchgott and Ferid Murad, “for their discovery that nitric oxide acts as a signaling molecule in the cardiovascular system”. He also received the American Heart Association’s Basic Research Prize and Distinguished Scientist Award “for the advancement of cardiovascular science”, the Roussel UCLAF Prize in France “for cell communication and signaling”, the CIBA Award for Hypertension Research, the Canadian Medal of Merit, and the Golden Plate Award “for outstanding contributions in cardiovascular research”. He is founder of the Nitric Oxide Society and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and American Philosophical Society.